Welcome to beautiful and dry Fox Creek for the final round of the Inside Line South Australian state series.
With another quality weekend of racing done and dusted, we wrap up the South Australian Inside Line downhill series for 2014 with nothing but rad memories and another flawless season under the club’s belt. With overall titles on the line this weekend it was sure to be another wild weekend of racing.
Racing was going to be tight with overall series up for grabs.
Saturday morning came around as the sun shone down baking us and the track. With mint weather and good vibes all around practice got under way. As soon as practice started the talk of the track running at warp speed went through the pits, with big jumps, fast corners and steep flat out sections the track had something for everyone and kept the smiles all weekend!
Dusty and wild, just how we like it!
Practice meant people were keen to hang it out!
After a rad practice day on Saturday, Sunday was set to be a cracker. With riders arriving first thing to get lines dialed, lift lines kept moving all day thanks to the awesome volunteers and patient racers. With sneaky lines to be had and staying off the breaks being the key, there were plenty of solo runs going down in the morning to keep race lines secret. Once morning practice was done all riders and spectators were buzzing with excitement to get up the hill and to watch riders on their timed runs.
Race day and spectators made the most of the beautiful day to come out and enjoy the day.
As the elite and under 19 fields headed up for seeding, the speed at which the track was running was soon even more apparent. It was awesome to see so many junior riders out trying to get amongst the top step in their race runs. Everyone seems to have stepped it up this past season and their looks to be a bright future ahead for our sport.
Seeding for juniors and elite led into the rest of the categories race runs before finals.
As all categories got under way and a few glitches had been ironed out, all eyes were pointed towards the hillside to watch as the pointy end of the field came down.
Racing isn’t just elite and under 19’s with many battles going down over the course of the series.
Elite women came down and it was Phillipa Rostan that came away with the win, followed closely again by Cami Miller and rounding out the podium was Moira Love coming in third. With a tight seasons racing between the elite women’s field state champs is sure to be another close and exciting race to come. In the under 19’s the final results looked like this;A�1. Drew gartery 2. Darcy Grooby 3. Cameron Heading these guys really are the future of the sport so it was good to see them pushing hard.
Weeeeeeee!!!!
With all other categories done it was time for the elite men to charge down the hill and the hunt was on, with tight times from start to finish it was the bearded beast Angus Maddern who came down and smoked the rest of the field. Followed closely by the wallaby himself Conor Clancy, with Cam Ryan, Steve Gebert and the big dog Ngari Jenkins rounding out the rest of the elite podium.A� With only state champs to go to round out another amazing year of racing the fight will be on for someone to steal the state champs stripes away from Troy Brosnan. Who will it be? only time will tell!!
Cam Ryan can scrub, he also managed to take every chainless race category race this year!
Thanks to Inside Line for another awesome season, we will see you all out at the South Australian State championships on the 11/12th of October at Willunga for the shot at the 2014 title.
It was fantastic to see Troy Brosnan back from his stellar overseas season and out at the race.
Troy constantly had people around him eager to chat which he was happy to oblige, he was also basically giving away stuff to the club members (read super cheap). It is great to see Troy remaining so humble.Thumbs up for the series!Dust, whips and sun, life’s good!Next year will see many of the juniors step up to the next level in their racing!All in all another great weekend racing!
Words Aaron Pelttari (Aaron would like to thanks Monza Imports, Bicycle Express & Bouwmeester Composites).
Images in this article from RFPhotographics like them on FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics
Back to Eagle, this time with the blue skies and the sun shining!
Eagle Mountain Bike Park had the privilege of hosting round 5 of the Insideline downhill mountain bike series. Of course Eagle is a tried and true track, having hosted multiple state races as well as National Championships. With an awesome weekend ahead all riders were looking towards the weather to see what was going to become. With blue skies forecast it was going to be a welcome change for the riders (and bikes) from the past few rounds of wet slop. First up before we delve into racing let’s take a ride down the course with our helmet cam rider Mr Aaron Peltarri;
As riders flowed in Saturday morning track walk got underway and saw riders looking at a different eagle track from previous rounds. With different line choices from top to bottom, and a dry gritty dirt it was going to be a fast and loose weekend for all!
Bikes primed and ready to go, excitement plus!
With some changes to the track there were lines to be sussed.
No Troy Brosnan didn’t come home to race his local race as he was in Canada racing the World Cup but riders of all skill levels were having a blast on the weekend.
Sunday came round and excitement was building for race time! With spectators finally coming out the woodwork due to the all time weather, riders were keen to get rowdy and the crowd wanted to see fast racing! With the usual suspects smoking elite and under 19s seeding runs, racing was well and truly underway and everyone was smiling ear to ear.
Matt Taylor on the hunt!
