Browns Avanti 6 hour held at Bathunes / Forester Park on Saturday 19th September. A very good field of 74 riders assembled on what turned out to be an excellent afternoon for riding in Dunedin. The riders where treated to a well groomed course with the usual demanding uphill and equally demanding drop offs and single track. This year we returned to the traditional entry into the dog kennel club and exit uphill onto the top playing field. A full contingent of Red Cross saw an uneventful (thankfully) night for them with only a few minor scrapes and scratches. Many thanks to Red Cross for their continued support of our events.
Having a large field of Solo riders ensures this event as a good start to the Summer season, local hard man Ray Hope proved the fastest Vet and Solo rider out there, closely followed by Jason Lowe. Top local woman Erin Greene who is on the come back from her horrific road crash earlier in the year proved too good and comfortably won the Woman Solo class, followed by training mate Karen Dunlea. The Teams Section had many social and junior teams with some close racing had, local MTB Otago members Sarah, Jon, Kashi and Karina (Ziggy the dog) proving too strong on the night.
(See full results here) – link from Hamish
The club will also run this year a new event to complement the 6 and 12 hour theme, this event will be run toward the end of Summer before the Naseby 12 hour and will be called “The 8 Hours of Whare Flat”. This may also include the Otago Single Speed Champs, so keep an eye on our website for all event dates and entry details.
MTB Otago hosted for the 2nd year the SPARC Get 2 Go Challenge, this event is held annually throughout New Zealand for year 10 and 11 Secondary School pupils. The 2009 event involved 22 teams and covered 3 disciplines being Mountain Biking, Kayaking and Orienteering. The event involved teams of 4 with points scored for completing the obstacle course and 1 point for every lap completed in a tag team relay. Unfortunately just as we were about to start the first leg the heavens opened up and it snowed but our young guns pushed on and each of the 3 groups completed 1 hour of wet and muddy mountain biking with huge smiles on their muddy faces.
As SPARC is reducing its sponsorship next year we need to look to a regional sponsor to enable the 2010 challenge to happen. Let us know if your business can fill the gap there.
OPC entries are open
Masters Games entries are open
Naseby 12 hour entries on line 1st February 2010
Ride Hard
Craig Bates XC Co-ordinator
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