World champs vie for Otway Odyssey title

Media Release - Rapid Ascent / 10.02.2011

they’ll all be lining up, cleats at the ready, come 19 February, readying themselves and their heart rate monitors for one of the biggest events on Australia’s mountain biking event calendar: the Otway Odyssey Mountain Bike Marathon.<br />
<br />
Competitors will take on 15km, 50km or the main event, the 100km course which begins at the coastal town of Apollo Bay and snakes up the Otway Ranges to one of Australia’s mountain biking Meccas, Forrest, two hours south-west of Melbourne. <br />
<br />
So who will be Masters of the Otway Odyssey come the final stretch of single track in 2011? The pointy end of this year’s 100km Otway Odyssey is as sharp as ever with both the men’s and women’s fields including many of the nation’s best riders. <br />
<br />
Leading the men’s charge is likely to be four-time national champion and two-time Odyssey winner Chris Jongewaard, fresh from an exciting if narrow win at the Australian Mountain Bike Series XC event at Mt Buller earlier this month. <br />
<br />
Jongewaard is sure to be pushed long and hard by the likes of 2010 race winner Adrian Jackson and 2nd place getter Lachlan Norris (1st Australian National MTB XCO Series 09/10) who is particularly quick on the XC circuit at the moment. <br />
Hot on all their heels will be the likes of Matthew Flemming, Peter Hatton, Ben Hogarth and Andrew Fellows, to name just a few.<br />
<br />
Former 24hr Solo World Champion Craig Gordon and his entire Rock Star Racing team will also be chasing victory in a race that has eluded the team in the past, while the reigning 24hr Solo Champion Jason English is also a top contender and will take no prisoners in his quest to capture the title in the Ultimate MTB Marathon.<br />