As the day dawned, Elite and under 19s finals runs fast approached and it was time for the boys and girls to bring the noise!
Elite women came down first off and it was once again a battle between the gravity girls, with just 1.59 seconds separating the two in seeding it was anyone’s game, Cami Miller came down setting the pace with a 2.52.97 on the clock. However it was not to be her day, as Moira Love came down to seal the deal by just 0.50 of a second!
Crowd participation, essential at any Insideline race!
The under 19s started and it was again tight racing, with most of the field done, at the top the 5 were left, each rider came down knocking the rider in front off the top step to mirror the same result as seeding. With Darcy Grooby taking another win with a 2.04.19, Cameron Heading slipping into second with a 2.06.98 and rounding out the top 3 Drew Gartery with a 2.09.13.
Another win for Darcy Grooby who is getting on a roll this season.
Elite men started and conditions could not have been better, with the pre race banter over it was time to get down to business and it did not disappoint. With Cody Barker setting the benchmark early on with a 2.03.100, Matty Taylor got close sitting in just 0.090 behind. It was not until the wallaby himself (Conor Clancy) came down with a smoking time of 2.01.11 was able to knock Cody off the top step. With the top 2 qualifiers left to come Angus Maddern came down to put the wallaby back a spot with a time of 1.57.950 being the first rider of the day to break the 2 minute mark.
Angus Maddern, the first rider to go sub 2 minutes during racing…
All eyes were on Cam Ryan as he made his way down for the final run of the day, crossing the line in a 1.57.690 taking out his first Elite men win and the fastest run of the day. It was fantastic to see Cam grab his first win in Elite, we are sure there are more to come! Interesting to note he did it on his big bike rather than his enduro whip he has been racing on lately…
Winner winner! Back on his downhill bike and it clearly paid for Cam Ryan taking out the Elite Men’s field.
Our fearless scribe sending it!
A few riders on enduro bikes were having great fun but said there were areas on the track where a downhill bike would be advantageous!
What a banger from RF Photographics! Scrubbing just because…
Thanks to Insideline mountain bike club for another great event, we will see you all at round 6 back at Fox Creek for another awesome weekend of racing!
Words Aaron Pelttari (Aaron would like to thanks Monza Imports, Bicycle Express & Bouwmeester Composites).
Images in this article from RFPhotographics like them on FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics
Look at that amazing view out over the race course to the city of Adelaide below! Errr hang on… That’s right!
As Inside Line is well and truly into its 20th race season for round 3 we found ourselves at the familiar track of Eagle Mountain Bike Park. With weather once again playing a key role in practice and racing. The forecast leading up to the race was showing showers with brief periods of sunshine, this saw everyone brace for another wet and wild race in Adelaide! Unfortunately the forecasters were correct, with miserable conditions for the majority of the weekend – but we are mountain bikers so it would take a bit more than just some rain to put us off (Chuck Norris ain’t got nothing!). By racing some riders were holding onto dry tyres and hoping for the best, while others were seen with a mud or two!
The track was slightly different to previous races, kudos to Inside Line for mixing it up and keeping everyone on their toes! Angus Maddern sussing lines.Tyre choice was also on the cards…There were patches of blue sky, some times…
Racing was tight in all categories, some familiar names were coming out on top in the hotly contested elite and under 19 fields, with Moira Love getting the win in elite womens’ with a 2:52.879, Showing consistency throughout the 2014 season. In the under 19s category we saw Darcy Grooby take the win with a 2:05.910. With James Chambers only .76 back in second place and Drew Gartery not far behind, the under 19s category is looking like it will be close in the overall at the end of the season, leading up to some exciting races left to come!
On a flyer of a season Angus Maddern grabbed the victory ahead of a returning to racing, Aussie legend Dave West.Keeping the riders fueled up! Important job but it just shows how much some people are willing to help the club out by volunteering, well done and more power to you!
With Troy Brosnan and Connor Fearon both racing overseas the elite men’s category was well and truly an open affair. After Angus Maddern took out seeding he was the man to beat down the mountain at the end of the day. With other Heavy hitters trying to stay of the brakes and knock Angus down, he once again came down with a smoking time of 1:59.520 to push Dave West out of the hot seat by 2.77 seconds to take a convincing win and to extend his lead of the overall.
Some people were looking for some luck!Some went looking for it mid run….…Maybe not the appropriate time to be looking though…
After a wet and cold weekend of racing and ruining bikes, the inside line state series will next visit an old favourite of Fox Creek- Long, hopefully in nicer conditions so we can all go faster!! Thanks to inside line for putting on another awesome event, see you next time!
Dark, cold and ominous, may describe the weather but the racing is always hot!Throwing a bit of style for the fans!This little step down jump is a favourite for riders and photographers alike!Home to wash (or pass on to mum to wash?!)
