Elite men – cross country
1. Daniel McConnell (VIC)
2. Lachlan Norris (VIC)
3. Joshua Carlson (NSW)
4. Sid Taberley (TAS)
5. Aiden Lefmann (QLD)
6. Jason English (NSW)
7. Dylan Cooper (ACT)
8. Shaun Lewis (ACT)
9. Andrew Blair (NSW)
10. Nick Both (NSW)

Under 23 men – cross country
1. Paul van der Ploeg (VIC)
2. Cal Britten (ACT)
3. Daniel Bruansteins (VIC)

Elite women – cross country
1. Rowena Fry (TAS)
2. Heather Logie (ACT)
3. Jenni King (VIC)
4. Joanna Wall (VIC)
5. Jodie Willett (QLD)
6. Katherine O’Shea (VIC)
7. Kelly Bartlett (VIC)
8. Jessica Douglas (VIC)
9. Anna Beck (QLD)
10. Jody Bush

Under 23 women – cross country
1. Rebecca Henderson (ACT)
2. Sarah Holmes (SA)
3. Therese Rhodes (SA)

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Elite men – downhill
1. Chris Kovarik 1:56.03
2. Shaun O’Connor 1:57.52
3. Joshua Button 1:57.58
4. Kaine Cannan 1:58.50
5. Sam Hill 1:59.25
6. Amiel Cavalier 1:59.65
7. Rhys Willemse 1:59.82
8. Mitchell Delfs 2:00.07
9. Rhys Atkinson 2:00.40
10. William Rischbieth 2:00.51

Elite women – downhill
1. Claire Buchar 2:18.46
2. Leigh Douglas 2:26.71
3. Claire Whiteman 2:31.89
4. Leonie Picton 2:32.55
5. Joanne Fox 2:34.45
6. Emma Lewis 2:36.34
7. Julia Boer 2:37.94
8. Shannon Chugg 2:41.11
9. Shelly Flood 2:43.95
10. Sarsha Huntington DNS

U19 Men
1. Troy Brosnan 1:59.31
2. Daniel Lavis 2:00.18
3. Aden Wyber 2:01.14
4. Jake Newell 2:01.60
5. Brandon Yrttiaho 2:03.33

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Elite men – short course cross country
1. Sid Taberley (TAS)
2. Daniel McConnell (VIC)
3. Ben Henderson (ACT)
4. Lachlan Norris (VIC)
5. Joshua Carlson (NSW)

Elite women – short course cross country
1. Rowena Fry (TAS)
2. Rebecca Henderson (ACT)
3. Jodie Willett (QLD)
4. Jenni King (VIC)
5. Joanna Wall (VIC)

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Round 1 of the Victorian State XC series was held in somewhat inclement weather at the superb Cavagna’s Rd track Sedgwick on the 22nd of November.

Here are the all important results

Elite Men
1st – Adrian Jackson
2nd – Murry Spink
3rd – Neil Van Der Ploeg

Elite Women
1st – Joanna Wall
2nd – Jenni King
3rd – Niki Fisher

Expert Men
1st – Mathew Molan
2nd – Justin Womes
3rd – Scott Kramer

U19 Men
1st – Michael Crosbie
2nd – Callum Middleton
3rd – Josh Sek

U17 Male
1st – Hamish Middleton
2nd – Nathan Caithness
3rd – Ryan Lloyd

U15 Male
1st – Simon Harrington
2nd – Felix Smalley
3rd – Jack Booth

U15 Female
1st – Elizabeth Baker
2nd – Georgette Baker

Veteran Men
1st – Phil Orr
2nd – Andrew Patterson
3rd – Ivan Kallaur

Veteran Women
1st – Jo Williams
2nd – Cristy Harris

Masters Men
1st – Tim McColl
2nd – Steve O’Brien
3rd – Matthew McGill

Supermasters Men
1st – Craig Peacock
2nd – David Ole
3rd – Garry Lewis

Sport Men
1st – Shane Cody
2nd – Jeremy Doolan
3rd – Ansrew Watson

See you all at Round 2 at Beaconsfield on 20 December

Rubber Down!

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Gravity 12hr Results
The 2009 Gravity 12hr mountain bike enduro race has been run and won for 2009.

The largest field ever, 620+ riders, turned out in mid to high 30’s degree weather for this year’s edition of the Gravity 12hr at the awesome Rosewhite venue.

The course was once again excellently presented with the short sharp uphills like Heartbreak Hill, Buffalo Way and the Red Carpet all well rewarded with great flowing downhill single tracks like Gravity Drop and Mojo.

The heat was relentless as was the pace set by the top solos and teams.

Here are the results.

