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Round 1 XCM O’Halloran Hill (Race Review)

The 2019 AMBC season kicked off at O’Halloran Hill with a unique twilight XCM race format. The stoke factor was high as participants battled light setups and the duos talked team strategy. The field went out hot up the first fire road in an attempt to find free dirt heading into the single track. True old-school handcut trails in the old OHH section offered some serious flow for veterans and newcomers alike. Griff Knight burnt some rubber setting the fastest lap while surprising everyone in the feed zone still scrambling to find bottles. Once 6pm rocked around the lights came on which was well policed by Dave Braithwaite, an excuse for some to visit their local bike shops to invest in a new setup I’m sure. The berms were sweet with one techy climb helping to sort out the field. By 7pm when most were headed out for the final lap, the rain that had been threatening all day came down (cheers to AMBC racegoers for breaking the dusty OHH drought). Strategy was abandoned as many went into body-preservation and not heading out for an extra lap, living to ride another day. As Mark Manning sprinted across the line at 03:59:07 to take the coveted last lap in on what was now being described as a proper Slip N Slide. The rest of the field rolled in with significantly little chatter as everyone searched for layers and scraped off some extra mud. Overall was a popular course with most loving the opportunity to do some night-racing and explore the lesser known back section of OHH. Podium results will be listed below. Now you’ve heard me rabbit on about how I saw the race from the feedzone, here are some interviews from racers on the night. Hope to see you all at Prospect Hill next week (the
course is truly epic) and stay tuned for the digital reinvention of the popular “Fat Chat”. Now have fun and go ride your bikes!

Meet Your Members – Race Review

How long have you been riding dirt? What got you started?

Julia Massey (Veteran) – Would you believe, I started riding off road maybe 20 years ago! I started because my hubby rode, too. So he built me up a bike and away we went. Someone in the club owns his Giant Cadex (for a vintage build)

Nigel McGaffin (First Timer) – I’ve been riding dirt for about 18months. It started as a way to get some cardio training in to help with martial arts. I’ve trained Taekwondo for 3 years and completing my black belt grading this year. I needed some extra fitness for sparring. I got this gumtree special "mountain bike" and thrashed it so hard the rear wheel buckled to the point I disconnected the rear brake to stop it rubbing. Needless to say we shopped for new bikes. Shopped around and found the boys at Bicycle Fix Woodside – bought a 2019 Trek Roscoe 8. Not exactly a XC race bike but it has some great features and is value for money.

Felix Bull (Junior) – Dad and I reckon that I have been riding mtb for around 6 years. I started on my 20” Merida hardtail which Dad and upgraded a bit, then I got my Scott Scale 650b which I did my first races on.

Anna Kublis (Female Racer) – I have been riding about 8 years and started riding trails for fitness. Julia Massey (AMBC President at the time) answered my call out RE: racing and encouraged me to go out to a summer series race at Eagle. It was soooooo scary, 2 laps and I fell off so many many times. I was in awe of the other girls racing at the time how fast and fearless they were. I was so cooked I had to lay on the couch for the rest of the day and cancel my sushi date!

Describe the OHH Course

Julia – That OHH course wasn’t easy, lots of flat turns …I love a good berm and there were very few of them. But it was also fun and a good one for the last bit in the dark. Somewhere there was a good view over the ocean, too.

Felix – The OHH course was fairly simple but it also was a bit powdery and it had some technical bits to it which made it more interesting. By the end of the race the rocks where very slippery from the rain, a lot of the course was muddy apart from a couple of sections which were dry which clogged your wheels.

Anna – Fast and Flowy

Favourite Part?

Nigel – Hitting the little creek dipper and getting some air out the other side was 10 seconds of fun each lap, before settling back in to a rhythm of discomfort.

Felix – My favourite part was the downhill with berms because you could really rip though it unlike the other downhills which you had to go a bit slower on.

Anna – The berms and drop downs into the creek.

 

Biggest Challenge?

Julia – Challenge for me was my fitness (or lack of). But I’m not racing for sheep stations, just fun so if I have to stop, so be it.

Nigel – That damn hill. It was so rocky and with the little rain we had it was even more technical. I must apologise to the faster guys that caught me going up there, well caught me anywhere really, I think I spent equal amounts slightly off track getting out of the way than I did on track. I just didn’t want my slow ass to ruin someone’s race.

Felix – The biggest challenge was on the last lap where you had come back though the tunnel, you had done The first bit of single and there was a fire road that was really muddy and I just couldn’t keep up with Kade.

Anna – When the rain came down last lap and the bit out the back turned into an ice skating rink!

Goals for next race/2019 season?

Julia – I am planning to do the Dirty Weekend 6 hour, and some CX and maybe gravity races later this year.

Nigel – I think there’s something special about a sport where the biggest way to improve your time is to get fitter. Having raced motorsport hill climbs for a few years the best way to improve is to get a faster car or better brakes but with this I think there’s only so much to gain from a lighter bike or better tyres – for me the best improvement I can have is to pedal faster for longer and to not gas out on climbs.

Felix – Go faster!

Anna – Easter in the Alice and trying to coordinate a tough work schedule with races!

What would you like to see from AMBC?

