HMBA G-FLOW ENDURO SERIES ROUND 2 RESULTS – 6 & 7/05/23

With the 2nd round of the HMBA G-FLOW Enduro Series now in the books you can definitely feel heat coming on who will be the G-FLOW Enduro Series Champion in each category, even the 2021 EWS World champion Jack Moir wanted to be see what all the fuss was about. He later stated his heart rate was spiked!  

Being an introduction to the world’s fastest growing mountain bike discipline, Gravity Enduro was on show this weekend at Awaba Mountain Bike Park, proudly sponsored by Lake Macquarie City Council.

Competitors traveled far and wide to be involved in the sold out Round 2 of 3 event series. 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, all the while earning bragging rights to their friends.

Saturday weather was pristine, with a little bit of crispness in the air for the morning and midday practice sessions. However you could feel the temperature rise when the Pro Stage start time of 2.30pm closed in. As riders prepared for the King-G Stage (Stage 1) so did the crowd, positioning themselves on the Monkey Downhill to watch some of the best riders in the nation tackle the technical corners and of course encourage (banter) them as they sped past!

Competitors were raring to go and white-knuckle the King G Stage! With a large crowd in place, they knew they had to risk it for the biscuit – boy oh boy racing was fierce and aggressive! Once completed, they were eager to regroup, study where they could have gone faster and where they can make up time in day 2 across Sunday’s 3 stages.

KING-G Men’s top 5; (analogue)

1st: Ben Bullen-Aslin

2nd: Nathanael Watt

3rd: Hayden Vanderdrift

4th: Harper Nelmes

5th: Darby Ljubic

KING-G Women’s top 5: (analogue)

1st Leighsa Cox

2nd Bess Murray

3rd Olivia Hicks

4th Kath Bicknell

5th Angela Rutherford

As the dust settled during the evening we woke to another cool morning with the promise of a little rain later in the day. Being an endurance race some competitors reported that they were a little sore and stiff but were on an all-time high from yesterday’s activities and eager to tackle the mountain. 

Bay Bike Co were kept busy Sunday morning assisting those who had mechanicals the day prior, eager to get them going for the day 2; Crofto had set up their tent to support riders with some fresh gear; and, Serendipity Coffee Van poured up some warming caffeine hits for the early crowd.

Sunday saw 3 competitive race stages set (Stages 2,3 and 4), with beautiful liaisons throughout the Awaba MTB network. Stage 2 was a cracker, it was the longest, running through Biraban onto Wild Polly. Stage 3 was a bag of fun for all riders – Pedal cranks from Rocky Corner into Wayne’s World. Stage 4 was our old faithful – rocketing down Faulk Line into the finish at the carpark area.

As we began preparation on the final stage the weather took a little turn. A midday rainstorm decided to land right on top of the Awaba Mountain Bike Park where dreams are made. All the volunteers and SPC photography rallied to get things back in order. 30 minutes of environmental chaos made for perfect track condition once the weather cell had moved on. The rain shower and sun appearing made the final stage a stage that would stick flies to glass. The competitor’s speeds were fast. With a big crowd on hand, no competitor wanted to disappoint nd gave it everything! Stoke was all time high, times were close across categories. Just seeing the smiles at the end of the event makes it all worth the worthwhile. HMBA G-FLOW ENDURO is the best fun you could have on two wheels, in fact it is better than Lego!

All in all, Awaba’s Round 2 G-FLOW Enduro was a huge success, a sold out event with amazing help from volunteers and sponsors.

Big Thanks to Lake Macquarie City Council, Burger Urge, Breakaway Cycles, Bay Bike Co, Crofto, Maxim Advisors, SPC Photograghy and NSW Forests.

Summary of podiums

OPEN MEN’s

1st Ben Bullen-Aslin

2nd Bailey Thomas

3rd Hayden Vanderdrift

OPEN WOMEN’S

1st Samantha Cole

SPORT MEN’S
1st Nathanael Watt

2nd Stephen Blinkhorne

3rd Daniel Goff

SPORT WOMEN’S

1st Bess Murray

U17’s MEN

1st Oska Scarr

2nd Oliver Stocks

3rd Owen Lane

U17’s WOMEN

1st Cadence Campbell

U15’s MEN

1st Harper Nelmes

2nd Darby Lubjic

3rd Oscar Berry

U15’s WOMEN

1st Olivia Hicks

U13’s MEN

1st Taj Thornton

2nd Kealan Glover

3rd Jed Shaw

E-BIKE MEN

1st Regan Pickles

2nd Matt Glover

3rd Dane Critchlow

E-BIKE WOMEN

1st: Tegan Glover

2nd: Raquel Macleod

MASTER’S MEN

1st Ganin Vanderdrift

2nd Ryan Sneddon

3rd Waz Turnbull

MASTER’S WOMEN

1st Leighsa Cox

2nd Kath Bicknell

3rd Natalie Fackler

GRAND MASTERS MEN

1st Tony Edwards

2nd Ray Gregory

GRAND MASTERS WOMEN

1st Karmell Macdonald

Full Results here:

https://my.raceresult.com/240389/

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