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Race Face 12 Hour - NE
Australia, July 29, 2006
Team Merida wins Race Face 12 Hour
By John Flynn
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Sporting one of the highest calibre team rosters yet to feature at a Two Wheel Promotions event, the classy Team Merida lived up to expectation, claiming both the four person teams category and the overall race win in Saturday's Race Face 12 Hour at Kooralbyn.
Boosted by the inclusion of in-form Gold Coaster Davey Whitney (winner of the recent MTBA Sunshine Series Round) and former national club road champion Tony Mann, the early favourites for overall honours produced a performance on par with expectation, in what turned out to be an ideal day for off-road bike racing.
Freshly returned from international duties at China's Tour of Qinghai Lake where he was racing with the FRF Couriers Caravello Team (U.C.I. Oceania Tour), Mann showed he could handle the mountain bike just as capably as the road bike and was ably supported by Whitney, Jodie Zerbst and David Newnham.
"It's an awesome concept, I've never done a twelve hour before, this is just so much fun," a relaxed Mann said at race end.
"Totally different atmosphere, definitely want to do more of it, just everyone's so relaxed it's exactly the opposite to a road racing event."
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There were a few anxious moments for the road convert when day turned to night at the Race Face Twelve Hour. Mann was completing one of the final laps for the Merida Team when his lights suddenly faded.
"You don't have any lights, you don't see where you're going, you just stop and wait," Mann revealed of his first taste of riding in complete darkness.
"We had the Race Face boys who'd caught up with me which was great and I followed them home."
The precious minutes of lost time opened up the race for the River City Cycles Team, with Ian Goodwin giving it everything to chase down the Merida boys in the run for home.
"The whole last lap we were riding together and I just was biding my time trying to get around him (Whitney). Just came down to the last 100 metres," Goodwin recalled.
A final lap count later revealed the Merida Team was still one lap ahead, but the effort from emerging talent Dave Whitney to hold off the challenge was still worthy of praise.
"Yeah it was freakin amazing," a triumphant Whitney said after completing his team's final lap of the race.
Sweet win for Maltman as junior stars shine
All eyes were also on the contest in the three person teams event, where two of Australia's emerging superstars of mountain bike fought it out for their respective teams.
Gold Coaster Daniel Hallam, who will represent Australia in the junior cross-country event at next month's UCI World Championships in Rotorua, was matched up against James Maltman, who will represent Australia in the junior downhill event.
The time around it was Maltman who took the honours in his less favoured cross-country discipline, thanks to the support of his Race Elements team which also boasted the in-form Simon Frederikson and Andrew Wilcher, who scored a podium place in the recent Kooralbyn - Boonah marathon.
It turned out to be an ideal hitout for both World Championship aspirants, who are setting lofty goals when they head to the land of the long white cloud in a few week's time.
"It's gonna be good, I'm looking forward to it," Hallam admitted.
"Probably 90 competitors, about 950 metres of vertical climbing all up and just a real exciting and painful hour and a half of my life.
"QAS is helping me out with training and Greg Swain as well he's training me up and getting me fit, getting me ready. Merida bikes are helping me out heaps too."
While Hallam will aim for a top twenty position in his first crack at the World's, Maltman has his focus firmly on the podium - in the downhill discipline where anything can happen when you have a dream run down the mountain.
"Looking forward to it, pretty pumped," an excited Maltman said after his Race Face 12 Hour victory.
"I'd like to get top three definitely. Downhill anybody can win it so just try to get that run pinned and have fun.
"Keep it fun, if you don't enjoy it you're not going to do well
Track improvements spur mixed team victory
Although the track was sticky for the start of the Race Face 12 Hour, bright Kooralbyn Sunshine ensured the ride conditions rapidly improved as 300 bikers indulged themselves on one of South East Queensland's favourite circuits.
The addition of a new uphill section and downhill switchbacks by course designer
Bill Van Haren had riders singing the praises of the venue.
MTB Dirt's Scott Clark who teamed with the formidable combination of Peter Winfield,
Meg Carrigan and Shannon Duggan to win the mixed four person event was impressed.