Overall
1 – Torq Nutrition (Team of 3) 24 laps
2 – Felt SRAM Racing (Team of 4) 23 laps
3 – Merida Flight Centre Race Team (Team of 3) 22 laps
4 – Mymountain.com.au (Team of 3) 21 laps
5 – EMERGENCY MERKIN (Male Pairs) 20 laps
6 – GIANT BICYCLES Rock and Road (Team of 3) 20 laps
7 – RideInternational.com (Male Pairs) 20 laps
8 – RideInternational.com T3 (Team of 3) 20 laps
9 – KONA 2 (Male Pairs) 20 laps
10 – tres amigos de salsa y rastro (Team of 3) 20 laps

Solo Male
1 – Damian Gillard 16 laps
2 – Justin Matthews 16 laps
3 – Jason Quigley 15 laps
4 – Gareth Syme 14 laps
5 – Scott Welch 13 laps

Solo Female
1 – Jennifer Lemon 11 laps
2 – Ursula Edwards 9 laps

Solo Male 40+
1 – Malcolm Robertson 15 laps
2 – Terry McKean 13 laps
3 – Tim Craig 11 laps
4 – Tom Thoburne 10 laps
5 – David Mentha 9 laps

Male Pairs
1 – EMERGENCY MERKIN 20 laps
2 – RideInternational.com 20 laps
3 – KONA 2 20 laps
4 – Baum Supremacy 19 laps
5 – KONA 1 19 laps

Female Pairs
1 – Team Domestique 17 laps
2 – Jac & Kaz 15 laps
3 – risky chicks 14 laps
4 – A Couple of Lions and a Kiwi 7 laps
5 – From 6 to 2 4 laps

Mixed Pairs
1 – Enamorados 17 laps
2 – Team Sparkies 17 laps
3 – TouCan 16 laps
4 – Vanga Vanga 16 laps
5 – JK & the Inner Tubes 14 laps

Team of 3 – Male
1 – Torq Nutrition 24 laps
2 – Merida Flight Centre Race Team 22 laps
3 – Mymountain.com.au 21 laps
4 – GIANT BICYCLES Rock and Road 20 laps
5 – RideInternational.com T3 20 laps

Team of 3 – Female
1 – Tyred n Shifty 16 laps
2 – DWA Team Tough Talk 14 laps
3 – Mighty Morphin Flower Rangers 8 laps

Team of 3 – Mixed
1 – tres amigos de salsa y rastro 20 laps
2 – On ya bike for Burramys 19 laps
3 – My Mountian Snakes & Ladders 18 laps
4 – arnuts 18 laps
5 – Burkey & Su & Jedi 17 laps

Team of 3 – 40+ Open
1 – podium dodgers 19 laps
2 – Pump ‘n’ Pedals 19 laps
3 – Crankensteins man beasts 16 laps
4 – Rock and Road/Sam Miranda 16 laps
5 – Lard Ons 16 laps

Team of 4 – Male
1 – Felt SRAM Racing 23 laps
2 – Team BDA 18 laps
3 – Weekend at Bernies 18 laps
4 – 1e6mph 18 laps
5 – Cycle Surgery 18 laps

Team of 4 – Female
1 – Top Tarts 16 laps
2 – CFZ 15 laps
3 – XXXX 14 laps
4 – Girls love dirt 13 laps
5 – Rock and Road Racettes 12 laps

Team of 4 – Mixed
1 – Extreme Taper 19 laps
2 – Meandering Maidens 18 laps
3 – Bacon & Fakin 18 laps
4 – over-it 17 laps
5 – Crankstars 17 laps

Team of 4 – School
1 – Sealys Young Guns 17 laps
2 – crankenstein’s bats of despair 15 laps
3 – Team Extreme 14 laps
4 – SSCS 12 laps
5 – Much Faster than Dad 12 laps

Team of 6 – Open
1 – Speed dating singles + 2 TnFnR 18 laps
2 – Rock and Road Racing 17 laps
3 – Beer O’Clock 16 laps
4 – 2s enough 15 laps
5 – Blind Munkee 15 laps

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Product Description

Whether you are a recreational cyclist, an XC mountain bike racer, a bicycle road racer or a triathlete, 101 Cycling Workouts is a must-have guide to help take your cycling to a new level. Rejuvenate and refresh your cycling training with a wide variety of workouts you’ve never thought of before. Add challenge to your training by trying new workouts that will develop you into a better and more fit cyclist.
These workouts will add depth to your training by working on all the physiological systems of a complete cycling training program, including endurance, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, strength, speed and power. Additional non-cycling workouts and gym workouts are included to supplement your training on the bike. Use these workouts to train harder, smarter and more efficiently by making the most of your vital training time. Introductory chapters discuss how to use these workouts and how to incorporate them into a structured training plan.

