The first two race stages of the 2011 Mountains To Beach were run and won on day one. Stage 1, The Limar Mountain Run, saw 91 riders start in fine weather from the top of the Kosciuszko Chairlift to ride 12km downhill to finish in the middle of Thredbo Village.
With perfect weather all the way down, Andrew Fellows made short work of the trail, getting to the bottom in just 00:33:54. Scott Pomroy was almost five minutes behind in 00:38:32 with hot Masters favourite Richard Peil coming in third with a time of 00:39:06.
The first woman down the mountain was pairs' rider Bianca Mauch with a time of 00:44:21, followed by Meg Carrigan in 00:47:09 with her nearest rival for the open women, Belinda Porter coming in at 00:49:22.
Despite the forecast, the mountain weather remained perfect for Stage 3 around Lake Crackenback Resort. Andrew Fellows seems to have stamped his mark on the 2011 Mountains To Beach winning with a time of 1:18:42, with Richard Peil staking a claim on second spot overall in a time of 1:21:29. Third place went to Garry James, another contender for the Masters Category, with an overall time of 1:22:07.
Fellow's nearest rival for open men, Pomroy, came in fifth with a time of 1:22:12 - three minutes and 31 seconds behind.
Mauch again proved strong winning stage 3 in a time of 1:39:00, 14 seconds ahead of Porter (1:39:14) with Carrigan a close three seconds behind. The women's overall category is certainly looking strong this year.
Fellow's win sees him cement his place at the top of the leaderboard on day 1 with an overall time of 1:52:36, seven minutes and 59 seconds ahead of Peil (2:00:35), with nearest rival for his category, Pomroy a further 10 seconds behind Peil (2:00:44).
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In the women's overall category, Mauch leads in a time of 2:23:21, Carrigan is second overall, three minutes and five seconds slower with a time of 2:26:26. Porter is currently in third place overall with a time of 2:28:36.
After today's shorter stages, tomorrow will see the first of the long treks through the high country. Starting with a ride in the Ski Tube to Perisher ski resort, riders will then make their way through Kosciuszko National Park to Buckenderra Resort on the shores of Lake Eucumbene in the 80km Osprey Hydraulics Mountain Traverse.