Words Aaron Pelttari. Images in this article from RFPhotographics like them on face book hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotogrpahics
As Inside Line heads into its 20th race season for round 2 we headed to good old Fox Creek and the infamous Bowl track. With the weather in Adelaide during the week being wet everyone was bracing for another wet Fox race (surprise surprise!). However, Mother Nature smiled kindly on us with excellent weather over the weekend, by finals Sunday some riders were saying the track conditions were as good as they had experienced. Check out some of the images below from RF Photographics (www.facebook.com/rfphotographics – head over and give them a like they do great work).
Slightly ominous on the drive up to Fox but the good weather prevailed.In fact the weekend conditions turned out almost perfect!The track was similar to it has been for any years so riders knew what to expect.Angus Maddern on the hunt, Angus is always a contender at Inside Line races.The training rig was out, things are getting serious…..Sussing lines.Blurring through the trees.Everything was green due to the winter conditions.There was a good spectator turnout, it must have been everyone treating their mums to a day out of racing for mothers day!There were probably a lot of mums worried about their off spring ending up like this! Fortunately nothing was too serious…Tacky conditions come finals!Style check!Connor Fearon was always going to be the man to beat, you don’t argue with World Cup speed!There were a lot of trail/enduro type bikes at this race and in fact 2 of the top 5 elite riders were on them!
In the end, Sunday afternoon in sunny conditions the finals kicked off, as always there was good racing across the classes and the spectators were there to cheer. In the under 19 men it was Drew Gartery 2.28 seconds clear ahead of Darcy Grooby followed by James Chambers. Elite women was taken out by Cami Miller 3.91 seconds ahead of Moira Love followed by Simone Cameron. In the elite men’s class it was the favourite, Connor Fearon, who took the win by 4.82 seconds. His time was 2.16.47, interestingly enough Connor himself said he was chasing sub 2.15. Second was Angus Maddern followed by Cam Ryan on the first of the enduro bikes, Steve Gebert 4th and Simon Buzzacot rounded out the top 5.
Never really in doubt if he kept it up right Connor Fearon took the win.
Check out the compression! The g-out was highly entertaining….
At the recent South Australian State Champs the final chute into the finish line saw riders entering with quite a lot of speed, needless to say there was a lot of suspension compression going on! Check it out, enjoy;
With another season done it was time for the State Champs, for the last few years it has been at Eagle, this year it was Willunga that held the race.
The final Inside Line race for South Australia in 2013 was the State Champs held over the October long weekend to the south of Adelaide at Willunga. Here everyone was vying to take home the state champion jersey, a cool prize and one that everyone liked.
The track had seen a visit from the trail fairies, they brought their bulldozer to make a few changes which was good of them!
The trail was different from the State race earlier in the year held here but onA�one ridge over, the top section was made up of technical features, such as rock gardens, g-outs and big jumps while the bottom section was flat turns before the finishing chute.
There were a lot of flats over the weekend, one rider apparently even copping 5 in a row! The reason, little ninja rocks hiding everywhere!Different styles were displayed all weekend long!Overall the track was fast and riders just blurred past.Transport ran well over the weekend, the ride up can sometimes be as crazy as the ride down due to the access road!
The weather was good, the wind did cause a few crashes on some of the jumps as riders got thrown around, best recovery thoughts to all that crashed!
Ouch! He walked away though, literally crashing a few metres from the finish beam.
The big draw cards for the racing were Troy Brosnan and Connor Fearon, unfortunately could only do one run, a sore ankle meant he didn’t want to risk hurting it more and spectated over the weekend instead.
Elbows up! Troy Brosnan brings his international speed back home.There were all sorts of random things spotted over the weekend, large numbers of the police force, people mowing the lawn in their pit areas… All sorts!Nice view! Not that the riders would notice as they sent the kicker.
Racing saw tension levels higher than just a state round for obvious reasons, the Under 19 race was possibly the most dramatic as Matt Taylor, Conor Clancy and James Chambers battling it out all year, in the end Conor prevailed by 2 seconds. Full results are on the Inside Line club site (or should be soon!). Elite was always going to be Troy Brosnans race to win and he did just that taking the race ahead of Will Rischbieth.
Winner winner! Troy Brosnan adds the State Champs to his impressive list of achievements for 2013.Angus Maddern has had a good season all year including heading over to race his first World Cup, he shows us the middle line through the bottom chute.Henry Blake, another rider who had a good year, including heading over to Whistler earlier in the season takes the outside line.There is talk of doing a 20 year anniversary race here to mark 20 years of Inside Line next year, this bike would fit in perfectly.A good crowd witnessed a fitting final race for 2013!
That is a wrap for 2013! We can’t wait for next years series, thanks to Inside Line, the volunteers and everyone that has supported the site this year.
