HMBA G-FLOW ENDURO SERIES ROUND 1 RESULTS – 18 & 19/02/23

An introduction to the world’s fastest growing mountain bike discipline, Gravity Enduro (GE), was on show this weekend at the Awaba Mountain Bike Park.  Competitors traveled far and wide to be involved in the sold out Round 1 of the 3 event HMBA G-Flow Enduro series, proudly sponsored by Lake Macquarie City Council.

Being a 2-day event, it was a Mountain Bike weekend for those who love to ride, challenge themselves and want to go further with their racing goals – definitely one to remember!

Saturday was hot and dusty – not only from the sun beating down but from the times being set in practice.  We saw riders roll out in the morning for a chance to session each stage, calculate their lines for faster corner speed and see where they can gain milliseconds on their fellow competitors. Having one race shot on each stage definitely makes the nerves rumble.

Saturday afternoon was the introduction of the KING-G stage (or as some would say, the Pro Stage). This stage was the most technically challenging with the course using part of the world renowned Awaba “Monkey” Downhill trail and also including the never ridden, new link trail “Monkey Chase” onto raw, flat-cornered switchbacks into an XC-style slog to the finish line. It was a stage of 2 ‘personalities’ – gravity riders would adore the upper half and XC riders, who love to feel burn in their legs, would revel in the lower section.

Many competitors were nervous, white-knuckled, showing the whites of their eyes as bright as the sun, knowing they were about to risk the biscuit down one of the more daunting sections of the infamous Monkey. Once down they felt that warm feeling of accomplishment as they had conquered their fears and were now eager to regroup, reflect on where they could have gone faster and study how they can make up time on Day 2 across Sunday’s 3 stages.  Congrats to our King-G Top 5:

KING-G Men’s top 5; (analogue)

1^st Reece Rowbottom

2^nd Ben Bullen-Aslin

3^rd Archie Gibson

4^th Harper Nelmes

5^th Alex Moore

KING-G Women’s top 5:

1^st Sarah Booth

2^nd Emily Dreaper

3^rd Natalie Fackler

4^th Leighsa Cox

5^th Olivia Hicks

After a night of chaos at Cooranbong due to a wild weather front that lit up the sky for many hours and dumped much needed rain on the trails, we were set for day 2 – some would say “hero dirt conditions”, or as Dane Critchlow stated “It’s like riding on Velcro!”.

Dallas from Breakaway Cycles was kept busy Sunday morning assisting those who had been unfortunate enough to experience mechanicals the day prior – he was eager to get them going for the Day 2.

Three uniquely varying stages were set with beautiful liaisons throughout the Awaba trail network. Stage 1 on Sunday was a cracker, it was the longest, running through Biraban onto Wild Polly. Stage 2 was a bag of fun for all riders, starting with pedal cranks from Rocky Corner into a bar-challenging fast tight section to the finish line at the bottom of the Murderhorn.

As riders entered Stage 3 the stoke levels were at an all-time high – race times were close across the categories. Did you know all heroes don’t wear capes? The hero on Sunday was the dirt that was laid millions of years ago, and crafted by our passionate trail-builders into that fast sliver of trail we all love – Faulk Line! The riders took to the final stage like an F1 car to Albert Park, the speeds were blistering with total grip assured!

All in all, Round 1 of the HMBA G-Flow Enduro Series at Awaba was a huge success – a sold-out event with some amazing help from volunteers and sponsors.  You’d better hope you are fast enough to secure a spot when we open Round 2 entries for 6/7 May 2023.

Big Thanks to Lake Macquarie Council, Burger Urge, Wearelusty, Breakaway Cycles, Bay Bike Co, Drift Bikes, Crofto, SPC Photograghy and NSW forests.

Summary of podiums

OPEN MEN’s

1^st Reece Rowbottom

2^nd Ben Bullen-Aslin

3^rd Alex Moore

OPEN WOMEN’S

1^st Emily Dreaper

2^nd Laura Renshaw

3^rd Samantha Cole

SPORT MEN’S
1^st Nate Watt

2^nd Quentin Norquay

3^rd Ben Barrett

SPORT WOMEN’S

1^st Bess Murray

2^nd Georgia Marjoribanks

U17’s MEN

1^st Archie Gibson

2^nd Max Jenkins

3^rd Jared Edginton

U17’s WOMEN

1^st Cadence Campbell

U15’s MEN

1^st Harper Nelmes

2^nd Will Owens

3^rd Oscar Berry

U15’s WOMEN

1^st Olivia Hicks

U13’s MEN

1^st Taj Thornton

2^nd Rhys Jenkins

3^rd Kealan Glover

E-BIKE

1^st Regan Pickles

2^nd Andrew Suprano

3^rd Mat Glover

MASTER’S MEN

1^st Jonathan Edginton

2^nd Gavin Vanderdrift

3^rd Dane Critchlow

MASTER’S WOMEN

1^st Sarah Booth

2^nd Leighsa Cox

3^rd Natalie Fackler

GRAND MASTERS

1^st Greg Allen

2^nd Joel Davies