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Bell Wins Merida 24 Hour!

John Flynn / 26.04.2006

In one of the most impressive rides yet seen in a 24 hour cross-country endurance event on Australian soil, Bell completed forty laps of the demanding 10 kilometre Kooralbyn circuit, amassing a grand total of 400 totally solo kilometres in the saddle. The 31 year old Victorian’s monumental effort proved a fitting climax to the largest 24 hour mountain bike event ever staged in Queensland. Bell’s lap tally ranked higher than many of the four and six member teams in the field of 450 riders.

“I had to dig deep, I was ready to stop about six hours ago,� an emotional Bell said at race end.

“The last four laps I thought bugger it I’m not stopping, I’m just going to go through and see what the body can do and it held up.�

Set amid the backdrop of South-East Queensland’s spectacular Scenic Rim, Kooralbyn turned on perfect weather conditions for the Merida 24 Hour. Gold Coast 6 man team \'dirty mongrels\' brought together a hand picked selection of youth and experience to claim overall race honours. The team, anchored at either end by the evergreen Brett Stevens and the prodigiously talented Daniel Hallam, smashed their rivals with a final tally of fifty laps, or five hundred kilometres on the trail.

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