AND THEY’re off: The start of Sunday’s UNE mountain bike three-hour race.
SPORT UNE opened its new mountain bike trail on Sunday with a three-hour race.
The track has been developed by New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB) in conjunction with Sport UNE and is a fine facility for all members of the public to enjoy.
It consists of mainly single-track meandering through the pine trees and farmland, NEMTB publicity officer Steve Chapman said.
“There are a number of wooden and rocky structures along the way, with the highlight the difficult big rock roll-over.
“This is an A-line which some brave riders take on. Most people happily go around the B-line for that section of the track, which is slower, but safer.”
Mr Chapman said 58 competitors started in the race to open the new track.
“The adults were in teams of two with the juniors in teams of three,” he said.
“Teams completed as many laps of the 5km course as possible in the three hours from 10am to 1pm. There was a social atmosphere surrounding the race with many teams dressing up and decorating their bikes and bodies.
“Some of the transitions from one team member to the next were entertaining with dance moves, riding backwards and crashes featuring often under the big, green, blow-up finish line.
“For the record, the winning team and holders of the Vice Chancellor’s Cup was Two Fast And Three Won. This team was Isabella Hosking and Mia Tindale and they received this trophy for their spirit and performance.
“Nina Stone and Sonya Wrenford-Mobbs (Pink Chix) were named second, with Bill Platts and Luke Andrews (Uralla Schoolies), third.
“The team who completed most laps in the shortest time was Sean Bekkers, who completed nine laps in 2 hours and 44 mins. Sean rode the event on his own, which shows his fitness.
“Also completing nine laps were Harrys (David and Michael Harris), Educated Awesome (Katherine Hosking and Greg Manttan who rode in their school uniforms), RU4 Scuba (John Scott-Hamlton and Damian Schmude), Winona and Stephen (Winona and Steve Rumble) and The Benhams (Jo and Matt Benham).
“It was a great event and will grow to even more heights next year. The track received rave reviews with riders of all abilities enjoying themselves.”