Strava is dead

Claimed overall title of the Shimano MTB GP series for 2014 in Elite 4hr category

2014 has been a ripper year on the bike along with the arrival of my son on the 17th Aug, racing all over Australia almost every weekend from the centre of the desert in Alice Springs for a 6 day stage race, Wombat forests of Victoria  to vying for the series lead in NSW based Shimano GP series title.  

But on Sunday I was officailly awarded the title of Overall Series winner of the Shimano GP MTB series. Unfortunately was unable to race the last race due to a knee issue which has kept me off the bike but hope to be fit enough to race the full Kolwalski MTB race. However winning two of the series  events and a 2nd gave me enough of a lead to hold onto the series overall title:

THE FULL KOWALSKI (Circa 100 km):

The Full Kowalski will challenge you over a mind bendingly high proportion of flowing single track across East Kowen Forest and Sparrow Hill. Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention tantalising traverses, sweet carving descents and a few delightfully stout stem-biting climbs (provided free by the ACT Parks and Conservation Service!). This race will have it all… and more.

 

Media release, 16 September 2014

 

Stromlo rewards local racers at final SHIMANO MTB GP Series Race

 

Almost 300 riders participated in the final SHIMANO Mountain Bike Grand Prix Series event at Stromlo Forest Park. Many local riders claimed podium positions and two local riders took out the seven-hour elite endurance categories Four-hour format popular with solo racers

 

Australia's 2014 Commonwealth Games representative Andy Blair won the 4-hour elite men's race with 10 completed laps in 4:13:44 ahead of ex-Supercrosss World Champion Stefan Merriman from Newcastle and Daniel Beresford from Wagga Wagga (NSW). "It was great to win a race on home ground", said Blair and added that his fellow racers put up a good fight.

 

Noticeably absent due to injury was overall series winner in the 4-hour, Paris Basson from Sydney and the organisers credited Bryan Dunkin who secured the overall Junior series win with 9 laps and a fifth consecutive win at Stromlo. Wendy Stevenson from Sydney won the 4-hour elite women's race and was also awarded the overall series title.

 

Shooting the Santa Cruz Solo with Inciteimages.com

As you can tell the image captured here by Mark Watson from inciteimages.com are insane.

But there is a story behind every shot: 5:20am shoot on an injured knee in a undisclosed location made for a cool memory and will grace a few international magazines.

Bike was kitted with KS dropper, Sram X1, Sram 650B Rise60 wheels, wide 720 bars

​Media release, 9 September 2014

​SHIMANO MTB Grand Prix finale in Canberra draws Australia's top endurance mountain bikers

The fifth and final race of this year's SHIMANO Mountain Bike Grand Prix Series will summon more than 300 racers to Canberra's Stromlo Forest Park this Saturday. Organisers from Rocky Trail Entertainment expect a thrilling conclusion to the popular cross-country racing series that has seen a good 1500 riders cross their finish line since March. For 2015, a six-race series with headline sponsor SHIMANO Cycling Australia has already been confirmed to commence in early March next year.

For the final event, an eight kilometre race course will be set out at Stromlo Forest Park and among the participants will be some of Australia's top endurance athletes, including Canberra's Andrew Blair who finished in 12th at the recent Commonwealth Games XCO competition in Glasgow (UK). Rocky Trail's Event Director Juliane Wisata says that the series has attracted a wide variety of mountain bike racers since its inception in 2009, "We see this series as a real playground for all keen mountain bikers. Especially this year we've seen a huge influx of junior and female racers and we think it's because we provide a positive event atmosphere and professional racing platform for Australian athletes to enjoy and share their passion for mountain biking and to develop their skills." 

Series decider at Stromlo Forest Park

 

In the GP4-hour elite series, Wendy Stevenson and Paris Basson lead their respective categories. The top three series place-getters in each solo and team category will get awarded with the official SHIMANO MTB GP Series Champions socks and certificates. A minimum of two race results are required to be eligible for a placing and the best 4 out of 5 race points results will count towards to final series result