Jongewaard and Fry deliver at wet and wild Mt Buller

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Cross country racers Chris Jongewaard and Rowena Fry not only conquered the opposition but the pounding rain and howling wind to take their second victory of the 2010-2011 Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series at Mt Buller in the Victorian high country on Saturday.

In the elite men's elite, four-time national champion Jongewaard and Athens Olympian Sid Taberlay played out an enthralling six-lap battle in the testing conditions, with Jongewaard holding on for a one minute and 42-second victory to secure the series leader's jersey.

Taberlay, who now spends the majority of his time in California, was a welcome face on the start line at Mt Buller, and the nine-time world championship representative showed that he was still a force to be reckoned with by taking the lead on laps two and three.

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However Jongewaard, who was forced to replace his rear wheel on lap two, clawed his way back up to second position and eventually hit the lead on lap four, a position he never relinquished.

"It's been a hard lead up to this race," said Jongewaard. "I've just returned to my old coach and I didn't expect to be going that well. I got a good start and the track's pretty technical, so I was feeling good. I got a flat in the second lap, but the change was pretty quick so I didn't lose much time."

With less than three weeks remaining until the highly anticipated 2011 Specialized Australian Championships in Adelaide on February 22 - 27, Jongewaard is hoping the reunion with his former coach Yvo van Herck will put him back into ominous form.

"After the road nationals, I wasn't where I wanted to be. I've had nothing but good results from him (van Herck) in the past, so I contacted him and he was really enthused to take me back on.

"I've been back with him now for three weeks, and it's been a tough introduction. He's an all-around coach, he trains me really hard and a lot of hours, but I'm really happy.

"I'm on the road back to where I was. I'm a bit tired this weekend and it's going to be another couple of tough weeks, the Otways race will be hard, but then I'll freshen up ahead of nationals."

Peter Hatton from New South Wales crossed the line in third place, whilst Victorian Paul Van Der Ploeg was once again too strong in the under 23 race, taking victory in 1:43:16.

Earlier in the day, the elite women were the first to tackle the challenging conditions, with Fry taking an early lead. However visiting Kiwi rider Fiona Macdermid closed the gap and hit the front in lap two, leaving the Australian girls in her wake.

Macdermid, who won bronze at last year's Oceania Championships, looked set for a comfortable victory, but a rear tyre puncture midway through the fifth and final 5.1km lap forced her out of the race in the closing stages.

Fry pushed on to win in 1:56:23, 33 seconds ahead of Victorian Jenni King who crossed the line in 1:56:56.

"I actually thought when I crossed the line that I got second, so I was a bit fortunate," Fry said. "It's never fun when a New Zealander beats you, and I think I got off a bit lucky today."

"It's pretty muddy out there now. It was really good fun, but it's hard work. It sucks the power out of your legs and you feel like you're not going anywhere. The worst thing is getting mud in your eyes, you can't see anything but you just hope for the best."

Although Fry believes she still has some work to do, the 28-year-old Launceston rider is on track to win her third consecutive national crown later this month.

"I'm slowly getting there. I'm just having a really slow start this season, but I really want to have a good crack overseas this year. I head over in March and I'll be racing until September.

"I definitely want to win nationals, for my third year in a row, and hopefully my form will come together to do that. "

Grace Elvin (1:58:53 - ACT) held off a fast finishing Heather Logie for third in times of 1:58:53 and 1:58:54 respectively. Elvin secured a place on the podium by less than a second.

After three rounds of the cross country, King has 210 points and holds a slender two-point lead over Fry in the overall series standings. It should be an intriguing battle in the final round in Shepparton next month.

Canberra rider Rebecca Henderson remains unbeaten in the under 23 category, crossing the finish line in 1:46:37.

The cross country riders will return on Sunday morning for the fast and furious short course event from 8:30am.

Due to the weather, the seeding round of the downhill scheduled for this afternoon was cancelled.

The elite men's final downhill will be staged at 3:00 pm on Sunday afternoon, where Newcastle rider Rick Boyer will return to strengthen his lead in the elite men's downhill rankings following wins at Hobart and Mt Baw Baw earlier in the series. Shaun O'Connor and Rhys Atkinson are expected to provide the strongest opposition.

Leonie Picton from Maffra will start as favourite in the women's elite downhill category after taking out comfortable victories in the opening two downhill rounds.

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