Review

This e-book contains 101 training workouts for road cyclists. It is intended to provide you with a menu of many possible rides and workout options as you plan your training rides and program. There is no reason to be bored or reach a plateau in your training if you use even half of these workouts. Workouts are grouped according to the type of physiological system trained, so you can easily find workouts for the given objective of the day. Remember, every ride or workout should have a purpose: to improve some aspect of your cycling fitness. Each chapter gives you multiple workouts to target each particular physiological system.
This book can also serve as a companion to training plans and other books which offer a training outline but don’t provide specific workouts, or a wide enough variety of workouts. So try a variety of workouts offered in this book. Just remember to ask your physician before beginning a strenuous exercise program. You won’t like all of these workouts, but you will also find some that become favourites. The important thing to remember is to continue to stress your body in new and different ways.
That’s how you will improve, by continually changing up your routine and throwing different workouts at your body. The workouts contained within this book can do that for you.

Verdict

101 Cycling Workouts is essential for your cycling library!
Get one and enjoy!

Rating
Rating: (5/5)

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TASMANIA’S top mountain bikers, including high profile riders Rowena Fry and Ben Mather will compete at the first of 10 events in the Forestry Tasmania Mountain Bike Series, to be held at Turners Beach in Tasmania’s north west on Sunday.

The series will involve five cross country and five downhill events statewide on Sundays between now and the end of February, with the championship finals to be held at the Tolosa Mountain Bike Park in Glenorchy on Saturday and Sunday March 20 and 21.

The events are being run by the Launceston Mountain Bike Club and the Hobart Wheelers and Dirt Devils and are being sponsored by the Forestry Tasmania/Southern Cross Community Assist program.

Launceston Mountain Bike Club President Ian Smith said it was the sixth year the championships had been held.

The series attracts riders aged from 11-70 across 18 categories, catering for beginners through to national contenders including high profile riders like Rowena Fry, Ben Mather and Sid Taberlay when they can fit these events into their hectic racing schedules” he said.

“These events not only help raise the profile and participation in mountain biking in Tasmania, but also provide a pathway for juniors and elite riders to the national series.”

Mr Smith said the two clubs were proud of their reputation for providing high quality events that cater for people from all walks of life, including families, juniors, beginners, women and the elite.

“In the past 12 months the we have worked hard to bring new people to the sport and have achieved a 100 per cent increase in membership,” he said.

“We strive to create a friendly, fun and approachable environment at all of our events to encourage newcomers and beginners to participate.”

Mr Smith said the series had been significantly boosted through $10,000 in sponsorship and naming rights through the Pride of Tasmania category of the Community Assist program.

“Mountain biking is a healthy, fun, accessible and sustainable activity that often takes place in forests managed by Forestry Tasmania,” he said.

“We are excited about developing an even deeper relationship with Forestry Tasmania.

“The sponsorship will go a long way to develop the statewide series.

“We are also thrilled to be given assistance in working with the media to raise the profile of the sport.”

Forestry Tasmania Mountain Bike Series cross country events will be held on Sundays at:

- Turners Beach in the north west on October 18
- Clarence Mountain Bike Park in Clarence on November 15
- Ben Lomond on November 22
- Hollybank Adventure Forests in the north on December 6
- Kellevie in the south east on December 20

Forestry Tasmania Mountain Bike Series downhill events will also be held on Sundays at:

- Wyena, near Hollybank in the north on October 25
- Tolosa Mountain Bike Park in Glenorchy on November 15
- Hollybank Adventure Forests in the north on December 6
- Wyena on February 28
- Plus a venue and date to be announced

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Product Description
Mastering Mountain Bike Skills is the expert guide for riders who want to step up their game in any venue of the sport.

The advanced, detailed instruction in Mastering Mountain Bike Skills will improve your riding in every style including cross country, free riding, downhill, dirt jumping, mountain cross, and urban terrain.
With top pro mountain biker Brian Lopes as your teacher, you’ll learn how to handle the bike better than ever, in any conditions, across all types of terrain. Key tips and special photo sequences throughout the book add insight to Lopes’ world-class instruction, proven skills, and technical know-how.

Review
Mastering Mountain Bike Skills describes itself as for anyone who wants to ride better, faster, or more confidently. It helps you master the skills to all types of terrain in almost any type of situation: cross country, freeriding, downhill, dirt jumping, bikercross, urban terrain, and even skate parks.

The book is well-organized and the topics flow well. Chapters cover bike selection and setup, balance, position, pedalling, pumping terrain for speed, braking, cornering, wheelies and hops, drops, jumping, speed lines, and racing.

With over 100 colour photos and diagrams of specific maneuvers and adjustments, the authors illustrate the important, yet often overlooked, subtleties of the techniques presented.

The book attempts to detail principles for beginners and experts alike, and overall does a great job.

