NSW sent 15 riders to South Australia with
high expectations of returning with medals. I can gladly say that
we returned with 3 Gold ,
2 Silver and 2 Bronze
medals. All other riders were top 10 finishers.
The XC course was a just over 6 klm's per
lap and had over 150 metres of vertical climbing involved each
lap. The course was actual a great track to ride with every
terrain covered during the course of a lap. My only (yes i
actually did a XC) and other riders concerns was the lack of
opportunity to pass slower riders. Other than that a fantastic
track. The Adelaide Government should commend themselves for
allowing an area such as a disused quarry to be so expertly
converted for reactional use.
Many of our other riders like
Brett"phantom" Butler, Dave "smiley" McMurdo, Jason Kaul, Evil
Ted and the three southern lads Darren Cruden, Bear and Peter
were very unlucky not to have medalled in the xc all just
finishing off the podium. Phantom's crash on the opening climb
gave the lead guys enough of a break to keep Phantom at bay.
Smiley was the only person out of the 180 odd competitors who
each time came through transistion actually looked like he was
having fun!!!
Robyn Weckert was the states saviour on XC
day taking out the womens race and winning the gold medal. Well
done Robyn!!!!!!
Below is the XC team.
The downhill the following day was a
different story. This day belonged to ours (NSW) We walked away
with 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze.
The course was alot of fun and I can tell
you this fat guy would have loved to have had a few more runs on
the course it was just that good. It was something that I had not
ridden before with some nice bridges, a good sized creek gap,
trapeze net to catch riders who missed a decent to a 9 foot plus
vertical drop. My regret was not having the nads to have a go at
the drop, yes fear got the better of me!!
Anyway it was a case of 1-2-3 in the open
class with Wayne McGregor from the Correctives winning, followed
closely by Scott Edwards also Correctives and thrid being James
Boland from the Firies. ( James was very unlucky not to have won
a medal the day before in the XC, a couple of pro riders saw to
that). Well done guys, and I can tell you it was fantastic seeing
a podium dominated by our team.
I managed to secure a Bronze medal after
making up 8 seconds from my first run to my second. There was not
much I could have done to catch the local guy but a couple more
runs at the downhill and perhaps I could have had silver but it
was not to be and the two who beat me rode really well.
Jason Kaul scored a silver medal for his
efforts in the downhill, well done. It was a nice reward
considering early in the week Jason and I both got smashed in the
road race, then Jason was also unlucky in his XC event. So a
silver was fantastic for Jason.
Phantom does this guy slow down, I dont
think so, he won gold in his class but in the overall time sheets
was well placed amongst guys who were 10 - 20 younger than him.
Great effort. I should also tell you that just before his timed
run his forks seized only giving him half the travel he needed.
With a fully functioning bike who knows how fast he could have
gone!
I might like to also add that unfortunately
due to ill health of a member of the Dodge Cobb clan he was unable
to attend at real late notice. Dodge of behalf of everyone who
rides with us we sincerly hope Mum is feeling better soon.
