Downhill duels rock crater trail

Downhill duels rock crater trail

It was an exciting afternoon packed full of ascents and descents as riders pushed the limits at the second round of the 2021 Gravity Enduro SA Series on Sunday.

The huge event brought over 200 of the state’s best enduro riders to the Valley Lakes area and they put on a show, flying past scenic spots like the crater, Leg of Mutton and Centenary Tower.

It was a first for the Limestone Coast hosting an event of this nature and Mount Gambier Mountain Bike president Shane de Jong said it was nothing short of a success.

“It was really good because everyone was stoked and I did not hear anyone complain about their weekend,” he said.

“Everyone had really positive feedback about the event, tracks, area and accommodation being so close, it was fantastic.” The key to how well the event would go was how the six downhill tracks held up throughout the big day with a larger amount of traffic than usual.

The revered and daunting tracks are spread across the Valley Lakes area from the Leg of Mutton lake to the Blue Gums behind Centenary Tower.

Fortunately, de Jong said they all delivered to create an enjoyable experienced for each rider.

“It was a really good lead up weather wise because we obviously had a lot of rain which allowed us to groom the tracks really well,” he said.

“We had great help from all of the mountain bike members fixing what needed fixing on the tracks so we could host such a large amount of activity.

“Obviously we do not get that much traffic on them every week because there might be 100 different riders spread across the seven days.

“Where as on Sunday we had 200 riders trying to ride as many times as they could at once.

 “So there was obviously a fair bit of traffic for the trails, but the conditions were perfect with the right amount of moisture in the soil to make it awesome.”  At the end of the day after each competitor completed the six trails and two climbs past the Centenary Tower, no one could catch Sam Walsh.

According to de Jong,  the Adelaide star “smashed everyone” with an eye-popping riding time of 11 minutes and six seconds.

This meant Steve Gebert was forced to settle for second,  crossing the line 16 seconds behind Walsh, while Cameron Ryan rounded out the podium.

Justin de Jong was the only local to secure a top 10 finish after he broke the 12-minute  barrier, as did Shane de Jong, who finished 12th himself.

Home rider Scott Morrish “crushed the field” in the E Bike class with an 11:22 to give the hosts something to savour, while locals Nick Brooks and  Darrell Watson claimed top-three finishes in their grades.

 Fortunately the riders enjoyed the conditions so much they stayed on two wheels for the most part and no one suffered a serious incident.

The mountain biking action does not slow down with a downhill race at Fox Creek, while the show returns to the Blue Lake city in October.

During the October long weekend hundreds of riders will flock to the Valley Lakes again to take part in the annual downhill race.

Pics: Vespa Scott

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