NATIONAL MTBO SERIES, Round 1

National MTBO Series

Kay Haarsma

MTBO’s finest riders came together in Ballarat in April for the World Championship Trials weekend, which also doubled up as the first National Series events and the Victorian Championships. Just like at the 2004 Worlds, Welcome Stranger Holiday Park was again the place to be, with most riders choosing to be accommodated there. Sandra, the caravan park manager reminisced about having to ask many overseas competitors to “cover up” when using the spa in 2004, but our riders were more discreet this time. The training camp was a tremendous success, allowing the “outer Staters” to get a feel for the more detailed Victorian terrain and people getting to know each other being an added bonus. Riders from four different States were thrown together in several cabins and new friendships blossomed. The “newer” guys benefited from Alex Randall’s well-traveled cappuccino machine. Damian Welbourne’s arrival from Newcastle was delayed by airline hassles and then they had the cheek to misplace his bike for an extra 24 hours! We had junior boys from Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria all learning from their older counterparts. They all were really keen and showed heaps of potential. One said that “racing the trials would make all those 6.30am training rides worthwhile.” Another got excited by riding with the traffic down Sturt St (main Ballarat road) “as there aren’t too many vehicles in my country town.” We had three New Zealanders in the training mix too. Marquita Gelderman, (8th in Worlds 2006), demonstrated how to do a “ride by” dob with the SI stick, while Rob Garden (M40) and Alison McDonald (W50) loved the detailed Aussie forests. Our squad’s speedy demolition of $500 worth of pasta and pizza impressed the staff at La Porchetta on Saturday night.

Long Distance

This event was held on a new 1:20,000 MTBO map, Muckleford Diggings, near Newstead. This utilised the existing Blow Mine and Mia Mia foot-O maps. There was a good track network amidst the native bush with some farms along the main road dissecting it. Course setter Geoff Armstrong set challenging courses with plenty of route choice that had riders constantly wondering whether they had made the right choices. He used multiple controls at the end of legs, so riders on different courses couldn’t presume they were heading to the same control. The finish was great for spectators with riders negotiating a dam wall and then a short uphill push. The men scorched around their 36.5kms with first finisher Alex Randall (94.01) being pleased with his time even before knowing what others would record. Adrian Jackson (95.41) and David Simpfendorfer (98.29) took out the minor placing. It was great to have 18 men racing this event. The women’s race saw the most experienced competitors in Marquita Gelderman and Carolyn Jackson both have difficulty with some indistinct tracks en route to one control. Thorlene Egerton (106 mins) had a well deserved victory for the 28.5km course, while WA’s Cath Chalmers (108mins) used both her foot-o and road racing background to place 2nd. Marquita (108.50) squeezed into 3rd ahead of Melanie Simpson, from Taree, NSW (110.50) who had the misfortune of a puncture, while Southern Arrow Susanne Casanova (113 mins) lost 5mins on a wide route choice. Carolyn Jackson (115mins) and Jen Graham-Taylor (125 mins) rounded out the top-6. The junior elite boys rode the same courses as the women all weekend. In the long event the Braemar College Victorian lads took the quinella. Winner was tall 16 year-old Peter Markworth (109 mins) who rode without cleats. Heath Jamieson (115mins), a 15 year-old pocket rocket, took out most of the fastest splits in finishing second, while Tasmanian Chris Horne (126mins) was 3rd. Sunday saw a double-header event at Nerrina, just a 5min ride from where most were staying. The morning saw the Middle Distance races over 18km (men) and 14km (women & boys) on 1:10,000 maps while the afternoon Sprint races of 8km and 6km were held on a 1:7,500 edition.

Adrian Jackson coming in to finish at Nerrina where he won the Middle and Sprint races. Photo: Mike Hubbert

Middle Distance & Sprint

Adrian Jackson (50.51) had a 2min win over Alex Randall, while Tony Clark completed the trifecta for the local Victorian Nuggets. Tony rode well in all races but unfortunately was unavailable for world champs selection. NSW Stingers Paul Darvodelsky and Rob Preston were 4th and 5th. David Simpfendorfer suffered a puncture, while Anthony Darr was a victim of somewhat faint overprinting, and completely missed a control. The courses had many shortish legs requiring riders to decide their route choice quickly. There was also some very steep and technical ascents and descents to test out skills. AJ completed the double with a win in the Sprint, his time of 21:42 being almost a minute ahead of Alex, while Rob Preston was just 30secs further back in 3rd. Rob, a long time elite foot orienteer commented that: “I would certainly do more MTBO if it was always this detailed and exciting.” Rounding out the top 6 were: Tony Clark, Paul Darvodelsky and Tasmania’s Matt Hope.

National MTBO Series

Round 1 – Castlemaine and Ballarat

Rob Garden, one of several riders who made the trip over from New Zealand. Photo: Dion Keech

Kurt Neumann (QLD was 1st in the Sprint and 2nd in the Middle race in M17-20E. Photo: Dion Keech Jen Graham-Taylor (WA) rode well enough to be selected in her first Australian team. Photo: Dion Keech

Alex Randall (Vic) had a good win in the Long Distance race. Photo: Tanya Montgomery

“Muckleford Diggings” – Nillumbik Emus Scale 1:20,000, Contour 5 metres Victorian Long Distance MTBO Champs April 18 2008

There was some good young MTBO talent on display in the M17-20E class. Shown here with Chris Horne (Tas), Peter Markworth (Vic) and Heath Jamieson (Vic). Photo: Kay Haarsma.

Another young gun, Morgan Clark (Vic) making short work of this steep descent. Photo: Tanya Montgomery. James Lithgow (NSW) one of the many very competitive M50 riders. Photo: Dion Keech. National selector Rick Armstrong had a busy weekend but still managed to win all three M60 races Photo: Dion Keech.

Heath Jamieson shows his non-stop SI dipping technique. Photo: Dion Keech. Alison McDonald (NZ) had a clean sweep with three wins in W50. Photo: Tanya Montgomery.

In the women’s event Marquita (NZ) demonstrated her class winning both races convincingly. In the Middle Distance she had a 10min win, with WA Nomad Jen Graham-Taylor (60.54) being the first Aussie home, followed by Thorlene (66mins) and Carolyn Jackson (67mins). NSW Stinger Melanie Simpson, took 68.40, Susanne Casanova (69.48) suffered a bent derailleur, which wasn’t beneficial in this hilly area while Cath Chalmers (73 mins) had several errors. In the Sprint Marquita was followed home closely by Melanie Simpson and Thor Egerton, with top foot orienteer Kathryn Ewels demonstrating her multi-skills to be a close 4th. The junior boy’s Middle Distance event saw Peter Markworth gain his second win of the weekend, chased home by Queenslanders Kurt Neumann and Chris Firman. Kurt had a brilliant ride in the Sprint to win by over 3mins, with Peter second and Tasmanian Chris Horne gaining another 3rd place. Heath Jamieson was in the lead in the latter until near the end when he failed to see or visit #9. Overall it was tremendous to see much new talent emerge in both the women’s and junior boys. All have good fitness and physiques, and just need more event experience and navigation training to improve further. The “old” guard remained at the top amongst the men, but it must be remembered that Adrian Jackson (multiple World Championship medallist) and Alex Randall (bronze medal) set a very high benchmark. Tasmanian Matt Hope displayed heaps of promise, with many fast splits but lack of pre-trial races obviously disadvantaged him and other “outer Staters.” This is something that both the States and the MTBO committee need to address when setting future programs.

Prospects for MTB WOC

Our prospects for the World Championships in Poland (August 24-31st) look quite good. The return of Adrian Jackson will make our Relay team a definite podium chance, despite the increased depth in men’s MTBO in recent years. All four men have much experience at World Championship level, and three raced in similar Polish terrain last year, so they are ideally placed to ride to their potential. The women’s team has three newcomers to the international stage in Melanie Simpson, Jen Graham-Taylor and Cath Chalmers, while Thor Egerton has already shown the benefit from her 2007 World Championship experience. All have the right “can do” attitude and if they adjust quickly to the Polish terrain some good results wouldn’t surprise. The Polish terrain is described as “a little hilly with various types of roads, lakes and swamps with a 2.5 metre contour interval.” Also unique is the local rule that allows both riding and carrying one’s bike across the blue-berried forest floor between controls. This is usually an option at least once each course, so that aspect will require familiarisation, as will the necessity of riding on the right hand side of tracks.

Victorian Championships

Competition was just as stiff in the non-elite classes. Remarkably, three riders managed to win all 3 titles, these being Kiwi Alison McDonald in W50; Albury’s Rick Armstrong in M60, and Melbournite John Sheahan in M70. Other individual A class winners were: M14 – Morgan Clark & Timmy Jackson; M 16 – Chris Firman (Q); M40 – Rob Davis, Craig Steffens (Q), Jon Sutcliffe (Q); W40 – Anitra Dowling, Suzanne O’Callaghan, Lyn Stichbury (Q); M50 – Eoin Rothery (WA), Lee Merchant (SA) – 2 wins; W60 – Margaret Barker, Kath Liley - 2 wins; W 70 – Joyce Rowlands – 2 wins. (Victorian unless otherwise indicated) The combination of the three-event weekend and lead-in training proved popular. Really excellent challenging courses were set by Geoff Armstrong (NE), Mark Valentine and Blake Gordon (EU) and both clubs did well to pull off both events with limited personnel and significant troubles. At 7am Saturday Geoff managed to get his car “stumped” while control setting, and later that night Lesley and Tom Norwood had their car and the Eureka trailer forcibly rammed in the side by another car. Luckily the personal injuries were minor. These happenings do point out how much effort, time and sacrifice go into organizing orienteering events. Elites, and others, should take the time to say a few thank-you’s and also ensure that they take their turn on the organizing side of things each year.

MTBO National Series

Further events in the MTBO National Series will take place in Maryborough (Qld) and Canberra later in the year. The present leaders are: Men: Adrian Jackson (87 points), Alex Randall (84), Tony Clark (67), Paul Darvodelsky (65), Matt Hope (59). David Simpfendorfer (52). Women: Thorlene Egerton (84); Melanie Simpson (76), Jen Graham-Taylor (72), Cath Chalmers (68), Carolyn Jackson (65), Susanne Casanova (62) Junior Boys: Peter Markworth (87 points), Kurt Neumann (79), Heath Jamieson (49), Chris Horne (48), Chris Firman (24), Morgan Clark (22).

Vale Bill Chalmers

Newcastle Orienteers club member Bill Chalmers died suddenly in early May while holidaying in Western Australia. Bill was out riding in one of WA’s National Parks when his heart failed.

Bill was an extremely well loved member of the Newcastle club and his passing is a great blow to all who knew him. He was very active, competing in MTBO and rogaining and also had success as a competitive swimmer.

Our thoughts are with Carolyn, Cath,

Nadine and their families at this time of great sadness.