Race day for round 5 of the Gippsland MTB championship dawned sunny but cool but things soon heated up in the 40 person field once racing got under way. A dedicated and hard working band of volunteers had the mammoth task of clearing 55 trees from the tracks after recent wild weather. Their efforts were certainly not in vain as the track came up a treat and proved to be very popular with all the riders.

Last year’s winner, Brad Fisher burst from the blocks and at the end of the first 14 km lap held a lead of 4 minutes over Brian Wallace of team Brazen Bananas, and Tim Boote. At the culmination of the 4 hours race time, Brad Fisher was a comfortable winner with 5 laps in 4hrs and 3 minutes.  In second place was Tim Boote with 5 laps in a time of 4hrs and 19 minutes and in third, also with 5 laps was Luke Yeates in a time of 4 hrs and 34 minutes.

In the women’s section, Courtney Shinn, working hard to establish a gap to her rivals held an eight minute advantage over Mandy Haberner with Kirstin Curtis a further Two minutes back. A dominant display of endurance and technical ability saw Courtney winning with 5 laps in a time of 4 hrs and 55 minutes ahead of Kirstin Curtis with 4 laps in a time of 4hrs and 51 minutes and Katrine Leckie with 4 laps in a time of 4hrs and 53 minutes.

The junior category was led home by Malte Abebahr with 3 laps in a time of 3hrs and 39 minutes with Harry Ewings coming second with 3 laps in a time of 4 hrs and 30 minutes.

One of the most notable things about the day was the smiles on the faces of the riders as they crossed the finish line. Admittedly some of them could be put down pure relief at finishing but also a sense of satisfaction and comradeship for a day spent riding good tracks in great company.

The next event on the calender is the Blores Hill 6 hour enduro on the 22nd of July. This is a round of the Victorian Enduro Series and as such will attract the states top riders to a race which will see many riders returning due to the popularity of the events tracks. In conjunction with this event there will also be a working bee on the 8th of July.