Local mountain bike riders dominated the RedAss State Downhill Championships held at Awaba Mountain Bike Park today.
The Hunter MTB Alliance (HMBA) club who hosted the event also dominated the major placings taking six of the eleven possible gold medals up for grabs..
Hot favourite, Rick Boyer took out the elite men’s race with an impressive time of 3 min 35.05 sec. The 30 year old proved that age is no barrier when it comes to going downhill fast by also making the fastest qualifying run. After recently claiming second place overall in the national series last month, Boyer has now secured a state title.
Two other talented local elite riders made it onto the podium. Tim Cox took second place after registering 3 min 36.16 sec just narrowly beating Regan Arthur. Arthur recorded 3 36.97 gaining third place.
It was the women’s winner that turned heads today as Newcastle’s Alice Minahan hurtled down the highly technical course in 4 min 26.92 sec,
The 16 year old took the win upstaging the elite women’s field by qualifying the fastest with a 4.28.32.
“It (qualifying fastest) definitely gave me a confidence boost,” admitted Minahan. “I had a clean run with no major faults.”
The surprising thing is Minahan had just returned to racing after a year’s hiatus. The Glendale High School student only had one race leading in to today’s state titles.
Minahan was a full nine seconds clear of Sydney’s Genevieve Mckew who claimed silver. Jindabyne youngster, Tegan Molloy, continued her run of good form by picking up a bronze.
For local rider, Jack Moir it was a welcome relief to return to racing after breaking his collarbone eight weeks ago. In his first race back Moir qualified second fastest in the earlier runs. Moir held on in the finals to claim his first ever title in the Under 19 division.
“ I knew there were going to be some loose bits on the track I just wanted to make sure I stayed on,” explained Moir. “I gave it everything I had.”
The new organizers, Rocky Trail Entertainment, were impressed with the support of the club and riders with nearly 200 travelling from all over New South Wales and from the Australian Capital Territory.
The next state downhill event is round two of the RedAss State Series on 15 May at Ourimbah. For results or to register for further events go to www.rockytrailentertainment.com
Sharon Payne
Bike Media
The Hunter MTB Alliance (HMBA) club who hosted the event also dominated the major placings taking six of the eleven possible gold medals up for grabs..
Hot favourite, Rick Boyer took out the elite men’s race with an impressive time of 3 min 35.05 sec. The 30 year old proved that age is no barrier when it comes to going downhill fast by also making the fastest qualifying run. After recently claiming second place overall in the national series last month, Boyer has now secured a state title.
Two other talented local elite riders made it onto the podium. Tim Cox took second place after registering 3 min 36.16 sec just narrowly beating Regan Arthur. Arthur recorded 3 36.97 gaining third place.
It was the women’s winner that turned heads today as Newcastle’s Alice Minahan hurtled down the highly technical course in 4 min 26.92 sec,
The 16 year old took the win upstaging the elite women’s field by qualifying the fastest with a 4.28.32.
“It (qualifying fastest) definitely gave me a confidence boost,” admitted Minahan. “I had a clean run with no major faults.”
The surprising thing is Minahan had just returned to racing after a year’s hiatus. The Glendale High School student only had one race leading in to today’s state titles.
Minahan was a full nine seconds clear of Sydney’s Genevieve Mckew who claimed silver. Jindabyne youngster, Tegan Molloy, continued her run of good form by picking up a bronze.
For local rider, Jack Moir it was a welcome relief to return to racing after breaking his collarbone eight weeks ago. In his first race back Moir qualified second fastest in the earlier runs. Moir held on in the finals to claim his first ever title in the Under 19 division.
“ I knew there were going to be some loose bits on the track I just wanted to make sure I stayed on,” explained Moir. “I gave it everything I had.”
The new organizers, Rocky Trail Entertainment, were impressed with the support of the club and riders with nearly 200 travelling from all over New South Wales and from the Australian Capital Territory.
The next state downhill event is round two of the RedAss State Series on 15 May at Ourimbah. For results or to register for further events go to www.rockytrailentertainment.com
Sharon Payne
Bike Media