Bright Mountain Bike Festival -

Bright MTB Festival - one of the biggest events of the year! With a huge amount of disciplines there was something for everyone. — Bright MTB Festival – one of the biggest events of the year! With a huge amount of disciplines there was something for everyone.

The second round of the Alpine Gravity Enduro Series saw us arriving in the picturesque Bright, not only for the enduro, but for the Bright MTB Festival. This saw a slopestyle event, cross country, downhill and enduro races all held over the course of the weekend!

Steep and loose, just what riders wanted and living up to the reputation that Bright has for being one of the premier race destinations in Australia.

For the enduro the weather was on our side with warm sunshine beaming down. On initial inspection the track lived up to its reputation from last year and from the start gate it was steep and loose with plenty of fun turns. After a few riders the track started to get loose and the dust started to fly! Riders were flowing down the track with smiles from ear to ear on everything from 29er hardtails to full-fledged DH bikes. When one bike was shining the other would lose out and the track became equally fair to everyone.

Caption options A) Bulldozing down the track! B) The grade was awesome! C) Everyone brought out their best machinery for the weekend. There you go pick your story!

The sun was out and shining, well for most of the weekend anyway!

As the first run rolled around there were so many riders the times fell slightly behind, but everything continued to keep up and run smoothly. As rider after rider pounded the corners the looseness escalated quickly, with many being caught out by dust piles looking like berms, and front wheel washing out.

Front wheel washouts and flat outs wiped the smile off the faces of many riders but only temporarily of course!

Rider after rider hit the track churning it up but that's pretty standard and you get use to that with the Australian climate and soil conditions! — Rider after rider hit the track churning it up but that’s pretty standard and you get use to that with the Australian climate and soil conditions!

Check out the crowd and the stoke clearly evident on Lucy Crundwell's face! Doesn't it make you smile?! — Check out the crowd and the stoke clearly evident on Lucy Crundwell’s face! Doesn’t it make you smile?!

Staying with the Crundwell clan but this time Ben pinning it and duly rewarded with 5th for his efforts!

The second runs began seamlessly and riders again flowed down the track but soon the clouds rolled in. By the time Elite Women were racing there was a sizable thunderstorm making its way over the race, many women finishing claimed to be hailed on either at the top of the track or mid-way down! As the storm escalated and the lightning grew closer and closer, the decision was made to cancel the Elite Mena��s second run due to dangers with the lightning and storms. This meant a hectic mass downhill start for all the boys resulting in plenty of fun being had down the track, it did however mean the first runs standings were the final results. Chris Panozzo took the victory with a healthy margin of overA�9 seconds in what was a pretty stacked field.A�What times riders would have done in their second run we will never know but we still got a result and fun was had, which is the main thing!

Elite Women:

1. Carrie McLachlan 8.30.22

2. Genevieve McKewA�8.34.10

3. Ronja Hill-Wright 8.38.36

4. Jpo Wall 8.44.25

5. Alyssa Lyons 8.52.44

Elite Men:

1. Chris Panozzo A�6.55.52

2. Jack Tattersall 7.04.58

3, Kaine Cannan 7.05.58

4. Jon Odams 7.08.09

5. Ben Crundwell 7.10.73

Watch that pedal! The fine line between an awesome run and telling all your mates in the car park 'if only I had/hadn't...' — Watch that pedal! The fine line between an awesome run and telling all your mates in the car park ‘if only I had/hadn’t…’

Bright MTB Festival done and dusted for another year, we will be back next year! Before then though we will be back to Bright over summer for some more racing!

Report & images: Jason Stevens Photography

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