Henderson shakes hoodoo for first national series win

Canberra cross country rider Ben Henderson has finally shrugged off the 'bridesmaid' tag, claiming the first national series victory of his career in the opening round of the 2010-11 Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series at the You Yangs in Victoria.

Competing on her home course, Victorian Jenni King caused an upset to defeat a quality field and snare her first national series victory in the elite women's race earlier in the day.

Henderson, who finished second in the overall cross country standings last year and collected three silver medals across the 2009-10 series, rode a perfectly-timed and patient race to snatch the win in the warm and dusty conditions.

Aiden Lefmann and Joshua Carlson shared the lead for the first half of the six-lap race (6.1km loop), before Henderson crept up from fifth position and shot to the front during lap five. From there he consolidated his lead and crossed the finish line nearly one minute ahead of the rest of the field.

"I'm really stoked," said Henderson. "I came pretty close last season and I was a bit nervous coming into this race.

"I rode my own race today and it all came together for me. I tried to get a reasonable spot at the start and then I just fought my way up. I still had plenty in the tank to go hard in that last lap. It's a really good start for me.

"My coach and I have been working with power both on the road and mountain bike. That's bringing me up that two to three percent and I have definitely noticed the difference.

"I won for my first NSW championships race a couple of weeks ago, and I was fairly confident coming into this race. My main goal is Olympic qualification, everything is working towards that."

Lefmann and Carlson displayed plenty of early season promise to complete the podium.

After sitting amongst the leaders early, last year's series winner Lachlan Norris suffered a mechanical issue at the end of lap two, forcing him to stop and change his rear wheel in the feed zone. Although he battled to make up the lost ground, Norris had to settle for fifth place behind Jason English.

Victorian Paul Van Der Ploeg was the best placed Under 23 rider.

In the women's elite four-lap race, Jenni King and Canberra's Rebecca Henderson shot out to the front from the gun, the pair setting the pace together early before King pulled away on lap three to eventually win by a comfortable two minute margin.

Henderson rolled in for second overall (first U23 rider), followed by Jodie Willett and reigning national champion Rowena Fry.

For King, who finished fifth overall in last year's series standings, her season could not have begun on a more positive note.

"It's definitely a confidence boosting performance," said King, "I didn't really think I was in that kind of form.

"Some of the girls have had a decent break and some of the others are a bit sick, so I was probably a bit lucky. Plus being in Melbourne, I was on my home course. I expect the next races to be just that little bit harder.

"Bec and I rode really well together on the first two laps. On the third lap I got a decent gap and then felt fairly comfortable on the last lap.

"I always like the technical courses more, I'm not as strong on the uphills."

