Daniel McDonald (3rd), Craig Gordon from Wollongong (1st), Matthew Reekie (2nd) with presenter Martin Wisata(Image credit: Peter Blakeman)
Craig Gordon heads for the win(Image credit: Peter Blakeman)
Jason Head (centre, Turramurra Cyclery/T.O.R.C) cuts an impressive figure as he lines up with Craig Gordon (right) and their fellow competitors on the startline.(Image credit: Peter Blakeman)
The second round of the Rocky Trail MTB Grand Prix was held at Awaba in Sydney's North last weekend. The Rocky Trail crowd saw a lot of familiar faces in the event centre - Grand Prix "veterans" who had raced at Yellomundee previously, and the solo men's contesters got a their fair share of competition with 2006 24-hour solo World Champion Craig Gordon competing.
Qualifying
The day started off with the infamous qualifying round - a 1.8km quick lap around the event centre. The fastest individual lap time was taken out by Alex Pung from the Male Team 2 category's Team Staunch in 4:42, closely followed by his teammate Timothy Doman (4:46) and Craig Gordon (4:48)
The qualifying got everyone's heartrate up, before the race was started at 12:03 pm and everyone was in for an honest four-hour race. The fastest riders in each category started in Pole Position and then every 30 seconds another group of riders was sent out onto the 7km track that was in immaculate shape thanks to the Hunter MTB Association. After 10 groups, there was a mass start for the remaining riders. This provided the first starters with a clear track and the later groups a smooth start into the race.
The Race
The spectators certainly were in for a good show. The solo women battled it out with Sarah Neumann, Charlie McCabe and Julie Witcombe fighting fiercely for the podium positions. The final result saw Charlie McCabe 18 minutes ahead of Sarah Neumann, both with nine laps and Julie Witcombe in third with eight completed laps.
In the Male Team 2 category, Team Staunch with Alex Pung (who also rode the fastest male lap for the day with 18:51) and Timonthy Doman took out the win with 13 laps and coming in second by about 5:30 overall behind Craig Gordon. The Mixed Team 2 category saw the fastest women for the day, Tracey Robinson (25:41) win with racing partner Jason Head and 10 laps. In the Male Team 3 category, shanebradsteve won by two laps over the MTB Grand Prix "veteran team", the FOB's.
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In the solo men's category, with consistent 19 minute laps, Craig Gordon quickly took the lead with three completed laps after an hour, followed by James Collins, Gavin Powell, Ross Cairns, Glenn Stojanow, Matthew Reekie and Daniel McDonald - all within a minute of each other on two laps. After three hours when Gordo was ahead by a lap, three riders were fighting it out for the podium positions: within a minute, just-turned 16-year old Daniel McDonald, Glenn Stojanow and Matthew Reekie raced through timing, being sent out on yet another lap by a cheering crowd.
In the end, Gordon smashed out a massive 13 laps in four hours and 15 minutes, followed by Reekie with 11 laps in three hours and 59 minutes and an outstanding third youngster McDonald coming in with 11 laps four minutes after him. The 11-lap results for fourth, fifth and sixth were all within a minute of each other.