"Awesome mate it's the best track they've ever done. Switchbacks up and down, magnificent mate you couldn't get anything better," Clark said.
"Yeah it's really good, really enjoyed it and it's getting better as the day's gone. First in our class mixed four person.. stoked."
Happy fellows a solo success
The course was certainly to the liking of Hervey Bay's Andrew Fellows. One of Australia's best in the endurance mountain bike discipline, Fellows reproduced the form which saw him take out the two man teams event at the Merida 24 hour.
This time though, Fellows did it all on his own to win the solo 12 hour title.
"I started out just to go really hard and try to put a few minutes into them and about four hours in I had about twenty minutes on him (second place getter Adrian Booth)," Fellows said.
"I think it worked pretty well.
Runner up in the Race Face 12 Hour solo event was one of Queensland's most seasoned road racers in Adrian Booth, racing in the colours of River City Cycles.
The result was an improvement on his gutsy all out effort in the recent Kooralbyn Marathon, and there was enough to suggest the convert to mountain biking may climb one step higher next time around.
"Very, very difficult , very, very rewarding at the same time," Booth said of his Race face 12 Hour Experience.
"When you hear six hours, excellent guys we're at the half way point and your body says are you for real!"
Booth also showed he has gained much from his off-road outings, building on the lessons learnt at The Marathon.
" I remember saying to yourself give me some water (during the Kooralbyn Marathon) .. so this time I decided to bring a camelback," Booth revealed.
"Endurance mountain biking I find very, very challenging and one thing I really find in mountain biking there's no free k's.
"A track like this today, there's just no free k's .. god damn it."
The winner of the Solo Women's event, Noosa's Gail Young, had to rely on the best of legal performance enhancers to make it across the finish line following a tough day in the saddle.
"It was a long way, it was good till about six hours," an exhausted Gail admitted.
"Red Bull helped, but my wheels fell off at the end. I shut my eyes and hoped for the best."
The next major event for Two Wheel Promotions will be the Six Hour Teams Challenge at Kooralbyn on November 5.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by John Flynn
- Speed merchant Davey Whitney (Team Merida)
- James Maltman choosing the perfect line"
- Riders loved the new Kooralbyn Switchbacks
- Mutton chop sidies - As tested in the wind tunnel
- How's that for a passing manouvre
- Gold Coaster Peter Charlton hits the descent
- Serious arm pump - and a magic backdrop of grass trees for the River City Cycles team
- The mist rises and the race begins on a perfect Queensland day
- Kev Park sets a steady pace on the opening lap
- Josh Keep sets a smashing pace in the early stages
- Adrian Booth - a solid ride
- Grasstree country
- A magic day for it
- Adrian Booth keeps the sun at his back
- Team Merida on the way to a well deserved win
- Davey Whitney nails another corner in the late afternoon
Results