Full Results

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Elite and Under 23 (*) men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ben Henderson(Torq / Anytime Fitness)1:49:31
2Aiden Lefmann(Cannondale)0:00:58
3Joshua Carlson(Rockstar Racing)0:01:14
4Jason English0:03:16
5Lachlan Norris0:04:27
6Andrew Blair(Swell-Redshift Racing)0:05:06
7Paul Van Der Ploeg* (Felt Bicycles)0:05:56
8Ben Mather(Rapid Cycling)0:07:11
9Glenn Stewart0:07:28
10Adrian Jackson(Merida Flight Centre MTB Team)0:08:28
11Trenton Day* (Breakaway Cycles)0:08:39
12Michael Crosbie*0:09:08
13Kyle Ward* (Spearmen Cycles)0:09:17
14Peter Hatton0:09:19
15Luke Fetch*0:09:22
16Andrew Fellows(AYup lights)0:10:14
17Steele Von Hoff(Genesis Wealth Advisors)0:11:42
18Cameron Ivory*0:12:17
19Garry Millburn(Cannondale)0:12:30
20James Peacock* (Merida Flight Centre)0:12:31
21Chad Gossert0:13:16
22Shane Spicer0:14:05
23Peter Kutschera(Apollo Bikes)0:14:35
24Nick Both(Swell-Redshift Racing)0:14:44
25Lewis Rattray*0:15:29
26Nicholas Morgan0:15:56
27Ben Hogarth0:16:44
28Brenton Jones*0:18:25
29Mitchell Codner* (Rotor / FRS)0:22:24
30Matthew Rizzuto0:22:24
-1lapBrendan Johnston*Row 30 - Cell 2
-1lapMatthew MolanRow 31 - Cell 2
-1lapSam ChancellorRow 32 - Cell 2
-1lapAshley HayatRow 33 - Cell 2
-1lapDavid Schilg* (Kona)Row 34 - Cell 2
-1lapGeoffrey SchilgRow 35 - Cell 2
-2lapsShaun Lewis(Rockstar Racing)Row 36 - Cell 2
-2lapsCam WinnRow 37 - Cell 2
DNFCraig BorhamRow 38 - Cell 2
DNFMatt Ligtermoet(Rush Racing)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNFTom Chaffey* (Bike Minded)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNFJack LamshedRow 41 - Cell 2
DNFDavid RawlinsRow 42 - Cell 2
DNSCal BrittenRow 43 - Cell 2
DNSJohn Groves(Apollo Bikes)Row 44 - Cell 2
DNSJames DevonshireRow 45 - Cell 2
DNSGary WearmouthRow 46 - Cell 2
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Elite and Under 23 (*) women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jenni King(Torq Australia)1:28:12
2Rebecca Henderson* (Crowne Plaza Canberra)0:02:22
3Jodie Willett(Merida Flight Centre)0:03:48
4Rowena Fry0:04:27
5Katherine O'Shea(Torq Nutrition)0:04:52
6Peta Mullens(Apollo Bicycles)0:05:06
7Anna Beck0:06:48
8Amity McSwan0:08:57
9Joanna Wall0:09:00
10Rebecca Mates0:11:45
11Jessica Douglas(Torquay Cycling Factory)0:13:23
12Kelly Bartlett0:13:55
13Nicola Hogan(Drift Bikes)0:16:03
14Jaclyn Schapel(Giant Australia)0:21:24
15Shelly Flood*0:24:22
DNFHeather LogieRow 15 - Cell 2
DNSNicole KeilyRow 16 - Cell 2
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Under 19 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Billy Sewell(Gordon Street Cycles)1:19:38
2Rowan Brown0:01:21
3Christopher Aitken0:01:49
4Alexander Meyland(Rock and Road Cycles)0:04:57
5Jack Haig0:05:15
6Blake Polverino0:07:58
7Jacob Langham0:10:08
8James Hanus0:10:22
9Ben Comfort0:12:53
10Rodger Pogson-manning0:14:45
11Toby Stewart0:15:32
12Jarryd Jones0:15:39
13Alistair Crameri0:16:41
14Daniel McDonald0:18:38
15Bradley Rose0:19:25
-1lapRyan LloydRow 15 - Cell 2
-1lapLaurent Groom(Avanti Groman Plumbing)Row 16 - Cell 2
DNFNathan CaithnessRow 17 - Cell 2
DNSSimon De CampoRow 18 - Cell 2
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Under 19 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rosemary Stewart1:39:01
2Jess Wigan0:06:45
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Under 17 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Hamish Prosser(Mal Adjusted)1:04:12
2Ben Bradley(Specialized)0:00:24
3Jack Lavis0:00:41
4Peter McKellar Stewart0:04:00
5Simon Harrington0:05:33
6Hamish Middleton0:07:36
7Benjamin Green0:09:25
8Jack Jude(Cognition Bikes)0:09:37
9Jayden Ward0:10:34
10Benjamin Scott0:13:37
11Magnus Baker0:14:30
-1lapJack GardnerRow 11 - Cell 2
DNFStefan CotroneoRow 12 - Cell 2
DNFTodd LavisRow 13 - Cell 2
DNSFelix SmalleyRow 14 - Cell 2
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Under 17 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Zoe Binder(Scott)0:59:29
2Kyna Millan(TLC cycles)0:02:27
3Elizabeth Baker0:21:26
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Under 15 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Liam Jeffries1:24:12
2Roly Stewart0:04:15
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Under 15 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Gabrielle Millan0:57:39
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Expert men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Hayden Lebbink1:43:54
2Steven Cusworth0:04:31
3Mark McInnes(Kirrawee Cycles)0:15:01
4Michael Hogan(Merida Bicycle Garage)0:17:02
-1lapEvan JonesRow 4 - Cell 2
DNFRowan Smith(Hendry cycles)Row 5 - Cell 2
DNFGrant LebbinkRow 6 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew ChomaRow 7 - Cell 2
DNSBen MayRow 8 - Cell 2
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Veteran men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rohin Adams1:21:46
2James Kennedy0:02:17
3Gawie Du Plessis(Van Nicholas / Spinergy)0:07:03
4David Ferroni0:07:35
5Scott Needham0:09:38
6Neil Robinson(Baum)0:18:15
7Andrew Brockway0:19:33
8John Anderson0:21:51
DNFBen RandallRow 8 - Cell 2
DNFRichard WhitlamRow 9 - Cell 2
DNFPete FindonRow 10 - Cell 2
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Veteran women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jacqui Clynes1:28:40
2Katie McKie0:05:35
DNFJade ForsythRow 2 - Cell 2
DNFRishi FoxRow 3 - Cell 2
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Master men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Peter Kreilis1:05:39
2Evan James(Exact Giant MTB Team)0:01:38
3Anthony Natoli0:02:11
4Brian John0:03:28
5Richard Peil0:04:21
6Paul Morgan0:06:35
7Andrew Remely0:08:08
8Richard Eisner0:13:45
9Karl Neumeister0:18:41
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Super master men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1John Henderson1:07:29
2Andrew Hall(Great Divide Coffee)0:01:39
3Kevin Jones0:02:39
4Guy Falla0:07:20
5Mark Grundy0:09:07
6Garry Lewis0:10:05
7Craig Peacock0:10:37
8Robert Faull0:11:18
9Paul Verheijden(Integrated Fire Services)0:12:36
10Timmy Tyler(Slick 7)0:13:49
11Doug Rose0:15:48
12Stephen Flood0:17:58
-1lapBenjamin BakerRow 12 - Cell 2
DNSJohn BrennandRow 13 - Cell 2
DNSJohn HarveyRow 14 - Cell 2
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Grand master men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Bruce Dickey0:51:00
2Kerry Ryan0:03:20
3Gary Poole0:08:15
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Sport men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tim Rowe(BikeNow)1:36:52
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Sport women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Irene Whennen1:35:14

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