Rocky Trail MTB GP – Round #2 James Estate Winery

James Estate provided the perfect backdrop and the microlites got the photographers into position!

 

Round two of the Rocky trail series took to the Hunter Valley’s beautiful vineyards and in particular to the James Estate Winery where wine making and mountain biking both have a home.

It was a unique idea having the race transition at a cellar door, and it definitely seemed to attract a larger component of family and friends as well as the usual riders. The James Estate crew opened up a nice paddock for camping and the night before the race saw clear skies and cold temperatures. Unfortunately rain was forecast for race day, although it looked like we might escape the worst of it as it clung more to the coastal fringe.

As it turned out, the coast got belted with rain and we had a couple of very light showers and perfect race conditions. The track was a mixture of firetrail and singletrack with the singletrack being sandy, rocky and fun. The sand became sandier during the race and loose corners definitely claimed some skin and pride. I managed to loose my front wheel in a corner and drew blood and twisted my levers round on my handlebars. But it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be sorted out in transition and I was back on the race track pretty quick smart.

Yet again I had Catharine and Su out on track but also Meredith Quinlan, Deb Davies and Belinda Davis… one of the largest female solo fields yet! My fellow Cheeky rider Andrew Lloyd was comfortably out in front in the male solo field and I was easily leading the female solos.

With around half the track being firetrail I thought it was be an easier race but the sandy conditions made for super hard work in the single track and my legs were definitely threatening to cramp by the last couple of laps. Despite having a comfortable lead that meant I didn’t need a 13^th lap, I headed out again just before cut off and managed to lap Meredith just before the finish bringing home another solo win and yet again the fastest female lap time for the race.

Well done Rocky Trail on another fantastic event and for injecting some new trails and locations into the race scene.