A glossary would help. Authors and editors often forget that not everyone knows the meaning of the jargon words-such as rail and carve. Even if explained at first usage, a glossary of mountain biking terms would improve the book.

I read this book straight through, but it’s one you’ll want to keep out and refer to often as you ride, develop, and practice skills. There are great tips and tricks for people at all levels of skill and experience.

Verdict
This is one of the best books ever published on acquiring mountain biking skills, and contains great information about mountain biking skills, from one of the most skilled riders who has every lived. If you are a mountain biker, get this book-even if only to look at the pictures.
Get a copy here and enjoy!

Rating
Rating: (4/5)

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Off camber roots can look pretty formidable.But the ability to get over a rooty section with a bit of speed can open up a whole new dimension to the choice of lines available to you, or simply make you faster through a tricky bit.
The trick is to be confident and the following guide will take you through how to hit roots and clear them safely. A confident rider will succeed time and time again – the key is not to hesitate because that is when you can take a flyer.

THE RIGHT APPROACH
Your first task is to get your approach line right. Too tight and the second you hit the roots you’ll be fighting for grip. With an off-camber, a great trick is to try to start low and finish high. So, try to find a grippy part of the trail before the roots to turn against, pushing you upwards though the section and over the roots. If you come in too high, the likelihood is that you’ll spend the next few seconds sliding down the roots.

LOOK, LOOK, LOOK AGAIN

Once you’re on the right line, lookup. The further you can look through the section the better. It can sometimes help to look slightly higher than you know you’ll end up.Remember, you go where you look. Watch some of your mates – the ones who panic and look to where they don’t want to be, will be the ones who end up there.

SPEED IS YOUR FRIEND
You should now be able to quickly scan the section and make a decision on how fast to hit it. If you need to drop some speed, do it before you hit the roots. Any braking on the camber will lose the limited grip you might have had. Some times speed can be your friend. The slower you go the longer you’ll be hanging around on the roots. Experience will help you judge your speed in the future, but to begin with, just remember not to brake too hard.

RELAX (LIKE FRANKIE SAID)
Once you’re on the roots, keep the bike straight and your body relaxed. Let the bike move freely underneath you, like you are hovering over it. If you’re too tense in your arms and legs, you’ll force the bike to slide. Try to imagine your torso as a stable platform that doesn’t move. Instead, your elbows and knees should take all the shocks and keep the bike smoothly on terra firma. Keep your elbows out to maximise how much movement you can get without moving your shoulders.

SLIDE ON THROUGH
By now you’ll be pretty much at the end of the section. If the surface is wet or the speeds low, a little rear wheel slip might still happen. Don’t panic. Any tension will only increase the likelihood of a crash. Once your front wheel is on the other side, you’re home and dry. Stay relaxed and let the rear wheel do its thing. It’s sure to find grip soon enough and catch up with the rest of you.

TOP TIP
The steeper the camber, the more weight you should shift to your downhill leg.

GREAT SKILLS RESOURCE
A really great resource for learning new skills is Brian Lopes book Mastering Mountain Bike Skills

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Product Description

 In ‘Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance’, Lennard Zinn explains and demonstrates how to completely and properly maintain every component of a mountain bike, including chains, derailleurs, shifters, wheels, brakes, cranks, bottom brackets, pedals, saddles, seatposts, suspension systems, handlebars, stems, headsets, forks, and frames. He describes and rates every repair and counsels the novice bike mechanic how to decide whether or not to take the bike to a bike shop for professional attention. Extensive line drawings show how parts fit together and illustrate the tools required for every type of bike. Completely revised and updated to include the most recent information on state-of-the-art mountain bike components, emergency on-trail repair tricks are also explained.

Review

Whether you have a shiny new mountain bike or one that has been on more than a few trail rides, this book is a must to have in your collection.

Mountain biking is a little different than most sports, you’re usually out in the wilderness, miles away from the nearest phone or road, and putting yourself (and your bike) through a pretty gruelling workout. In ‘Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance’, Lennard Zinn does a great job of making sure that if the bike part of the equation fails, you’ll know what to do. From suggesting what tools you should carry with you, teaching you how to use them, and giving you a quick lesson on how each work, this book covers it all.

The book uses illustrations instead of photos, so it’s easy to tell what’s going on, and it covers all the different types (and eras) of components that you’ll find. Coverage ranges from the basic (changing a flat tire) to the complex (changing your fork or bottom bracket) but is clear throughout.

I highly recommend this to anyone who’s doing serious riding and wants to learn more about how to tune and fix their bike. As your bike grows older and you take longer rides, things WILL break or wear out, and knowing what to do in those cases is well worth the price of the book.

Verdict

Hands down the best bike repair book out there. Make sure you get the latest version so you’ll be up to date on the latest componentry.

Get one and enjoy!

Rating

Rating: (5/5)

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