Taberlay wins cross country

Sid Taberlay and Lindsay Gorrell rode strongly through exceptionally challenging conditions to take the wins in the second stage of the Real Insurance All Mountain Cup at Awaba on Saturday.

Like most of the Eastern seaboard, the Hunter region experienced heavy and continuous rain on Friday, and riders were confronted with a slippery, muddy course.

In the men's cross country, 2004 Olympian Taberlay led the field from the start and had a dominant win.

"I wanted to get the hole-shot and keep my eyes clean from other riders spray," said Taberlay. "I backed off once I was into the single-track into the lead. From there I wanted to nurture the bike to the finish, also to preserve the brake pads."

Taberlay was also happy that his win consolidates the win in the Olympic Cross Country series. "It's nice to win the cross country series, that win will help towards selection for the World Championships team."

Josh Carlson took home second place, riding his way up from third during the second lap.

"I had a fairly bad start, and I couldn't do a practice lap in the conditions yesterday, but once I secured second place I started to relax, it helped me conserve energy for the rest of the race," said Carlson.

Speaking of the technical nature of the conditions, Carlson said, "Descents were so tough, but then again it was so muddy that if you crashed wasn't dangerous, I think the conditions favoured my skills."

Andy Blair, the overall season leader finished in third to further his efforts toward winning the Real Insurance All Mountain Cup which will be decided tomorrow.

In the under 23s, local rider Trenton Day continued an outstanding weekend on his home course, leading both his race and the overall field on the course. An ecstatic Day said, "It was wet and slippery, and became more challenging as the race went on, but it was good to start with the Elite field and mix it up with them."

Action in the under 19s saw local Chris Aitken win from Billy Sewell and Toby Stewart.

In the elite women's race, Lindsay Gorrell took the lead from the start and was able to capitalise on her lead with a win.

Gorrell, the 2007-2008 U23 National Champion, returned to the sport in Round 2 of the Real Insurance Australian MTB Season after a four-year pause while focusing on study.

Speaking of her race, Gorrell said, "It was a fun course, the open climbs were made tougher by the conditions but I still enjoyed the race." Racing from the front is rarely easy for an athlete. "I had a idea that I was opening up a big gap but you never know what's going to happen, especially in these conditions."

Gorrell reflected positively, "I'm really happy with the win, it's completely unexpected and I'm looking forward to more racing in 2012."

Second place went to Jaclyn Shapel, who rode a consistent race making her way up from third place during lap 3. "It was tough today, wet conditions made it a race of attrition, I think Rosie (Barnes) had a mechanical, I passed her as I headed out onto my third lap."

Conditions also took their toll on the bikes. "I tried to nurse the bike to the end. I had no brake pads left by the last descent, I had to use the tree to make the last corner."

Third place in the women's field went to Rosemary Barnes.

In the U23 women's field, Amy Austin took the win in a time of 1:21.36. Close U19 racing saw Holly Harris win from Emily Parkes in second place.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sid Taberlay1:39:29
2Joshua Carlson0:01:25
3Andrew Blair0:04:12
4Nick Both0:07:37
5Andrew Arthur0:09:06
6Michael Vanos0:10:54
-1lapChad GossertRow 6 - Cell 2
DNSNeil Van Der PloegRow 7 - Cell 2
DNSMatthew FlemingRow 8 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Lindsay Gorrell1:42:38
2Jaclyn Schapel0:03:09
3Rosemary Barnes0:06:58
4Sarah Holmes0:08:13
5Sally Gabriel0:13:54
DNSNicola HoganRow 5 - Cell 2
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Under 23 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Trenton Day1:16:50
2Cameron Ivory0:03:11
3Kyle Ward0:04:13
-2lapsBlake PolverinoRow 3 - Cell 2
DNFJames HanusRow 4 - Cell 2
DNSSebastian JayneRow 5 - Cell 2
DNSDaniel McDonaldRow 6 - Cell 2
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Under 23 Female
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Amy Austin1:21:36
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Under 19 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Christopher Aitken1:24:26
2Toby Stewart0:09:08
3Cameron Prosser0:11:54
4Jacob Langham0:16:59
5Billy Sewell0:17:06
6Rodger Pogson-Manning0:19:35
-1lapCameron AndrewRow 6 - Cell 2
2lapsHenry BairdRow 7 - Cell 2
DNFBen BradleyRow 8 - Cell 2
DNFNigel MalcolmRow 9 - Cell 2
DNFAlec MalcolmRow 10 - Cell 2
DNSBen ComfortRow 11 - Cell 2
DNSJack LavisRow 12 - Cell 2
DNSHarry LindsayRow 13 - Cell 2
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Under 19 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Holly Harris1:20:05
2Emily Parkes0:05:38
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Under 17 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Callum Carson1:09:03
2David Bleakley0:00:30
3Jayden Ward0:01:21
4Jack Jude0:02:49
5Mitchell Greenway0:05:10
6Hamish Prosser0:07:12
7Tom Green0:11:09
8Bryan Dunkin0:13:01
9Roly Stewart0:13:29
10Jet Turner0:15:50
11Luke Brame0:21:40
12Dean Madden0:40:07
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Under 17 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ellie Wale0:59:38
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Under 15 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Matthew Dinham0:58:19
2Declan Prosser0:09:23
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Veteran men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Damien Enderby1:13:33
2Dion Blair0:06:07
3Martin Wisata0:13:22
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Master men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1David Harris1:15:55
2Troy Fisher0:04:39
3Peter Baird0:14:23
DNSRob ParberyRow 3 - Cell 2
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Super master men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mark Codner0:52:57
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Grand master men
#Rider Name (Country) Team
DNSPeter Heywood
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Expert men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Fabian Guerrero1:15:45
2Glen Pleffer0:06:44
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Sport men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jason Head0:57:45

 

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