With Saturday’s Night Performance still fresh in many legs, the day performers rolled up bright and early to take their seats for the 3 Ring Circus Matinee yesterday.
Set in the NSW Southern Highlands, Wild Horizon’s 3 Ring Circus mountain bike race offered two Performance options, a 20km Night Performance and a 50km Matinee, that saw a capacity crowd of over 900 riders roll up to take part in the show.
While these performers limbered up, spectators were kept enthralled by Sideshow Alley and roving entertainers including hoola hoopers, jugglers and clowns. The queue for the fairy floss and popcorn was almost as long as that for the coffee.
At 10am the Ringmaster raised his whip…and the show began.
Matthew Fleming had a 1 minute lead finishing the first Ring, and continued to increase the pace and distance to cross the finishing line with a Circus record of 1:50:50. A sprint to the finish saw Shaun Lewis take second place over Andy Blair by a mere hundredth of a second.
“I made a fast break early during the first Ring so I could do the climbs at my own pace, then I just kept pushing. Once I hit the fire roads of the 3rd and final Yellow Ring I didn’t look back. I don’t mind being lonely” said Matthew Fleming.
The first female to cross the line was Michelle Ainsworth in a time of 2:20:39, followed by Becky Mates and Emma Viotto.
“What a great course. It was smooth and fast with some of the cleanest singletrack I’ve ever ridden . Then I hit the climb up The Wall and it scared the hell out of me. But I had fun” said Michelle Ainsworth.
Alongside the solo performances, double and triple acts were also a highlight of the day, and the two participating unicyclists drew gasps from the spectating crowd.
After juggling two sell out performances, the Big Top has been packed away. And, as the Circus rolls out of town, 900 performers await their reviews and start working on next year’s performance.
For full race results visit www.wildhorizons.com.au
Set in the NSW Southern Highlands, Wild Horizon’s 3 Ring Circus mountain bike race offered two Performance options, a 20km Night Performance and a 50km Matinee, that saw a capacity crowd of over 900 riders roll up to take part in the show.
While these performers limbered up, spectators were kept enthralled by Sideshow Alley and roving entertainers including hoola hoopers, jugglers and clowns. The queue for the fairy floss and popcorn was almost as long as that for the coffee.
At 10am the Ringmaster raised his whip…and the show began.
Matthew Fleming had a 1 minute lead finishing the first Ring, and continued to increase the pace and distance to cross the finishing line with a Circus record of 1:50:50. A sprint to the finish saw Shaun Lewis take second place over Andy Blair by a mere hundredth of a second.
“I made a fast break early during the first Ring so I could do the climbs at my own pace, then I just kept pushing. Once I hit the fire roads of the 3rd and final Yellow Ring I didn’t look back. I don’t mind being lonely” said Matthew Fleming.
The first female to cross the line was Michelle Ainsworth in a time of 2:20:39, followed by Becky Mates and Emma Viotto.
“What a great course. It was smooth and fast with some of the cleanest singletrack I’ve ever ridden . Then I hit the climb up The Wall and it scared the hell out of me. But I had fun” said Michelle Ainsworth.
Alongside the solo performances, double and triple acts were also a highlight of the day, and the two participating unicyclists drew gasps from the spectating crowd.
After juggling two sell out performances, the Big Top has been packed away. And, as the Circus rolls out of town, 900 performers await their reviews and start working on next year’s performance.
For full race results visit www.wildhorizons.com.au