A small but keen field of 20 riders greeted the starter’s gun but instead of all heading in the one direction, riders scattered to all points of the compass, thinking they had planned the perfect route. Without a clear indication of who was making the running it was a waiting game to see who would be first across the line as the riders were spread over the entirety of the Blores Hill MTB complex.

Just before the 50 minute mark, riders were seen approaching the finish line from different directions. In a blanket finish, Daniel Robie came out narrowly ahead of Brad Fisher with Ashley Higman just behind making it one of the closest finishes seen in Gippsland MTB for some time. As none of these riders missed stamping a checkpoint on their cards, final men’s race positions remained in their finishing order.

First place in the women’s category was taken out by the ever improving Kirstin Curtis. The junior category also had very little separating the combatants with Jack Walk just edging out Malte Adebahr. Though small in numbers, all the riders all felt a sense of achievement and enjoyment on completion of a very different style of event.

Next up for Gippsland MTB is a 4 hour enduro at Nowa Nowa on 23rd of September but in the interim is a girl’s social weekend at Blores Hill, staying overnight at Munjara camp on 8th and 9th of September. This is a great opportunity for those seeking an enjoyable way to maintain fitness and also to learn mountain biking skills and meet new friends in a very relaxed atmosphere.