Race Report from Michelle Inglish
The track set for the National Championships at Bright in March was a great course; a little scary but immensely rewarding if you got it ‘right’. During the recon laps, Callum kept commenting on how similar sections were to parts of Stromlo. The first double rock drop was like the start of the Flow track, the Pave corner was like the ‘C’ line on Hammerhead. There was a mini G20 and a section of berms that was possibly better than Luge.
Race day saw the track become very wet, with puddle after puddle, all extending the full width of the fire-road start. Luckily the women (all except Elite, Under 19 and 23) raced before anyone else, reducing the impact of the rain. The race itself was over quickly with only two laps for Masters 4 category. Those riders who did not make any mistakes on the slippery climbs were rewarded. I was lucky to be in that group on the day and was awarded a green and gold jersey. I feel very privileged to have won.
It was enjoyable racing at Bright with so many Canberrans and exciting to see the number of juniors competing and supporting fellow competitors.
Results
Several CORC members/Canberra based riders came on the podium during the championships:
- Chloe Dore 2nd U15 Women
- Zoe Cuthbert 2nd U17 Women
- Ruby Wilson 2nd Junior Women
- Emily Parkes 2nd U23 Women
- Rebecca Henderson 1st Elite Women
- Kelly Bartlett 5th Elite Women
- Dan McConnell, 1st Elite Men
- Brendan Johnston 4th Elite Men
- Cara Paton 1st Masters Women 1/2
- Claire Whiteman 2nd Masters Women 1/2
- Gareth Paton 3rd Masters Men 1/2
- Brad Morton 3rd Masters Men 3/4
- Michelle Inglis 1st Masters Women 4
- Tara Sutherland 1st Masters Women 5
- Michael Inglis 3rd Masters Men 5
- Bev Anderson 2nd Masters Women 6
- John Henderson 2nd Masters Men 6
- Nathan Carroll 3rd Masters Men 7+
Complete results from the XCO National Championship can be found here.
Some photos by Michael McGurgan are below.
