Kinglake! Round 3 of the Victorian Downhill Series has come and gone, a series quickly becoming a magnet for not only local talent, but for riders Australia wide! For the first time this season the track wasn’t just a dust festival (initially). Storms to previous day kept the ground moist and made for some excellent conditions to practice in.
As race day rolled in the weather decided it would be a little bit bipolar, and though it didn’t rain, the clouds ensured that it was a typical Melbourne day with the weather going from hot to cold more times than you can count. The changing light made some riders cautious, especially popping out from the much darker wooded sections.
As practice drew to a close, we began to get a real show from some of the riders out to have some fun before the seriousness of qualifying moved in.
Come qualifying everyone stepped it up a notch, with style being substitutedA�for raw speed.
We saw some of the top riders come through a step down section just before the rock garden, three riders, three very different riding styles, one very similar determined look on their faces.
As the day grew on the crowd came out and lined the track, the changing weather conditions not deterring them. Come finals the crowd was going crazy and Elite riders were copping all sorts of different cheering tactics…
The shenanigans certainly didn’t stop when the racing was finished. The podium presentationsA�became complete shambles with people falling off the podium steps, objects being thrown and Dean LucasA�reading his sponsors off the jersey and being caught out, only to return a spray to the crowd!
At the end of the day racing was a hotly contested with some big names vying it out, in the end Dean Lucas took another win from Timmy Eaton, Rhys Atkinson who helped construct the track here took third.
Elite Men:
1. Dean Lucas
2. Timmy Eaton
3. Rhys Atkinson
4. Joey Vejvoda
5. Liam Panozzo
Elite Women:
1. Tegan Maloy
2. Sarah Booth
3. Jacqui Lovett
4. Ellie Wale
5. Li Lina
U/19 Men:
1. Aiden Varley
2. Andrew Crimmins
3. Ben Hill
4. Oliver Zwar
5. Elliot Webb
It wasA�a top weekend where the weather played along, even though the forecast suggested it wouldna��t. A really excellent weekend of racing finishing off with plenty of laughs.
See you all at Round 4, Mt. Buller, which is held a week apart from the National round there, talk about a double header!
From myself, Jason Stevens,A�have an awesome Chirstmas everyone! I will see you all in the New Year!
Thanks Jason for another awesome report and pics (with some help from Harry Hartwig), there will be plenty more up on downhill247.com as the year draws to an end, check back soon.