Pemberton become a mountain biking mecca over the weekend, as round 2 of the Chain Reaction Cycles WA Gravity Enduro rolled into town. Pemberton was a hive of activity with kids, teenagers and adults alike all deciding one of the best modes of transport was cycling, especially in the sold-out Pemberton Caravan Park, situated next door to the mountain bike trail network.

With Peter and Ryan bunting and signposting the course on an overcast and humid Saturday, competitors quickly took to the trails for a ride and to inspect the lines come raceday. Mark Hudson of the Pemberton Visitor Centre was looking more like a super-hero (and perhaps he is one) as he walked around all the race trails carrying a high powered blower clearing all leaf litter and debris and the trails were left sparkling!

Saturday night was clam but rain did fall consistently in the early hours of the morning which had us all guessing about how this would alter the trails for the race. Fortunately, the rain stopped when we began setting up the race village.

At 9:30am, we had the WAGE Wippets U13 arrive at the Race Village for their race briefing before being shuttled to the top of the hill for a 2-stage race. Once coming down Stage 3 being shadowed by their parents, they were again permitted to shuttle to the top and finish stage 4. We really enjoy seeing the U13’s have some fun in the Gravity Enduro racing format and we do our best to make this as affordable and inclusive as possible. Congratulations to our WAGE Wippets!

Shortly after the WAGE Wippets completed their two stage course, race briefing took place for the massive field of more than 200 competitors. At 10:30, competitors headed up the hills(s) with Elite and Expert competitors heading to Stage 1 and the rest of the field heading to stage 2, 3 and 4. Although not strict on this requirement, is certainly helped spread the field out and reduce queuing times extremely well.

Stage 1 (Drop Bear) opened up round 2 for the Elite and Expert competitors, allow them some fresh air to clock in their times without traffic. Drop Bear first starts out allowing competitors to measure their handlebars between two towering trees followed by a short flat section to get you warmed up before the fun begins. A fun flowing trail with plenty of turns and a few small tree step-downs, Drop Bear soon gains its name after the 800m descent as you fall into a 3-4m ‘drop’ shoot onto the firetrail for finish.

Average stage time (HH:MM:SS) 00:03:13

Fastest stage time (HH:MM:SS) 00:02:39 by Miikael KINNUNEN and closed followed by Jordan PROCHYRA with a 00:02:40

Stage 2 (Bloody Mary) is always a favourite at Pemberton and the race was no exception. Most things were thrown at competitors in this stage – a flat start before bombing into a wooden ladder drop, then a wooden A-frame if chosen, some quick descents following by a rude pinch climb, before bombing down into what could be one of the fastest parts of the course which was practically a footpath after recent rain – plenty of ‘yahoo’s’ by competitors and spectators alike!

Average stage time (HH:MM:SS) 00:02:40

Fastest stage time (HH:MM:SS) Sam HILL with a 00:02:00 and Sam RUBERY and Luke BALL 5 seconds back. For the females, Claire GARCIA-WEBB led the charge with a 00:02:48 and Holly BAARSPUL 1 second behind.

Stage 3 took in a few different stages and lines – firstly heading north and peeling right to head down Relentless Blue taking into a timber ski jump and then scooped into a steep right and long steep left timber berm double-team before being spat out onto Cool Runnings for the short sprint home.

Average stage time (HH:MM:SS) 00:02:27

Fastest stage time (HH:MM:SS) 00:01:59 shred by Sam RUBERY and Luke BALL with Sam HILL and Jordan PROCHYRA 1 second back, and for the ladies, Leonie BURFORD posted a hotlap of 00:02:26 fastest times with Claire GARICA-WEBB 5 second back.

Stage 4 (Pirate Trail) had the rudest pinch climb of the round – after a quick descent, the altitude was gained once again and competitors could be heard sucking in the air and getting themselves ready for another descent, before meeting a rock garden (or tree).

As a race director, when the radio’s are quiet, all things are going well. “There’s a tree across the track” – how things change so quickly. This was a surprising statement that came through the radio about an hour into racing. Rory (a spectator on course) heard a crack and some commotion about 50m before the rock garden on Pirate Trail (stage 4). After investigating, not only did he see that a tree fell across the track, but he also saw a competitor get up close and personal to the sudden road block. Thanks Rory (who is a tall timber) for removing the tall timber!

As usual, we do our best to donate what we can to the local trail custodians and Pemberton is not different. We want to thank Mark Hudson once again from the Pemberton Visitor Centre who works tirelessly for the promotion of mountain biking and Pemberton. With that in mind, we were very pleased to donate $700 to the Pemberton Mountain Bike trails – so on behalf of all competitors and spectators, thank you, and we look forward to racing there again in 2017 – and possibly on some new trails!

With the first competitor finishing the course in 1hr 30 (12pm) and the final competitor coming in about 45mins later, its great to see that the field spread at the start of the day allows for efficient and timely racing.

Upon arriving back at the Race Village, the competitors were refuelled with a hot dog and High 5 Sports Nutrition – surely a recovery regime worthy of any athlete. Behind the scenes, the amazing volunteers were bringing back the timing modules and we crunched the numbers and began compiling results…

MALE ELITE

FEMALE ELITE

MALE EXPERT

MALE U15

FEMALE U19

MALE U19

MALE SUPER MASTERS 50+

FEMALE SPORT (19 – 39)

MALE SPORT (19 – 39)

FEMALE MASTERS 40+

MALE MASTERS (40 – 49)

FEMALE WIPPETS (U13)

MALE WIPPETS (U13)