English wins fifth consecutive 24-hour Australian solo title

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Jason English and Liz Smith were crowned Australian 24-hour solo mountain bike national champions after an enthralling weekend of endurance mountain bike action at Majura in the ACT.

English, the three-time and reigning 24-hour world champion secured his fifth consecutive national title against a high quality field. With barely a pause in the 24 hours, English's inimitable combination of speed and consistency paid off again.

After riding with a lead pack from the start, he slowly gapped the competitive field in the tenth hour. English was ecstatic with his result, riding 418 kilometres in the 24 hours.

"I've already achieved more than I ever thought possible. That said, I've trained and given myself the best chance, and four in a row was already massive," said English.

"It was a tough race, based on my preparation for the world championships in Italy and looking at the high-quality field assembled I was prepared that I could quite likely lose coming in. I decided that I wouldn't be disappointed if that happened, but that said, it's an awesome feeling to win".

With his undefeated run in 24-hour solo mountain bike racing now extending to almost four years, English has every right to be confident heading overseas to defend his title in Italy.

"I really wanted to go over as the Australian Champion; wearing the green and gold jersey. I've got six weeks to get everything sorted, and the goal is to win again".

Ed McDonald placed second outright and in the process won his 23-29 age category. In third place was under 23 rider Mark Tupalski, who also took out the U23 category on the way to the overall podium.

Liz Smith was crowned the women's 24-hour solo national champion after a race-long battle with Bec Parkes. With the two riders separated by only five seconds with two hours to go, Smith was finally able to take a lead that would seal the win.

The win is Smith's first national championship. "It feels fantastic. This was the first time at an endurance mountain bike race where I've had to race to-and-fro right to the end. I'm aiming now to race the worlds in Canberra next year," said Smith.

Mimi Guillot of France won the women's race outright racing as an international. With the lead group of three women grouped together overnight, Guillot rode away from daybreak to a convincing outright win. Guillot is a member of the Thule Adventure Team, the 2011 Adventure Racing World Champions.

The Canberra Off-Road Cyclists Club hosted the event for the seventh time. The event was sanctioned by Mountain Bike Australia as the national championships for the last five years. Over 100 riders enjoyed the singletrack at Majura and riders qualified for the 2012 WEMBO World Solo 24-Hour Championships to be held in Finale Ligure, Italy in May.

The next Mountain Bike Australia national-level event is the MTBA Marathon Championships, an event that will be also hosted by the Canberra Off-Road Cyclists Club at Stromlo Forest Park on June 10.

Canberra will also host the WEMBO 24-hour World Solo Championships in 2013.

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