11 minute read
2022 AUS MTBO CHAMPIONSHIPS
australian
championships
2022 Kurri Kurri, NSW
Niche sport emerges – Underwater Mountain Bike Orienteering
Or should that be sub-merges?
BY IAN JESSUP, ONSW
Because 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. 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! 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. One day, when it’s dry again, we’ll be back to ride these fantastic trails as they are meant to be enjoyed.
Mass Start – Neath Fire Trails
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. 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. Marina Iskhakova (RRA) took out W21 by five and a half minutes from Carolyn Jackson (BK), leading at each control. 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. 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! 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 !
(Above) Heather Leslie avoiding puddles, but (below) not this one. Heather won all 4 races in W60.
Sprint – Stanford Merthyr
Setter: Andrew Haigh The omens were not good – it rained again overnight and, during an early morning final check, controller Nic Haigh spotted an eel making its way along a track ! Everyone was resigned to getting wet and muddy again, but by now were taking it in great spirit. This map was debuted in the BOSS in
March 2020 but unfortunately the complicated single-track network in the southeast was under water and had wheels spinning. By now riders were aware that the bright orange (rideable open area) was best avoided due to prevalent clay and mud – the opposite of what this mapping innovation intended. The map inset allowed a better look at the single-track section and a few clever riders took advantage of the new black dot symbol (another forward step for the sport) to save time by bush bashing. Fedor Iskhakov’s power proved too strong in M21, Greg Barbour had a strong six-minute win in M50, and The second start group lined-up and ready to go in the Mass Start event – all clean and dry for the first event. the W12 girls had another dingdong battle. I was thrilled to get a fastest split in M50 – until I was reminded everyone was given a minute to safely cross the road from #6-#7. It was that kind of weekend ! A big thank you to the kind elderly couple across the road from the assembly area who gave away copious amounts of produce from their garden – chokos, pumpkins etc.
Jenny McConachy ploughing through the mud.
Middle Distance - HEZ
Setter: Hamish Mackie Due to late notice by National Parks we had to move the Start to a less than ideal location that turned into a watercourse. One of the tracks that crossed the creek was deemed unsafe so it was marked as a forbidden route. You could not see the potholes for the water. Such a shame because the single tracks in here are as good as you’ll find anywhere, and Hamish set testing courses that in dry weather would be a superb ride. Ricky Thackray roared back to the top of the podium in M21 with a decisive five-minute margin over Tim Doman, and Leigh Privett turned the tables with a four-second win over Rick Armstrong in M70 after making a surprising 5-minute error in the short stretch to the Finish. Marina Iskhakova made it three in a row in W21 and Carolyn Matthews was carving up W50.
Newcomer Edith Chow (GON) drove up from Sydney for her first line course MTBO event and got almost to the last control when she realised the course closure time was up – so went straight to the Finish, not realising they were allowing a little leeway. In the tussle for the OA MTBO Plaque, Victoria had wrested the lead back from NSW in a see-sawing battle. Who will prevail on the last day?
Ricky Thackray puddling his way to M21 victory in the Long Distance race.
Craig Steffens (left), Alan Davis (right) and other riders waiting for Middle start.
Long – Washberry Fire Trail
Setter: Greg Bacon Rain overnight, rain during the event .… and did we mention how wet it was?! The final event was at the pony club campgrounds on a steepish new map with a good mix of fire trails and single track, where the overgrown trails were well taped to aid navigation. Winning times for the best riders were about right, but some of our rookies were out for an eternity: Alon Gudes (M12, URN) took 3 hours 43 minutes; Edith Chow (W21), Kyle Lincoln (M21), Jenny McConachy (W50, SOQ) and Carol Pearce (W50, NCN) more than 4 hours. What great dedication to finish their courses! At the pointy end, Ricky Thackray smashed M21 as Tim Doman and Joel Young mispunched. Cathy Hogg (ACT) threatened to take out W21 but – with a six-second lead over Marina at #16 – lost eight minutes on the next shortish leg to drop back to third. In M50, Michael Ridley-Smith (GON) in his only ride for the carnival was just two minutes adrift of Craig Steffens, and in W40 Debbie Gordon (SOQ) held off Cassandra Thompson (NCN) by seven minutes after more than three hours fighting the elements. Nicole Haigh (NCN) enjoyed a narrow win in W50 and Rob Prentice, who called it “one of the best ever Aussie Champs”, prevailed again in M60. But special mention must go to Ann Ingwersen (POA), the only competitor in W80, who spent 7 hours 41 minutes in the saddle over the weekend. What an engine! And in the final wash-up (pardon the pun) NSW won enough points to retain the OA MFBO Plaque, 121-117, with Victoria 2nd.
