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The Snowy Beckoned

John May / 11.10.2005

The rains abated, the flooded Murray River slowly subsided and picturesque north-eastern Victoria once again hosted the Snowy Hydro Upper Murray Challenge in perfect conditions. Now in its third year and a regular on the national multi-sport calendar, this tough one-day event combining mountain biking, paddling and running attracts competitors from all over Australia. With a bigger field and a growing reputation, last year’s winners Jody Zerbst and Wendy Wilson came back to defend their titles.

As before, the 26 km MTB leg provided the early indication of the day’s front-runners. The recent heavy rains had made the fire trails of the Kosciuszko National Park even more treacherous, though fortunately only one rider ended up requiring medical treatment; the team name of “Mountain Goats� was obviously not as applicable to bikes! The Khancoban Creek crossing, just before the transition, proved to be the place for photos, as all riders found the fast-flowing, cold mountain stream too high to paddle across. This led to some spectacular ‘swims’ …….

The open ride into the kayak transition below Khancoban pondage gave the many spectators a perfect opportunity to assess the early race form. First off the bike was Simon Knowles with a scant two minute lead at the transition, showing he was one of many big improvers from last year. Close behind came newcomer Matt de Belin with Jody Zerbst; these three would fight out the Open Male category for the remainder of the day. The first team rider, Stuart May, pulled in a couple of minutes later, in fifth place. Last year’s Open Female runner-up, Delyth Lloyd, arrived shortly after, having opened up quite a gap on last year’s winner, Wendy Wilson. Less than 30 seconds would separate them at the end of the day.

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