Bike Buller

Flying start to first day of the Bike Buller MTB Festival presented by Orbea

Press Release / 07.03.2015

Mt Buller has never seen so many mountain bikers with the first day of the Bike Buller MTB Festival presented by Orbea, on Saturday 7 March.

The first day of action included seven events, with everything from cross country and All Mountain descents, to kids’ events, Pump Track and Dual Slalom. It was a great atmosphere with plenty of smiles at the finish line and cheering at the spectacle events. Brad Clarke from Berwick Victoria was the clear winner of Race 1, the 50km Schwalbe Stirling Circuit, finishing nearly 12 minutes ahead of the next rider. “It was good fun; I really enjoyed it. I went out really hard from the start and managed to take an early lead. The best part of the course was definitely the descent on the Stonefly Trail,” he said.

It was no surprise that highly accomplished mountain biker Melissa Anset won the women’s event. Ben Tregoweth also enjoyed a clear win in Race 2, the 35km FOX Stonefly Circuit. “It’s the first time I’ve ridden these trails and I just made sure I was having fun. The Stonefly descent was pretty sick; I really like the downhill sections,” he said.

Rebecca Payne from Sydney was the winner of the women’s category in Race 2. “It’s my first time riding at Mt Buller. The downhill section after the 50km and 35km split was just fantastic, so flowy and so much fun. I’m not used to the altitude but I loved the trails,” she said. On another section of the mountain Race 3, the FOX Outlaw All Mountain Trophy, was taking place with riders doing five timed descents and catching the chairlift back up to top.

At the end of the day, it was Alex Swann who posted the fastest men’s times and well-known mountain biker Clare Kovarik who won the women’s event.

There were plenty of smiling faces and great tales told at the end of the descent as riders caught their breath as they jumped on the chairlift with their bikes. “I didn’t ride particularly well but I’m a little out of practice. There was one long straight section where you could go pretty fast so it was good fun,” said Vaughan Blom from Aspendale. Kids had a ball today with the Race 4 FOX Kids Village Ride and Race 6 LEZYNE Kids Pump Track. There were no winners as such but ever participant walked away with prizes and high grins on their faces.

In the meantime, there was plenty of excitement and action for spectators with the Race 5 FOX 16” Dual Slalom and the Race 7 Flow Pump Track Pursuit, with the Red Bull Energy DJ Truck and trackside BBQ adding to the atmosphere.

The overall winners of today’s races were:

Race 1 – Schwalbe Stirling Circuit 50km
A spectacular XC circuit over Mt Stirling and back again including Stonefly, the Corn Hill trails and a chairlift up Mt Buller at the end.
Overall winning male: Brad Clarke
Overall winning female: Melissa Anset

Race 2 - Fox Stonefly Circuit 35km
A rewarding XC race to Mt Stirling and back on the phenomenal Stonefly trail with chairlift at the end
Overall winning male: Brad Tregoweth
Overall winning female: Rebecca Payne

Race 3 – Fox Outlaw All Mountain Trophy
All-mountain racing on two of Mt Buller’s (intermediate level) DH tracks – Outlaw Express and Yellow Post. All riders complete 5 timed descents with an untimed chairlift back to the top, and your fastest 3 descents count.
Overall winning male: Alex Swann
Overall winning female: Clare Kovarik

Race 4 –Fox Kids Village Ride
A fun ride for kids and off-road newbies with 5km and 10km options on friendly trails around the Mt Buller Village.
Participation only; no winners.

Race 5 – Fox 16” Dual Slalom
Two riders going head to head down a grass dual-slalom track on Bourke Street – on 16” kids bikes! - conducted in an elimination format with a ‘winner takes all’ final to the roars of the crowd.
Overall winner: Connor Feardon

Race 6 – LEZYNE Kids Pump Track
A fun event for kids aged under 13yrs on the Pump Track – it’s their time to shine.
Participation only; no winners.

Race 7 – Flow Pump Track Pursuit 
Thrilling head to head racing on the pump track in a do-or-die elimination format. It will be a ‘winner takes all’ final in front of a massive crowd.
Overall winner: Jackson Frew
There are still two more days of mountain biking action to come at Mt Buller.

LONG WEEKEND SCHEDULE OF RACES
 
SUNDAY 8TH MARCH:
 
9.5km Trail Run
A spectacular trail running race along the scenic alpine walking and riding trails leading to the Mt Buller Summit and back again. Great for non-riders or those who want to mix it up.

Race 8 – SRAM Guide Brake Burner Enduro 
A multi-lap enduro down a 7km XC/DH course to the base of the chairlift and back up again until the final 12km Super-D (Race 9) to the Picnic in the Park festival at the base of the mountain

Race 9 – Fox Mt Buller Super D 
An exhilarating 12km Super-D race from the top of Mt Buller all the way to the bottom - descending over 1100m in a single run. Tear down the Delatite River Trail to finish in the Picnic in the Park festival at the base of the mountain.

Race 10 – Fox Kids Picnic Ride 
An (other) opportunity for kids to get out on their bikes with a fun little ride in the Picnic in the Park festival at Mirimbah. Balance bikes, trikes and little ones all welcome.
 
MONDAY 9TH MARCH:
 
Race 11 – Adidas Eyewear Corn Hill Crankfest XC 22km
A challenging XC race on the flowing singletrack around the Mt Buller Village and neighbouring Cornhill trails.

Race 12 – Bell Super 2R Gravity Enduro 20km
A gravity enduro around the most popular Mt Buller and Cornhill trails with 5 timed descents interspersed with untimed climbs and transit stages.
 
For further details on the 2015 Bike Buller MTB Festival presented by Orbea visit www.BIKEBULLER.com

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