German mountain bike rider Alexandra Kiendl only wanted an Australian beer after she crossed the line at the Scott 24 hour Mountain Bike Championships in Canberra today. The 34 year old suffered from the cold when temperatures reached 1 degrees C throughout the night. “I had everything on I owned,” she said. Kiendl completed 23 laps finishing 48 minutes in front of nearest rival, Justine Leahy (Coffs Harbour).
The men’s race was left down to the wire with National 24 hour Solo Champion, Andrew Bell taking the victory. After being put on a drip at the World 24 hour Solo Championships just last month, Bell was keen to clear away the demons that haunted him after racing in 40 degree C heat in California. The 34 year old from Melbourne only led after six hours of racing. A calculation of opponents laps near the end of racing forced Bell to ride his 29th lap while his challenger, Jason English (Port Macquarie), finished on 28 laps.
Bell checked on his condition throughout the night so as to avoid dehydration. “I weighed myself and I was the exactly the same weight. That means that I’m hydrated whereas at the Worlds I was four kilograms lighter,” he explained.
Early leaders, Thomas Lindup(Taranaki, NZ) and Hugh Stodart(North Bakgiwlah, NSW) were overtaken by Bell with a quick bike lights transition on Saturday evening. Lindup and Stodart finished finished with 28 laps and 27 laps respectively giving them the thrid and fourth position.
“I knew there were quite a few a guys in front early in the race, I didn’t expect that,” said Bell. “A lot of the people were having a crack. I knew more about Jason’s (English) ability than anyone else so he was the one I kept an eye on.”
English suffered a mechanical problem in the third lap of the race loosing valuable time however he regained ground over the following 20 hours to finish a creditable second.
Yuung Canberra rider, Ben Henderson lost his fastest lap gained early on Saturday to Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay (Hobart). Taberlay’s team mad a last ditch effort to better Henderson's 31min 46 seconds. The GU/SRAM/Nite Rider team allowed Taberlay to rest and at sunrise the attempt was made. In a blistering time of w 31 minutes and 38 second Taberlay took 8 seconds off Henderson's time taking the prize of $ 4000. The fastest women’s lap went to the Dirt Roads to London rider,Rowena Fry from Launceston, with 37.11.
Taberlay was also a member of the fastest overall team with 38 laps secured. Second team overall were Flight Centre with 37 laps and third was the Orbea Pro Team with 35 laps.
Solo Male
1. Andrew Bell 29 24:33:09
2. Jason English 28 23:58:03
3. Thomas Lindup 28 24:05:39
Solo Female
1. Alexandra Kiendl 23 23:50:41
2. Justine Leahy 19 23:02:50
3. Penny Dustow 17 23:02:47
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
The men’s race was left down to the wire with National 24 hour Solo Champion, Andrew Bell taking the victory. After being put on a drip at the World 24 hour Solo Championships just last month, Bell was keen to clear away the demons that haunted him after racing in 40 degree C heat in California. The 34 year old from Melbourne only led after six hours of racing. A calculation of opponents laps near the end of racing forced Bell to ride his 29th lap while his challenger, Jason English (Port Macquarie), finished on 28 laps.
Bell checked on his condition throughout the night so as to avoid dehydration. “I weighed myself and I was the exactly the same weight. That means that I’m hydrated whereas at the Worlds I was four kilograms lighter,” he explained.
Early leaders, Thomas Lindup(Taranaki, NZ) and Hugh Stodart(North Bakgiwlah, NSW) were overtaken by Bell with a quick bike lights transition on Saturday evening. Lindup and Stodart finished finished with 28 laps and 27 laps respectively giving them the thrid and fourth position.
“I knew there were quite a few a guys in front early in the race, I didn’t expect that,” said Bell. “A lot of the people were having a crack. I knew more about Jason’s (English) ability than anyone else so he was the one I kept an eye on.”
English suffered a mechanical problem in the third lap of the race loosing valuable time however he regained ground over the following 20 hours to finish a creditable second.
Yuung Canberra rider, Ben Henderson lost his fastest lap gained early on Saturday to Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay (Hobart). Taberlay’s team mad a last ditch effort to better Henderson's 31min 46 seconds. The GU/SRAM/Nite Rider team allowed Taberlay to rest and at sunrise the attempt was made. In a blistering time of w 31 minutes and 38 second Taberlay took 8 seconds off Henderson's time taking the prize of $ 4000. The fastest women’s lap went to the Dirt Roads to London rider,Rowena Fry from Launceston, with 37.11.
Taberlay was also a member of the fastest overall team with 38 laps secured. Second team overall were Flight Centre with 37 laps and third was the Orbea Pro Team with 35 laps.
Solo Male
1. Andrew Bell 29 24:33:09
2. Jason English 28 23:58:03
3. Thomas Lindup 28 24:05:39
Solo Female
1. Alexandra Kiendl 23 23:50:41
2. Justine Leahy 19 23:02:50
3. Penny Dustow 17 23:02:47
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia