Victorian State Mountain Bike Championships

Race Report by Brenton Jones

The 2010 Victorian State MTB Championships were held by the Geelong MTB Club at the You Yangs National Park. The magnificent trails provided all riders with some very fast racing. The beginning of the race saw many riders take refuge in cars or under tents as the rain fell upon us prior to the start. Despite the wet start, racing was underway with everyone completing a small Start loop lap together to remember James Williamson. After this lap, we were called up to the start line and briefed by the race organiser. I had to complete 6 laps of the 6.5km track as part of the Elite category and after coming off a 2 week rest period I was feeling fresh but my legs lacked intensity. The start of the race saw a small contingent of elite riders sprint off the line to set a solid tempo up the first climb. Once on our way I stuck to my usual race plan of starting off at my own tempo and working into the race, basically finishing stronger with consistent lap times. During the first lap, I was sitting in 5^th position and looking comfortable. The fun and exciting track proved to be very demanding during race conditions with the many boulders and rock gardens providing many obstacles to overcome.

With the wild weather circulating the state, we were faced with some strong winds which caused 2 trees to fall across the track leaving us with a few more hurdles to negotiate. By the end of lap 2, I was still positioned in 5^th place and holding a steady tempo with 5 laps to go. After receiving a fresh drink bottle and ‘Torq Gel’ I was back on track and heading out for another lap. For this type of terrain and race, I decided to go with the Continental Race King 2.2 Tubeless Tyre which provided fast rolling and ultimate traction. On this course and especially up every boulder, traction was the key element and the combined factors in tyre choice and gear ratio led to the optimum outcome in success. After conserving my energy on the climbs, I was able to put more power down on the down hills and this is where I made up my lost time. Once again through the feed zone, we were back on our way for another lap. With 4 laps to go, hydration and tactics were key essential needs. By now, my understanding of the other competitors was much clearer and I started to gauge the body language of others. By doing this I was able to adapt to a conservative race plan enabling me to control the tempo on the climbs and nail the fast lines on the descents. This seemed to be working well and with 3 laps to go, I had moved up into 4^th position and was eyeing off the podium places. Only 1 ½ minutes separated 1^st to 4^th and this made for some super close XC racing. After smashing out another lap, I passed Adrian Jackson who had some re-occurring bike issues with the front derailleur. This moved me up to 3^rd but after another 2km’s later AJ had passed me back and was back on my wheel. Not long after AJ bounced back in front, Peter Kutchera had slipped down the placings from 2^nd to 4^th. This meant that I was now up onto the podium, but not for long. After finishing the second last lap Peter was still on my wheel and AJ was 30 seconds up the track. After the feed zone and start/finish area however, Peter came around and took the lead. He held this lead for half of the lap until he stumbled on a rock face and I rode around him. From there I applied the pressure and rode away to come home in 3^rd in my first Elite State Championships. I finished 1 minute 22 seconds behind Murray Spink in 1^st place and 30 seconds behind AJ in 2^nd. A very good day of racing and another great event from Geelong MTB Club. Special thanks to Ray for feeding me and to my sponsors Torq Nutrition, awesome stuff! Thanks must also go to my supportive family and friends.