Here is a very accurate summary of the Carnival by a loyal Newcastle helper: “Greg Bacon’s unflagging determination to deliver a special and challenging and above all a carnival worthy of National status is admirable. But the outstanding feature of the weekend was the competitor - every single one of you who went out full of anticipation, possibly trepidation, in the challenging conditions.” And a massive thank you to Event controller Andrew Power as well. No matter how difficult it was for the competitors, it was 10x harder for the event crew. You can find lots of photos on the MTBO Australia and Newcastle Orienteering Facebook pages along with a short video showing the travails of the Long Distance.
Ann Ingwersen (W80) handled the conditions well.
2022 Champion MTBO State Plaque NSW 121 VIC 117 ACT 90 QLD 73 WA 12 TAS 2
Course 2 - AY Part 2
Greg Barbour using the conveniently supplied bike wash at the sprint event.
AUS WMTBOC Team
Craig Steffens (OA Director – Operations & MTBO)
The OA MTBO Selection Team wishes to advise that Will Whittington from Tasmania and Ricky Thackray from Victoria have been selected for the 2022 team. The selection trials took place as part of the Australian MTBO Champs at Newcastle, in challenging conditions, that tested riders and bikes alike. With the World MTBO Championships being held in Sweden in July, the team will now focus on travel preparations, training and other activities to support their campaign.
Will Whittington Ricky Thackray
MTBO Team Manager Appointed
OA is pleased to announce that Hamish Mackie from NSW will fulfil the role of Australian MTBO Team Manager for 2022. Hamish is an accomplished MTBO competitor and has team manager experience from previous trips to Europe. With the MTBO World Championship fast approaching, Hamish and the Australian MTBO Team riders. have a busy few months ahead, to plan and prepare for the trip to Sweden.
Australian team selection
Congratulations to rookie Will Whittington (TAS) and veteran Ricky Thackray (VIC) on their selections for the World MTBO Championships in Sweden from July 15-20 in the historic copper mining town of Falun. This will be 44-year-old Ricky’s sixth trip to the Worlds but the first for 18-year-old Will who will feature in the JWOC section.
Will, what made you branch out into MTBO?
“I have grown up both mountain bike riding and foot orienteering. In 2019 I saw the AUS Championships were in Victoria and thought that they would be good fun, so managed to convince my family to take me to the races. Got hooked and wanted to get into the world’s team, and finally, after COVID it’s possible.”
What were your expectations ahead of Newcastle?
“Being from Tassie I was expecting hot sunny days, not much rain but humid. Well, that was wrong! Performance-wise I wanted to shake the cobwebs off (my last MTBO event was 2019) and slowly build up the speed, which I felt I was able to do even though mechanicals affected my race as I’m sure people who were there could agree.”
How are you feeling now that you’ve been selected?
“Proud and nervous. Being able to travel to a world championship to represent Australia is a proud moment for me, having spent hours training, dreaming of the moment, it’s nice to know it will happen in real life. The hard work doesn’t stop now though, this year is all about learning and gaining experience which I’m looking forward to. It is not every day that you get this kind of opportunity, to travel in a team with the amount of experience and knowledge that we have this year with Ricky and Hamish. I can’t wait to get over there and show some proper Tassie grit.”
For Ricky, his aim is to finish in the top 50 and avoid the mechanical issues that have plagued his previous WOC campaigns. “Now the Russians aren’t going I might finish a few places higher,” he joked. “It’s very competitive in Europe and my aim is to crack the top 50. I just bought a new bike and hope it might go a bit faster.”
Hamish Mackie (BF) has been appointed manager and the team will now focus on travel preparations, training and other activities to support their campaign of five races in six days. You can follow them here: www.wmtboc2022.se
