Favourite on the entry list was Wonthaggi resident and Team Jayco-AIS rider, Nick Aitken, touted as a world championships rider of the future. An Australian representative in road cycling who came 2nd in last year’s U23 Road Race Oceania Road Championships, Aitken has also shown plenty of chops on singletrack. He would have be an unbackable bet for the event apart from the last minute entry of notable multisport and adventure race athlete, Jarad Kohlar, from Newport, Melbourne. Although not in Aitken’s class in terms of pure cycling strength, Kohlar’s technical skill on what is a rough and technical course with plenty of uphill meant he was in with a show of matching the road specialist.

But from the first blast of the starter’s horn in front of the Mount Baw Baw stone gates, it was Aitken’s race, heading straight to the front to become the only rider to lap the course in under 30 minutes, his first two circuits the fastest in 28:44 and a 29:44. He then settled into a 30-minute loop pace, slowing his last, eighth lap to a 35.38. In the process he rode the most laps, established the course record and won the day’s outing overall, riding for a 4 hours 12 minutes at an average 14.25km/hr.

For his part, Kohlar showed he had plenty in the legs, lungs and heart given he’d come off winning the previous day’s Seasons of Pain, a two and a half hour (for him) duathlon event incorporating two laps of the Enduro course in addition to 20 kilometres of trail running. Kohlar’s fastest lap during the Enduro was a 31:44, which sat amid an average lap time of 32 minutes. His seven laps were enough to easily secure second place on the podium.

In the women’s solo it was a two-person match up between Britta Weller and Kirstin Curtis.  As a veteran of the Victorian State Endurance Series, Kona Odyssey MTB Marathon, Anaconda Adventure Race and Marysville to Melbourne 152km multisport event, Weller perhaps signaled that she had the pedigree to endure the best Baw Baw could throw at her, and indeed she did, registering five laps of between 42 and 48 minutes to take the inaugural female title. Curtis wasn’t far off the pace early on with a 48-minute circumnavigation before blowing out to a final 1hr 14min on lap four, her final loop. 

In the teams division it was the pairing of Christopher Fice and Tim Rowe of Team FGP who held out over Kaos Custom Bike duo Leigh Barratt and Nick Kelly. Both teams squeezed in seven laps of between 32 and 39 minutes duration, and it was a close call with the FGPs nipping Team Kaos only just with an average pace of 12.76km/h above the Kaos’ 12.65km/hr.

Special mention goes to the winner and only competitor of the Junior Division, Malte Adebahr who backed up in the 4-Hour Enduro after already racing as a solo in the Seasons of Pain duathlon the day prior. Despite tired legs, he still registered six laps in the four-hour stint, his times impressive being between 33 and 37 minutes each. 

Full results can be seen at: www.gippslandmtb.com.au/docs/results/GMTBResults-1301.pdf

More mountain biking action will take place at Mount Baw Baw throughout the year, with a round of the Victorian Downhill State Championships slated for Saturday 23 March – 24 March and plenty of two-wheel action to be enjoyed as part of the Season of Pain series, returning 14 April, 9 June and 24 November. Mountain bikers who aren’t up for the running are encouraged to enter as a team with a friend willing to run.

See www.mtbawbaw.com.au/whats-on/events/.

The Four-Hour Enduro will return in January 2014 on the same long weekend.

The Gippsland MTB Series Championship continues this year.

Details at www.gippslandmtb.com.au .