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Written by geek-on-pushi
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Tuesday, 27 October 2009 |
2009 STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS - EAGLE PARK
First off, for those that read these through to the end, sorry about the lateness of the report. It’s a very busy time of year for me, blah, blah, excuses, excuses. Secondly, from the previous Willunga race report apologies go to, David Miers, whose son did not win super masters, he did. Raymond Ross, not Ross Raymond, novice winner and last of all- Darren Hobby who placed 5th in Elite with a time of 2:36:28 (not 3:36:28), less than a second behind Ngars in 4th, not a minute.
Apologies aside – on to the racing. The weather at Eagle was very moderate, a nice change to most of the races we’ve had this year. Sunny skies and a cool breeze made riding conditions ideal, and there was even a bit of moisture overnight to keep the dust away. The competition was looking good, with the big guns back from racing World Cups overseas like Will Rischbieth and Laurie Dinham; Buzz fresh from a couple of months in Whistler; Dave West on the new Giant and Troy Brosnan getting faster by the day; everyone was looking forward to watching the big boys come down with some very tight times. Like Peaty says, you only get one chance a year to be champion - although it might not be the world champs everyone would be gunning for that title championship.
Starting with the basics for now - Novice class - Adrian Browne, the lone rider, scored a healthy 2:28:81. Then the hardtails, and sources say Matt West was pretty hungry for that title after Steven Gebert and him tied for the overall series win, not to mention the late night punch ups. Rhys Heard was also up for the challenge, nursing a broken wrist and racing with a cast on. So, without a downhill bike, all the practice Andy Brett did on his hardtail was made up for, grabbing third in 2:22:95, Rhys, with his cast and all got 2nd - 2:15:39 and a happy Matt took the title with a 2:09:16. Thanks for the season fellas, good times. A smaller group than normal for the Junior hardtails, Tristan Knox, who was keen as, doing practise runs during the week, got 3rd - 2:57:11, Aaron Pelttari claimed 2nd with 2:51:79 and the title went to the speedy Cameron Ryan, dominating the field with a 25sec margin on 2:26:37. Keep riding those hardies lads.
Super masters next and it was David Miers’ day, taking the win, 2:31:64, over his buddy Frank Nicholson on 2:34:34. Masters has always been consistent with the podiums, the usual suspects up front, Adam Wood in 3rd - 2:18:81, Andy Murnane in 2nd - 2:17:07 and the well deserved title going to Kym Boxell on 2:15:94, top work from the old boys. Vets was a real mix between class times, the fastest going to Jade Phillipe winning Vets A, on 2:20:64, then Andrew Byrne taking the Vets B title, 2:25:75, followed by Paul Wain in 2nd, 2:31:15 and Elton Hibberd 3rd, 2:41:08. Rounding out As was Joff Medder, 2nd and Gavin Jeffries, who I think had a digger and stubbed his big toe. Good on ya Vets.
On to the other end of the classes, the up and comers. In U13s, Drew Gartery in 3rd, 2:56:96, Callum Morrison with a nice 2:29:11 in 2nd, not quite enough for the title, claimed by Matthew Taylor 5secs up on 2:24:08.
U15s - these guys are getting quicker every race, and it shows, with the top 5 times all within a second. Josef Neubauer - 2:16:24, 5th. Cam Ryan - 2:15:86, 4th, Sam Hooper - 2:15:83, 3rd, Kyle Pfitzner - 2:15:60, 2nd and the State Title going to Tom Rogers on 2:15:25. It will be good to see these guys all racing next year.
The 3 girls up there for today were all doing well on the physically demanding course. In Junior Girls was Molly Payne on 3:14:52 and in Elite Women, it was good to see Boothy out there for what was her last SA DH race before moving to the bogun Eastern states. Although it wasn’t her day, and I heard after not one, but two stops/crashes she pulled over to swig some beer and headed on down, with a time of 3:12:46, leaving the title to Em Hockey, who’s been riding consistently all season, with a fast time of 2:31:26. Good work ladies, hope there’ll be more of you out there next season.
Now the young guns in U17s, another highly competitive class, and with the pace some of them are holding and the risks they take, its great to watch them let it all hang out. The top 3 guys leaving the others behind, the dedicated Grant Womersley, seen pushing more than a few runs during the week, in 3rd, 2:02:64, Sean Heywood-Smith, with some recent coaching from WR, slid into 2nd on 2:00:96, just behind Henry Blake on 2:00:78, taking the Championship title, both their times under a second from the top 5 Elite times. Top work.
Under 19s - not a big surprise to anyone to see Jack Payne on the podium again, this time with a 3rd, 2:02:52, with a run that he considered ‘a bit loose’, 2nd, was James Shepherd, back from injury I believe, with a smashing 1:59:84. And once again the guy who’s been dominating consistently all season and clocked the fastest time of the day in the previous round at Willunga, Connor Fearon, took the U19s title for the year, with a time that would have placed him top 3 in elite, 1:56:82. Awesome work guys. The future looks good for SA as a strong downhill community.
Now for the finale, and boy, was it good to watch. After qualifying first with a cracker of a time, 1:55:28, all eyes were on Will, fresh back from the World Cup series. Of course he was after the win, but just as important to him, was being back to catch up with all the boys and relax. It was good to see him out there and recovered from the injuries OS.
So the racing was on, and it was coming down to the wire. The big man, and consistently chesty, Craig Yates, came thru 4 secs faster than his qualifying run with 2:00:73 for 5th. Just ahead, Laurie Dinham, who recently competed at the World Championships in Canberra, in 4th, on 1:59:56. With just 3 riders to come down, the spectators were anticipating a close finish. Dave West, was the first and with a smooth run came down to jump in the hot seat, after bettering his qualifier by 4 seconds, with 1:56:66. Next up was the up and coming ‘little man’ of downhill racing, Troy Brosnan, pumped after his Elite win at the final round a month earlier, he was in good form. A second behind at the split meant he had some time to make up for in the bottom section, and he must have been pinning it, looking super fast through the last few corners, and making up on Dave’s time by a second and a half to the cheers of the crowd, clocking the fastest time of the day so far. Next up and last man down, Will Rischbieth. It was no surprise - he had been looking fast all weekend and was the favourite for the win. He looked good through the bottom corners but had a couple of loose moments up top, his time reflective of this, crossing the line, disappointedly 2 seconds slower than his qualifier, the time placing him 3rd, on 1:57:43. Making Dave West 2nd and the 2009 State Championship title going to 16yo Troy Brosnan with the fastest time all weekend, 1:55:05.
Dave was heard afterwards saying, “I was so concerned about Big Will, I forgot all about the little man”. I think that about sums it up - keep an eye on the little man, he’s going places.
And keep an eye on the website for updates and info on the up and coming season film The Inside Line – 2009, put together by Matt. A great way to remember the season and get a copy of your own footage with each purchase.
Thanks for a good season guys.
- Chuga |
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