The 2010 NSW State Down Hill Championships took place in wet and muddy conditions at Lithgow over the weekend
Central Tablelands Mountain Bike club and all the riders would like to say a great big thanks to all our volunteers who spent a cold wet weekend up on the hill so we could all play in the mud.
Thanks to all the sponsors whose support allows this all to happen. DownHill Down Under, Leatte neck Brace, Xerox, Insane Cycles, C&W Print, Mark O'Toole Electrical, Henrys Earth Moving, Atom Lab, Thales, TBSM and Hicks Automotive.
Also to Matt Walker, Darren Willis, Mal Townsend all all the young crew of CTMBC who worked so hard to get the track ready for racing. .
Saturdays practice saw a few spills and thrill as riders charged of the Henrys Earth Moving start ramp and tried to come to grips with the slippery conditions. The Thales Rifle club worked over time on the BBQ to keep the hordes of hungry DHers feed with top tucker ad great prices.
The sun made a brief appearance Saturday afternoon but the Bumblebee section in the gully remained extremely slippery and was the sight of a lot of riders flailing about in the mud, desperately trying to get back on their bike.
Come Sunday the conditions only got worse. Seeding runs were a review of who was on it and who was playing it safe/
Still some fast times were being put in and when local club member Tom Lewis threw down a 2.54 he catapulted himself into the poll position ahead of some big name riders.
Racing had a bit of every thing. Heart break for locals like Mal Townsend who had worked so hard getting the track ready for racing and was riding super quick only to have a mechanical in his race run cost him precious seconds.
And triumph with a bunch of locals standing on the podium at the end of the day and others placing well in their categories.
These included.
Ethan Jones 2nd in Senior Hard Tail
Dan Whyte top 10 Sport
Steve Coles. 3rd Super Masters
Darrin Willis 2010 NSWMTB Masters Champion
Martin Clark and Timon Wegnar. One Two in Vets. Top Work Marto 2010 Vets Champ
Greg Westman top 10 Vets
Joel Willis, top 10 Under 15s
Dan Bender 4th Under 17s
Lynden Nugent top 10, Cam Ford, Damon Pryor, Micheal Hanrahan and Will Roberts all doing the club proud in Under 17
Zach Ford, Zach McKennzie and Mal Townsend all top 30 U19
And Luke Newcombe top 20 Elite.
In the womens Claire Whiteman was looking great all weekend but Jo Fox stole the win with a great race run in trying conditions.
Most exciting races of the Day had to be the Elites. Right at the end of the day when the track was at it's slipperiest.
Matt Walker was in the best form we've ever seen from him and had qualified in the top ten. When he crossed the line in 3:06.40 it put him in the hot seat with just 9 riders left to come down the hill and the crowd went nuts.
Next down the hill was Ryan Hunt but he couldn't better Matts times.
Blue Mts rider and another local favorite, Cillian Kennedy was next down and was sitting on a very hot time but had an epic wash out on the last corner which catapulted him over the handle bars. He lost atleast 5 seconds trying to regain his bike which dropped him back down below Hunts time.
With Walker looking on nervously from the hot seat he was nudged back into 8th position as each of the next riders were able shave a bit off his time. top 10 in a field of this caliber is an awesome achievement and well deserved to a guy who does so much for the CTMBC club.
With just 3 riders left on the hill including Tom Lewis we were now at the pointy end.
Former Blue Mts local Rick Boyer set and absolutely cracking time of 2:53.73 only to be bettered by Canberra's Ben Cory who somehow managed to find another 2 seconds out of the track for a 2:51.42
So there we were on the edge of our seats waiting for our last rider, Tom Lewis to come down the hill.
The cheers from the crowds along the track let us know when he was coming and as he came into view we could tell it was going to be close. The crowd went wild, willing him on as Tom nailed the last corner, popped off the booter and sailed over the table top... but he was just short, slotting into second position by just over 1 second with a 2:52.75.
