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2016 Gippsland 6 Hour @ Blores Hill
Round 4 of the Victorian MTB Endurance Series was hosted by the Gippsland MTB Club at Blores Hill.
It was definitely a cold wintery day.. the windscreen wipers were on for much of the 2 hour road trip, the temperature was going to max out at 9° and the winds were expected to hit 100 km/h. We even had a hail storm 20 minutes before race start and the threat of the race being called off was very real.
And then the sun came out..
Today I was teaming up with Mark Geary to compete in the 40+ Teams category. Mark is one of those guys you see at every race MTB or CX race. He loves to pin a number on and similar to me he also loves to take photos of the action. Although I would call my obsession as being rather tame in comparison to this instagram legend
Photo Credit: Gippsland MTB
Mark was keen to lead us off.. not only does he get the chance to rub elbows with Nick Burke, he gets plenty of on board footage to post up on his youtube channel.
Mark got away to a flyer and had us leading our category after the first lap. There were only 5 teams in our category.. and 3 of them were mates of Mark. When Mark signed me up he knew the calibre of the guys we were up against and realistically thought we would come 4th. Mark was comfortable with this.. as he was keen to be accumulating points in the Victorian Enduro Series.
Our lead however did not last long as Walt (No We’ve Got This) and Jez (No Frills) came storming into contention. And big Thad (We Got This!!) was also hot on our heals to restore the order in the teams category.
Photo Credit: Mark Geary
The course is 11.4km in distance with the highlight being the climb up over Trig Point. It is a very rocky approach and you needed to attack the trail with confidence if you are to succeed in getting thru it with out tapping down.
Photo Credit: Gippsland MTB
It is also the spot where you can cop a bit of traffic. My first lap thru I went OK.. I did not make it cleanly.. but it was an almost and I was feeling confident that I would conquer it next time.
Photo Credit: Gippsland MTB
The reward for topping Trig was stunning.. not that you get much of a chance to take in the views.
Photo Credit: Mark Geary
While Tobias, who was leading the solo category, had plenty of time for a smile as he made the technically difficult look easy.
A special mention must be made to all the marshals who were on course for the day. They had to endure some pretty ordinary conditions, however they were on hand to make sure we were safe, gave us encouragement and in the case of these blokes on the top of Trig, they were handing out energy bursts in the form of snakes.
Photo Credit: Mark Geary
Climbing Trig is pretty technical.. so is coming down the other side. Apparently the A line, which takes you down the face of slippery boulder, was out of play. however the B line was challenging enough for me.
A twisty and rocky decent as you drop off stepped landings needed to be treated with respect. Taking a wrong line and gouging out a side wall could cut your race short.
Photo Credit: Gippsland MTB
Once off the back of Trig there is some great flowing track. All the earlier rain made the low lying tracks very muddy and quite treacherous.
Keeping traction was a challenge; both from a steering perspective and from an accelerating point of view as you climbed back out of the gully. So much energy is required as you spin your wheels going no where fast.
Racing in the teams category meant you needed to manage your off laps. We shared the transition with the Mark’s mates and this was a god send. The fire was warm and provided the platform for much banter and & the verbal mud slinging.
As we reached the half way point, the pecking order appeared to have settled in our category. “No We’ve Got This” with Walt, Macey and Paul were leading with Dean, Craig & Jez Cooper from “No Frills” a couple of minutes behind in second.
There was a bit of daylight to Mark & I in 3rd while the “We Got This!!” team consisting of Thad, Cam & Dean ever present in 4th.
It was around the half way point that the 3 hour race started. I was about to embark on my 3rd lap and was feeling pretty good. Mark’s orders as we swapped off in transition was not to get stuck behind the slower 3 hour riders.
It looked like I had managed to slip thru before the 3 hour riders had got under way.. however I soon had the front of the pack bearing down on me and calling track.
I let the leading 4 riders thru which included Murray Spink and I thought I may have benefited following some faster wheels.
The benefit was short lived as the 3 hour riders were doing a prologue lap where they split off and effectively took a short cut to the Trig while I meandered my way up the side of the hill.
By the time the course joined back up again.. I was towards the back of the very clean 3 hour riders.. Marks words of “don’t get stuck behind the slower rider” was ringing in my ears.
Photo Credit: Gippsland MTB
The other highlight of Blores hill are the carpeted burms. They provide a constant in all conditions and hold you up nicely and sling shot you out of the corners.
We were on track to complete 10 laps with “No We’ve Got This” & “No Frills” going for 11.. and barring any mechanical or accident we looked like we had 3rd wrapped up.
The last lap was therefore a bit of a procession. My time up and over Trig got worse rather than better. I picked up Peter Howes on the final lap who came 2nd at the Golden Goat at Lysterfield event. He was creeping on his 9th lap.. and it was about this time I was pretty happy to have avoided the solo agony and was part of a team.
Photo Credit: Mark Geary
Marks was happy with 3rd place.. but was even more happy he got out to take some photos and videos. Above is Tobias Lestrell on his final lap, splatted in mud, cresting the Trig for the 11th time on his way to solo victory.
A fine collection of trophies were handmade by Lenny.
Solo Male Podium was Tobias Lestrell 1ts & Kevin Skidmore 2nd both on 11 laps with Chester Sanderson in 3rd on 10 laps.
Kate Penglase need less than 5 hours to complete 7 laps to take the female solo win. 2nd was Stephanie Marcsik also on 7 laps it was almost 7 hours in the making..
The Under 40 Teams category was won by Nick & Chris Burke who completed 12 laps with Nick recording the the fastest lap in 30:24.
John Groves, Andrew Sleeman, Brett Buckland from OCS Cycling was 2nd with Commonaeros duo of Bret Murray & Brad Wadsworth 3rd.
The results in the Females team category was very close with the Jacinta Preston & Lauren Fox from the Liv Lusty Obsession completing 8 laps 7 minutes quicker than Emma Beveridge & Meagan Butler.
Kylie and Jason Archer won the mixed team category.
While the weather was not the best.. it certainly added to the epicness of the day. It was indeed fantastic racing; a great course, well organised and well marshalled. Many thanks to the Gippsland MTB Club.
A post race burger was enjoyed at Trafalgar.. the new food capital of Gippsland.
See also:
Gippsland MTB Facebook Album
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