Thanks to RF Photographics ( Instagram @rfphotographics or FacebookA�here) we have some more great images to share with you from the National Enduro round at Fox Creek over the weekend. It was a great weekend and we are already keen for the next one!
Images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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The A�national enduro series found itself in the picturesque Adelaide Hills over the weekend for round 2 and we found ourselves track side bringing you the action! The event started on Saturday with the optional Prologue – basically a seeding event but one that didn’t have any direct bearing on the actual race outcome and then the 6 race stages on the Sunday.
As we write this the results are yet to be published but we do know some of the results courtesy of the podium presentations! In the women’s race it was Phillipa Rostan who took the top step ahead of Shelly Flood and Jackie Schapel. Moving onto the men’s race and it was an all local podium (just like the women’s really!) standing on top with a 100% success rate in enduro races; Connor Fearon, in second was Troy Brosnan and Simon Buzacott rounded out the top 3.
The tracks were riding good all weekend with many riders saying they had their best runs ever on some of the sections, the real challenge was beating mother nature. Right at the end of proceedings the rain moved in and for some unfortunate riders that meant riding in the wet.
That rounds out a good weekend of racing!
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Stevie Smith the 26 year old Canadian was tragically taken from us too soon. Even at the tender age of 26 it seems he has been on the scene for much longer, such were his accomplishments and his larger than life character. Going by many nicknames it was 2013 where he firmly planted his stake as one of the best in the world, winning multiple world cups and with it the overall championship. Despite being hampered by injuries through 2014 and again in 2015 he was always positive, in 2016 it looked like Stevie was again back on track. A second placed finish at the opening world cup of the year highlighted this. A flat tyre in Cairns put an end to race winning aspirations but seeing him wheelie the course to the delight of the crowd cemented the positive character Stevie was known for.
Words cannot do the tragic loss of life justice and the outpouring from the global mountain bike community has shown this. Our thoughts are with the friends, family and fellow riders.
One of the final wishes from those close to Stevie is the donation in lieu of flowers, information below:
A Celebration of Life will be held on May 21 at 1 p.m. at the Vancouver Island Convention Centre in Nanaimo, B.C. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the a�?Stevie Smith Legacy Funda�? atwww.gofundme.com/23k7fus. Funds will be earmarked for a Tiann Smith initiative, assisting talented young athletes.
Ride In Peace Stevie Smith. 1986 – 2016
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Cairns was one of the best races for some time and so we thought we would dedicate some more screen time to it, have a look at these pictures and reminisce on a great event, enjoy:
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Photos: Jason Stevens Photography and stock images. Facebook:A�www.facebook.com/jasonstevensphotographyA�or follow @jasonstevensphotography on Instagram
Here we are again the first round of the SA state series, what with all the busyness of nationals it certainly doesn’t feel like 6 months since state champs.
The first round takes us south to Mount Gambier. At track walk it looked a relatively untechnical track, fast, smooth and short. As you’ll see in the following photos it would be the complete opposite once 100+ riders hit the track it being so dry it turned super rutted and soft.
Images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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We are Australian so we might be a little biased but the Cairns world cup was one of the best we have witnessed in some time! There were some truly amazing highs (as well as a few lows – after all that is racing), the day kicked off with a short practice session in the morning before the crowd started filing through the gates and lining the course.
The juniors kicked off proceedings and there was high expectations with a large number of riders all keen to impress at their home race. In the end impress they did with 4 out of the top 5 spots going to Australians. In 5th was Josh Clark, 4th was Jackson Frew, 3rd was Harry Bush and 2nd was Remy Morton. The win went to Matt Walker from Great Britain.
Next up were the senior females and it was evident who the crowd was cheering for, the home town Hannah! In this case Tracey, she put down a stomping run and finished second, it was Rachel Atherton that took the win but boy was the crowd lapping Tracey up!
At 2pm it was time for the men to start their race runs, 80 riders, one winner! Here are some observations from the afternoon;A�Stevie Smith got a flat front tyre, Greg Minnaar commented he didn’t have any issues with his run but still had a result that wasn’t up to his standards, much the same for Gee Atherton and Sam Hill was battling an illness in the week leading up to the race finishing 28th.
Without doubt one of the highlights of the weekend for us was the result of one man – Josh Button – after having stepped away from racing World Cups since 2012 Josh has been keeping things low key, until Cairns that was! He put in a stomping run to claim the hot seat from Graeme Mudd and he was sitting there for a very long time…At first we were hoping he wouldn’t get knocked out of the top 20, then the top 15 before finally the top 10… then we began to dream, a podium?! We all knew JB had the skills, then sure enough there were 4 riders left and Josh was in range. In the end he did claim one – 5th place, JB you’ve done it again!
There were still 4 riders to go, Loic Bruni was on the hot seat with AAron Gwin unable to better his time, there were just 2 riders left, both Australian. Sik Mik Hannah knows Cairns like the back of his hand having grown up here, with sister Tracey coming close in the women’s everyone was hoping mic could finish one step higher. He put in a cracking run but ended up in second place. This left Troy Brosnan as the last rider on course, the whole way down the times were so close, it looked like he might have done it just before he crossed the line where the timing board showed he was just 0.493 seconds down! In the process this handed Loic his first ever world cup win.
We have a smorgasbord of images to show you guys from the week so check back for those soon.
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