Canberra mountain bike riders dominated the podium at the Rocky Trail Grand Prix 8 hour race at Stromlo Forest Park today. The 8 hour and 4 hour final rounds were part of the Rocky Trail MTB Crown, on day two of the three day festival.
It was a Canberra trifecta in the solo men’s race with Nathan Spencer, forcing the pace early in the day to win. Spencer rode13 laps of the 12.6 km course in 8 hrs 16 min 12 sec. Canberra pair, Andrew Hall and Roger Dudziak, claimed second and third respectively. Hall rode 12 laps. While Roger Dudziak had to overtake Sydney’s Marty Strozik who had led most of the day to eventually claim third.
Spencer started out hard but knew that his pace could cause him problems later on.
“I went through the 50 km mark in two hours 28 minutes so I knew I’d have to back off or I’d be a DNF,” admitted Spencer.
Amanda Sanderson from Sutton, just on the ACT border, claimed her first mountain bike win after completing 10 laps in 8 hr 26 min 57 sec. Second place went to Kathryn Cox from Narrabean on the same lap but just 7 min and 7 sec off the winning pace.
Canberra master rider, Clayton Locke, amassed the highest points in the overall series with 848 points. Locke claimed the overall master’s men’s series after finishing a creditable second in the over 40 category today.
The overall open men’s series 8 hour title went to Marty Stozik with 778 points. Second was Canberra’s Nigel Jeffreys on 687 and third overall on 648 points is Scott Mulqueeny.
The overall women’s 8 hour titles went to Sydney riders. First place went to Katrin Van Der Spiegel on 500 points. Van Der Spiegel won the first two rounds and was unable to race today. Second overall went to Cox with 480 points and third was Lana Moy with 360 points.
Two Sydney riders secured the four hour wins earlier in the day. A last minute move in the final two kilometres was enough to secure Jason Morgan (Heathcote) the elite solo win over Ben Fillingham. Fillingham led the entire seven laps until Morgan,37 years old managed to slip past to take the win in 4 hr 27 min 40 sec. Fillingham finished just 24 seconds off the pace but his second place secured him the overall series win after four rounds with a total of 483 points.
“At the start I was not sure who I was racing against,” admitted Morgan.
“I let him (Ben) through after the first fire trail. Then I started to feel good.
“All the training is starting to pay off. Today’s win has given me a bit of incentive. I love it.”
In Canberra for a weekend Morgan said he was looking forward to celebrating tonight.
Emily May was ‘over the moon’ when she won her first mountain bike race by taking out the women’s solo four hour. May completed six laps in 4 hr 40 min 30 sec and finished one lap ahead of nearest rival Lana Moy. The win also gave May a total of 481 points to claim the overall series title.
“There were some technical sections and I was a bit slow in some parts but Stromlo was an amazing place to ride,” said May.
“It has been a amazing series.”
Sunday’s events start at 10 am with the Pedal4Pierce charity ride.
For more event information and full results go to: www.rockytrailentertainment.com
Sharon Payne, Bike Media
It was a Canberra trifecta in the solo men’s race with Nathan Spencer, forcing the pace early in the day to win. Spencer rode13 laps of the 12.6 km course in 8 hrs 16 min 12 sec. Canberra pair, Andrew Hall and Roger Dudziak, claimed second and third respectively. Hall rode 12 laps. While Roger Dudziak had to overtake Sydney’s Marty Strozik who had led most of the day to eventually claim third.
Spencer started out hard but knew that his pace could cause him problems later on.
“I went through the 50 km mark in two hours 28 minutes so I knew I’d have to back off or I’d be a DNF,” admitted Spencer.
Amanda Sanderson from Sutton, just on the ACT border, claimed her first mountain bike win after completing 10 laps in 8 hr 26 min 57 sec. Second place went to Kathryn Cox from Narrabean on the same lap but just 7 min and 7 sec off the winning pace.
Canberra master rider, Clayton Locke, amassed the highest points in the overall series with 848 points. Locke claimed the overall master’s men’s series after finishing a creditable second in the over 40 category today.
The overall open men’s series 8 hour title went to Marty Stozik with 778 points. Second was Canberra’s Nigel Jeffreys on 687 and third overall on 648 points is Scott Mulqueeny.
The overall women’s 8 hour titles went to Sydney riders. First place went to Katrin Van Der Spiegel on 500 points. Van Der Spiegel won the first two rounds and was unable to race today. Second overall went to Cox with 480 points and third was Lana Moy with 360 points.
Two Sydney riders secured the four hour wins earlier in the day. A last minute move in the final two kilometres was enough to secure Jason Morgan (Heathcote) the elite solo win over Ben Fillingham. Fillingham led the entire seven laps until Morgan,37 years old managed to slip past to take the win in 4 hr 27 min 40 sec. Fillingham finished just 24 seconds off the pace but his second place secured him the overall series win after four rounds with a total of 483 points.
“At the start I was not sure who I was racing against,” admitted Morgan.
“I let him (Ben) through after the first fire trail. Then I started to feel good.
“All the training is starting to pay off. Today’s win has given me a bit of incentive. I love it.”
In Canberra for a weekend Morgan said he was looking forward to celebrating tonight.
Emily May was ‘over the moon’ when she won her first mountain bike race by taking out the women’s solo four hour. May completed six laps in 4 hr 40 min 30 sec and finished one lap ahead of nearest rival Lana Moy. The win also gave May a total of 481 points to claim the overall series title.
“There were some technical sections and I was a bit slow in some parts but Stromlo was an amazing place to ride,” said May.
“It has been a amazing series.”
Sunday’s events start at 10 am with the Pedal4Pierce charity ride.
For more event information and full results go to: www.rockytrailentertainment.com
Sharon Payne, Bike Media