In a big weekend for extreme sports, Mackay hosted two mountain bike events last weekend organised by Rocky Trail Entertainment with support from the Invest Mackay Events Attraction Program and MAD MTB Club.
The action kicked off with the Rocky Trail Academy Schools Competition last Friday and continued with the Fox Superflow gravity enduro race over the weekend.
In the Fox Superflow event, competitors rode to the starts un-timed and then completed three race tracks for many categories – from elite to amateur racers to families with juniors, couples and groups of friends riding together.
Racers came from interstate and throughout Queensland to participate, but local knowledge prevailed with local rider Ethan Weiss claiming first place in the Elite classification.
The 17-year-old completed the challenging three race stages in 6:44.2 as the fastest racer on course, followed by 39-year-old Clay Schulz from the Gold Coast with 7:02.3, claiming outright second and the Veteran category win.
With only 0.2 seconds of a gap, Callum Duffy from Western Sydney was third overall with 7:02.5, with the 19-year-old winning the Expert category.
Sunshine Coast Elite racer Jess Hoskin claimed first in the women’s with a winning race time of 7:27.3, too strong for local U17s racer Kristen Rowlands who finished with 8:23.7.
Kristen is the School Mountain Bike Captain at Mercy College and a real prospect for the future.
Master 40+ racer Kate Deambrogio came in third overall in the women’s.
Part of the junior development program by Rocky Trail Entertainment, the Academy schools competition focuses on encouraging students of all abilities to come and race with their mates in a safe and social environment.
On Friday, students from 14 schools took on the challenge to test their riding ability across three skill areas at Rowallan Mountain Bike Park: endurance, speed and technical skills.
Mercy College claimed the Schools Championship Title for most points achieved with almost 20 students competing.
Rocky Trail’s National Event Manager Jo Parker says the program reflects the values the company wants to foster by engaging youth in healthy social and active recreation, creating pathways into the sport.
“Our Rocky Trail Academy events bring a heightened appreciation of nature, the environment, self-reliance, self-learning and independence, all as part of riding a bike in the outdoors,” Ms Parker said.
Local rider Ethan Weiss claimed first place in the Elite classification of the gravity enduro race over the weekend
Sunshine Coast rider Jess Hoskin claimed first in the women’s Elite category
Local rider and Mercy College Mountain Bike Captain Kristen Rowlands finished second in the women’s
Mercy College claimed the Schools Championship Title Rocky Trail Academy Schools Competition on Friday. Photo credit: OuterImage.com.au
