The
opening round of the Finish Line Singletrack Mind Series has been
widely heralded as a fantastic success. The planets aligned with perfect
weather, a sublime course and a high quality field including the
current Solo 24 Hour MTB World Champion Jason English.
Round 1 would also unveil plenty of new initiatives for
the 2014 season with Finish Line now the headline sponsor of the series,
4 Hour solo racing categories added, and the launch of the Chocolate
Foot Women’s development team.
Since the last Finish Line Singletrack Mind Series event
at Taree in 2013, the word has spread about the brilliantly built and
magnificently maintained trails of the Manning-Great Lakes Tip Riders
Club. Competitors arrived back to the transition zone with massive
smiles after each and every lap, many saying that this was the finest
track they’d ever raced on.
Jason English was made to work hard for the victory against 2012 series champion Ed McDonald. Photo: Dave Bateman
The buffed and flowing course would also make the perfect
backdrop for an epic battle in the Solo Open Men category between Solo
24 Hour World Champion Jason English, 2012 series Champion Ed McDonald
and 2013 series champion Andrew Lloyd. With an impressive leadout off
the start from team mate Jack Lavis, McDonald was 2nd into the
singletrack with Lloyd and English needing to bridge across to the Trek
Racing duo. By the 2nd lap Lloyd and McDonald were riding together but
nervously checking over their shoulders for the almost inevitable sight
of English, who would then join them on lap 3. Up until lap 12, McDonald
would try to shake English but without sucess, while Lloyd backed off
the pace hoping the others would crack. When English’s customary late
race surge came on there was little McDonald could do to match him. Jack
Lavis went on to win the 4hr Solo Men category while Melissa
Nuttall took the 4hr Solo Women’s title.
In the Women’s Solo category, dual round winner in 2013,
Eliza Kwan continued her winning ways as she led from start to finish
over 2013 series champion Liz Smith. While Sydney’s Wendy
Stevenson could have been racing Super Masters category, she’s decided
to challenge herself for the 2014 season, racing in Open and she rounded
out the podium against a quality field.
Canberra’s Eliza Kwan sizes up another of Taree’s fast and flowing corners. Photo: Dave Bateman
The fastest lap times of the day were recorded by riders
of the winning teams in the 3′s categories. John Odams and his
POC/Bikeculture crew won the Male 3′s while Odams grabbed bragging
rights with a lap of 24.51 and Australian Under 23 XCO Champion Holly
Harris recorded a string of great laps including a 27.29 to drive her
team to victory in the Mixed Threes.
Chocolate Foot’s new women’s development team didn’t
disappoint on debut with every member achieving a top of the podium
result with wins in the Female Threes, Female Pairs and the 4 Hour solo
category. The women selected for the team have come from a wide variety
of sporting backgrounds and for some it was their first ever MTB race
making their results and lap times all the more remarkable.
Full results are available online: Results
Trek Racing’s Jack Lavis leads out team mate Ed McDonald though the frenetic opening moments of the race.
Photo: Dave Bateman
The Finish Line Singletrack Mind Series moves to an
entirely different style of course at Mogo on the NSW South Coast for
the 15th of June. Some liken the course to that of a Gravity Enduro,
with relatively mild climbs followed by two fast and epic descents per
lap including the legendary Snake Track! This will be a must do event
for any mountain biker!
Chocolate Foot would like to thank their incredibly
generous sponsors, Finish Line, Serfas, Deuter, Bellwether, SRAM, Rock
Shox, Avid, Truvativ, Hammer Nutrition, Rockpool Graphics, James Estate,
Cycology, Ventou, Aussie Butt Cream, Cycle Studio, Kobie International,
Mountain Biking Australia magazine, Ritchey and Grimm-Hewitt art.
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