All in all a great weekend of riding with plenty of thrills and spills in the muddy conditions
Congratulation Ben Cory and Jo Fox 2010 NSW DH Champions
more information and full results
http://nswmtb.asn.au/node/15212
Central Tablelands Mountain Bike club and all the riders would like to say a great big thanks to all our volunteers who spent a cold wet weekend up on the hill so we could all play in the mud.
Thanks to all the sponsors whose support allows this all to happen. DownHill Down Under, Leatte neck Brace, Xerox, Insane Cycles, C&W Print, Mark O'Toole Electrical, Henrys Earth Moving, Atom Lab, Thales, TBSM and Hicks Automotive.
Also to Matt Walker, Darren Willis, Mal Townsend all all the young crew of CTMBC who worked so hard to get the track ready for racing. .
Saturdays practice saw a few spills and thrill as riders charged of the Henrys Earth Moving start ramp and tried to come to grips with the slippery conditions. The Thales Rifle club worked over time on the BBQ to keep the hordes of hungry DHers feed with top tucker ad great prices.
The sun made a brief appearance Saturday afternoon but the Bumblebee section in the gully remained extremely slippery and was the sight of a lot of riders flailing about in the mud, desperately trying to get back on their bike.
Come Sunday the conditions only got worse. Seeding runs were a review of who was on it and who was playing it safe/
Still some fast times were being put in and when local club member Tom Lewis threw down a 2.54 he catapulted himself into the poll position ahead of some big name riders.
Racing had a bit of every thing. Heart break for locals like Mal Townsend who had worked so hard getting the track ready for racing and was riding super quick only to have a mechanical in his race run cost him precious seconds.
And triumph with a bunch of locals standing on the podium at the end of the day and others placing well in their categories.
These included.
Ethan Jones 2nd in Senior Hard Tail
Dan Whyte top 10 Sport
Steve Coles. 3rd Super Masters
Darrin Willis 2010 NSWMTB Masters Champion
Martin Clark and Timon Wegnar. One Two in Vets. Top Work Marto 2010 Vets Champ
Greg Westman top 10 Vets
Joel Willis, top 10 Under 15s
Dan Bender 4th Under 17s
Lynden Nugent top 10, Cam Ford, Damon Pryor, Micheal Hanrahan and Will Roberts all doing the club proud in Under 17
Zach Ford, Zach McKennzie and Mal Townsend all top 30 U19
And Luke Newcombe top 20 Elite.
In the womens Claire Whiteman was looking great all weekend but Jo Fox stole the win with a great race run in trying conditions.
Most exciting races of the Day had to be the Elites. Right at the end of the day when the track was at it's slipperiest.
Matt Walker was in the best form we've ever seen from him and had qualified in the top ten. When he crossed the line in 3:06.40 it put him in the hot seat with just 9 riders left to come down the hill and the crowd went nuts.
Next down the hill was Ryan Hunt but he couldn't better Matts times.
Blue Mts rider and another local favorite, Cillian Kennedy was next down and was sitting on a very hot time but had an epic wash out on the last corner which catapulted him over the handle bars. He lost atleast 5 seconds trying to regain his bike which dropped him back down below Hunts time.
With Walker looking on nervously from the hot seat he was nudged back into 8th position as each of the next riders were able shave a bit off his time. top 10 in a field of this caliber is an awesome achievement and well deserved to a guy who does so much for the CTMBC club.
With just 3 riders left on the hill including Tom Lewis we were now at the pointy end.
Former Blue Mts local Rick Boyer set and absolutely cracking time of 2:53.73 only to be bettered by Canberra's Ben Cory who somehow managed to find another 2 seconds out of the track for a 2:51.42
So there we were on the edge of our seats waiting for our last rider, Tom Lewis to come down the hill.
The cheers from the crowds along the track let us know when he was coming and as he came into view we could tell it was going to be close. The crowd went wild, willing him on as Tom nailed the last corner, popped off the booter and sailed over the table top... but he was just short, slotting into second position by just over 1 second with a 2:52.75.
All in all a great weekend of riding with plenty of thrills and spills in the muddy conditions
Congratulation Ben Cory and Jo Fox 2010 NSW DH Champions
more information and full results
http://nswmtb.asn.au/node/15212