Race Face Solo Men 1 Andrew Fellows 21 12.06.55 2 Adrian Booth 20 12.19.46 3 Ross Uhlmann 17 11.42.49 4 Andrew Charles 17 12.46.05 5 Stefen Cody 16 12.28.53 6 Nicholas Mills 16 12.34.23 7 Matt Powell 15 11.24.23 8 Greig Smart 15 12.17.30 9 Marty Demangone 14 11.01.28 10 Jason Searle 14 11.55.12 11 Carl Rayner 14 12.27.33 12 Peter Donnelly 13 9.23.56 13 Keith Jarrott 12 12.01.16 14 Kev Parker 11 10.28.41 15 Benjamin Madden 10 7.27.59 16 Paul Grubner 10 8.06.05 17 Rob Paksec 10 8.37.34 18 Rick Banaszcyk 10 9.31.16 19 Karl Moffitt 10 9.41.42 20 Neil Francis 9 9.09.27 21 Tim Marsh 8 9.18.36 22 Mark Devery 7 6.35.26 23 Todd Heness 6 4.52.16 24 Peter Wilkinson 6 6.23.57 25 Ben Wilson 6 7.19.35 26 Aaron Welsh 6 7.25.24 27 Kieran O'Sullivan 5 7.23.22 28 Sean Dennis 4 5.30.19 mtbdirt.com/AstroVisual Solo Women 1 Gail Young 12 10.58.16 2 Nicci Ansley 8 8.32.45 WeldTite/ Night Rider 2 Person 1 MTB Dirt Cheap 23 12.22.56 2 Cool Runnings 22 12.10.46 3 Ashgrove Cycles Boys 22 12.20.47 4 Team AE 22 12.20.53 5 Yeah Yeah Yeah 20 12.18.40 6 US Postal 19 12.43.42 7 TRC Torpedo2 18 10.14.39 8 Numbnuts 18 10.47.02 9 Where Have All The Roosters Gone 18 12.43.11 10 Cyclescene 17 11.58.39 11 Insert Witty Team Name Here 16 11.42.55 12 (MTB Dirt) Roy 15 11.14.42 13 Kenmore Blues 15 11.34.55 14 Your Mumma 14 9.52.33 15 The Old Man & The Dagg 14 10.36.49 16 124R4R 14 11.06.21 17 Just Cruisin 13 10.06.53 18 M&M 12 10.44.21 19 Team WASP 11 11.05.11 Maxxis 3 Person Open 1 Race Elements/ Hoffy Cycles 25 12.26.30 2 Airbourne 24 12.25.28 3 Race Face 23 12.30.29 4 Below Average 21 11.54.18 5 Team Inducer 20 12.25.53 6 TMBC Hillbillys 20 12.43.04 7 TRC Truckin' Co 19 12.19.39 8 27 Gears 18 11.30.29 9 THEM! 18 12.00.58 10 MTB Dirt Kickers 18 12.02.39 11 MTB Dirt TEAM Grunt 18 12.19.35 12 Rad Multisort Club 17 11.47.44 13 Power Of 3 16 11.07.22 14 Mayhem 16 11.46.34 15 Easy Riders 16 12.14.19 16 The Boys 16 12.22.00 17 Black N Blue 15 10.50.40 18 MTB Dirt Team Tourquoise 15 11.19.51 19 MTB Dirt Jesters 13 10.06.56 Merida 4 Person Open 1 Team Merida 25 12.23.06 2 River City Cycles 24 12.23.07 3 Hoffy Hooligans 23 12.06.35 4 SCAT Again 23 12.21.29 5 Team Peanuts 20 12.24.57 6 The Three Stooges+1 20 12.47.09 7 TMBC Half-Arsed Hillbillys 19 12.32.59 8 Three Men & A Baby 18 11.39.29 9 MTB Dirt Digglers 18 12.32.35 10 Redundants 18 12.33.38 11 Faceplant Foursome 18 12.34.24 12 Thomas & Coffey Stay Safe Team 17 11.30.05 13 Un-Motorvated 17 11.47.07 14 Team MBB 17 12.09.53 15 Dirtslaves Northern NSW 17 12.16.04 16 Daggs Inc 16 10.20.13 17 MTB Dirt Super OG'S 16 10.46.58 18 Peak Physique 16 11.40.20 19 Rad Multisports Phun Bunnys 15 11.47.47 20 Back Markers 12 8.37.03 21 MTB Dirt Team Tortoise 10 9.51.46 Pearl Izumi 4 Person Mixed/Female 1 MTB Dirt Ventana 22 12.29.14 2 No NRG 21 12.14.47 3 Redlocks & The Three Bears 20 12.09.03 4 Boomers & Flyers 19 12.12.46 5 Goku Like A Tiger 19 12.24.37 6 TRC Torpedo4 17 10.50.39 7 MTB Dirt Misfits 17 11.34.51 8 Little Red Caboose 16 12.16.01 9 Roadie's NRG Bangers 16 12.19.44 10 Fab 4 15 12.00.07 11 MTB Dirt Disgrunted Lemmings 14 12.07.28 12 R U Serious 10 8.58.55 Triple Play 4 Person Junior U/18 1 Sidewinders 20 12.11.05 2 Kenmore Champs 19 12.08.38 3 Stuff It, Lets Walk 16 11.53.45
