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:
