2022 AUS MTBO CHAMPIONSHIPS
aus tr al i a n
c ha m p i onsh i p s 2022
Kurri Kurri, NSW
Niche sport emerges – Underwater Mountain Bike Orienteering Or should that be sub-merges? BY IAN JESSUP, ONSW
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ecause a perfect storm – in every sense of the word – conspired to make these championships one of the most gruelling of all time ..… for organisers, competitors and travelling family members.
(Above) Heather Leslie avoiding puddles, but (below) not this one. Heather won all 4 races in W60.
COVID and La Nina had already wreaked havoc on the luckless team from Newcastle and Big Foot, who were all set to unveil worldclass new areas to ride on near Cessnock.
First, the Sept 2020 date was moved back a year due to the pandemic, and then to March 2022 when the Delta variant exploded. And just when events restarted in late 2021, the Big Wet arrived. It rained seemingly all summer. Come mid-March and record floods on the east coast put the event in jeopardy once more. But a week out and Greg Bacon declared the tracks rideable, if a little wet in parts. OK, we are on! Then – 36 hours before Friday’s Mass Start – another 60-80mm fell on the Hunter Valley. It was cruel beyond belief and flooded all the event areas, but with all the interstate riders already in town the decision was made to proceed.
If you’d said to Friday’s finishers those were the best conditions they’d get all weekend you would have been met with dropped jaws. It was terrific to see a few juniors having a go on the weekend and I’m sure they had stories to tell classmates on the Monday afterwards!
Their km rates of 3:32 were pretty good considering a lot of single track was underwater – but the fire trails offered the chance to really pump it out. Tasmanian Will Whittington – riding Opens instead of M20 emerged as a bright prospect for the sport with an excellent third placing just six minutes adrift in 1:29:20.
A huge thank you to Greg, Andrew, the Newcastle club and their Big Foot colleagues for a massive effort. While there was the odd grumble about conditions, every participant appreciated how much work went into the carnival.
Marina Iskhakova (RRA) took out W21 by five and a half minutes from Carolyn Jackson (BK), leading at each control.
Mass Start – Neath Fire Trails
In M70, just four seconds split Albury Wodonga clubmates Rick Armstrong and Leigh Privett. Leigh led narrowly for most of the 16km but surrendered nine seconds on the finish. How good that would look in Livelox!
One day, when it’s dry again, we’ll be back to ride these fantastic trails as they are meant to be enjoyed. Setter: Malcolm Roberts
Malcolm organised a Le Mans like start which went down well with all the competitors who faced a long first leg then two large loops before a tight sprint finish for the last few controls – including a 1m deep waterhole that many fell into! In M21, Tim Doman (NC) beat Ricky Thackray (BK) by just eight seconds over the 24km. Doman led all the way and by almost three minutes at #18 but lost all that on #19 to let Thackray in front by 3 seconds. He pulled it back on the last two short legs and the Finish chute. 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2022
The Masters divisions were keenly contested as expected. In M50, less than minute separated Craig Steffens (MTQ), Greg Barbour (BFN) and Hamish Mackie (BFN) who all finished in under 80 minutes (km rate 3:45). The old fox Robert Prentice (NCN) won M60 in a similar time.
Surprisingly there were a dozen mispunches on the day due to clearand-check mistakes and perhaps because riders did not get close enough to the new long-range SI-Air units. Despite the conditions, seven of the age classes had winning times pretty much spot on. A big well done to Veronika Iskhakova (RRA) and Harriet Thompson (NCN) for persevering for two and a half hours in W12 !