Julia – I’m really pleased to see a resurgence of numbers at races. AMBC does such a great job with a small committee! Don’t go changing (maybe a new kit)

Nigel – I think the best thing would be a “First Timer Tips” page on the website. I didn’t really know what to expect or what to bring and just copied what I saw other people doing as far as setting things up between start/finish. Also a little spectators guide too –
My partner wasn’t sure if she could walk around the track to watch and I was too knackered to communicate that I’d seen lots of others out there.

Anna – I think the volunteers already do an amazing job.

  Round 1 XCM Race Results
[table “17” not found /]

http://ambc.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/results/190330-EN-R1-O’Halloran-Hill.pdf

Please Remember All, Sandbagging isn’t chill. Pick your category wisely at Prospect Hill…

@adelaidemtb #adelaidemtbclub

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AMBC Races

Race Report for 2013 Hammer Nutrition XC Enduro Race 2

The second round of the 2013 Hammer Nutrition XC Enduro 4-hour series was a success yesterday with 100 riders enjoying the Craigburn Farm Trails in their respective categories. Mother nature provided some rain in the lead up to the race, leaving the trails a little muddy in places, but overall the conditions were prime for a winter race. A chilly 9am start saw most riders keen to get underway and get warm!

The course was roughly 10kms in length with 285m of vertical climbing, and used Sticks & Stones as a descent, the new ‘Gunners Run’ trail, Sidewinder and the Cow Bones loop.

Make sure you keep July 21st free for the next XC Enduro to be held at Eagle MTB Park.

Thanks to all of the riders for making it such a great race and to all of the club sponsors for their ongoing support.

Laps Time
Solo Male
Matthew Ackland 8 04:19:19.3
Steven Lee 8 04:23:53.8
Oliver Anderson 7 03:55:28.1
Solo Female
Therese Rhodes 7 04:22:02.6
Maggie Synge 7 04:30:46.8
Anna Puckridge 6 04:12:24.4
Solo Male 40+
Matthew Sanderson 7 04:03:06.3
Craig Yates 7 04:16:12.7
Alister Smith 7 04:17:02.0
Solo Female 40+
Kay Haarsma 5 04:30:58.6
Julia Massey 4 04:10:31.1
Duo Male
@focusstraya 8 04:20:58.0
Whippets Workshop 8 04:28:23.3
Faster than a Kahmat 7 04:03:02.6
Duo Mixed
Chucking a wobbly 7 04:28:48.0
Light your fire 5 04:06:36.4
Little Ev and Big Daddy 5 04:21:55.5
Duo Junior
Team XTC-1 6 04:07:35.7
Saints 9’ers 5 04:23:38.2

Full results (updated again at the time of this post) can be found on the Race Results page.

Thanks to Kyle Stevens for the Video and Daniel Morgan for the photos.

More photos can be found on the AMBC Facebook page. If you’d like to contribute more photos, please email website@ambc.asn.au a link to your photos and they can be included on the AMBC Photos page.

 

Categories
AMBC Races

Race Report for 2013 Hammer Nutrition XC Enduro Race 1

The 2013 Hammer Nutrition XC Enduro 4-hour series kicked off on Sunday with the first round held at Prospect Hill. The weather was a little damp in the lead up, but come race day it was a perfect sunny and still autumn day. The vibe from race start was great, with the sun shining and 102 riders ready to compete in their respective solo or duo categories.

The 8km course consisted of the majority of the crowd-favourite singletrack sections, broken up with some fire road. The course was wet in areas, and the slippery roots were out to play.

There was a great atmosphere on course, with the sounds of riders enjoying themselves and chatting, and an extremely friendly attitude from passing riders. Once the checkered flag began to wave, the prominent sound became the chatter of exhausted riders comparing race stories and sharing laughs.

Make sure you keep June 23rd free for the next XC Enduro to be held at Craigburn Farm.

Thanks to all of the riders for making it such a great race and to all of the sponsors for their support.

Most of all, thank you to all of the volunteers who dedicated their time to ensure the course was prime, and that the event was run as smooth as they get!

Thanks to Daniel Morgan for the photos above. More photos can be found here. Keep an eye on the club photos page for other photo albums that members have submitted, or submit your album to be included and shared on the page to website@ambc.asn.au

— Solo Male —

LAPS

TIME

Tom Goddard 9 4:11:45
Shaun Lewis 9 4:19:36
Todd Lorenz 9 4:23:08

— Solo Female —

LAPS

TIME

Sarah Holmes 7 4:05:19
Anna Puckridge 7 4:18:41

— Solo Male 40+ —

LAPS

TIME

Evan James 8 4:05:29
Matthew Sanderson 8 4:07:14
Stephen Leske 8 4:14:44

— Solo Female 40+ —

LAPS

TIME

Elaine Pyle 1 0:57:35

— Duo Male —

LAPS

TIME

Team Bobby Dazzlers 9 4:15:52
JRA 9 4:30:05
FOS 8 4:00:07

— Duo Mixed —

LAPS

TIME

Woony 6 4:01:13
The Peptides 6 4:12:52
Cruzin Cousins 5 3:57:22

— Duo Junior —

LAPS

TIME

GR Racing 7 4:02:26
Saints Team 1 7 4:40:14
Where’s the cheese? 6  4:27:04

Full results can be found on the results page, which have been revised at the time of this post.