Unique in that it is one of the few mass starts taken under headlamp and handlebar light, the stage saw riders take their cue from the Bon Scott soundtrack, striking off in a thunder of wheels, dust and flickering beams of light, ahead of them 23km of mostly tight and shadowy singletrack.

Video footage from the night stage

With a back to back title drawing ever near, buffered by an essentially unassailable time gap, Andy Blair still took the initiative to draw away early on, leading the race from start to finish and even enjoying his own concert-on-wheels along the way.

“It was great fun out there. I don’t usually like night riding, but once I got away on my own, I used my phone – which we had to carry as compulsory gear – to play music. It was awesome, I whacked it on shuffle and really got into it.

Blair gave credit to his lighting set up for showing him the way better than most.

“I’m running Radical lights now, and they just seem to be so much brighter than everyone else’s. That better vision really helps, because your braking becomes less intense, so you use less energy and have more in the tank for the hills. I really felt like I was doing easy. And with the music going, I felt a bit like a Jedi out there.”

Conscious of the potential of becoming being the first ever rider to nab back-to-back overall titles in this event*, Blair will ride safe tomorrow saying it will all be abut mitigating disaster.  “I’ll carry a lot of spares and concentrate on not being complacent. It’ll be a fun race, tomorrow – as it’s the final shootout, people will be still by vying for other podium places and category wins. My mate Nick Both has come up in the rankings and is a shot – he’ll have a lot of work to do, but you never know.”

Both came second tonight 1:10 behind Blair, increasing his chances at a real shot at the podium, while third place went to Ben Hogarth only two seconds behind Both.

[Other back-to-back category titleholders include Carolyn Jackson in Vintage (2008-2011), John Allison in Vintage (2010-2011) and Paul Darvodelsky in Veteran (2009-2010).]

Despite smashing a derailleur, current overall women’s leader, Melissa Anset managed to limp her bike over the final kilometres to win, her margin diminished somewhat to 27 seconds over second place getter, Sarah Holmes.

Holmes, known more for her cross country riding, scored two second placings today to add to her one stage win on the hill sprint earlier in the week.

“As the week’s progressed I got stronger and today was definitely my best day,” said Holmes.

My Stage Two win in the hill sprint showed I have the power, but when it came to the longer stage yesterday I had a shocker and struggled.”

“Today really suited me  – the trail came across as a pure mountain biker’s course, I really loved it – in fact I’d say it was the best course I’ve ridden.

Unlike Blair, Holmes nominates night riding as a favourite.

“My time was only two minutes slower than the day ride on the same course. I do a fair bit if night riding, and really enjoy it.”

Holmes and the rest of the Ingkerreke Commercial riders face a 40km final fling tomorrow, finishing at the famous Telegraph Station just outside Alice Springs.

With nothing to lose but time, Holmes will be giving it her all in order to finish higher up the rankings than perhaps she thought possible earlier on.

“Tomorrow I will leave nothing in the tank.”

Head over to the event website for additional news and info

STAGE FOUR:

Naomi Hansen rode strongly to take the win in stage 4

While the singletrack-heavy course design of most of the ICME stages has had many a mountain biker sitting up and laughing, Stage Four favoured riders who could sit down and pedal. It was also about teamwork. After a tough, rocky, up-and-downy start to the day, riders were greeted at the 25km mark with almost 25km of sealed path and tarmac. Mountain bikers often pretend to hate these surfaces when riding with knobbly tyres, but half way through a stage race they can be a welcome way to tick through some easy kilometres. If you’re in the Red Centre, this is the stage to take in the views.

I found myself in a hero bunch for the middle section of this course. A good, strong group of women at this year’s event have been finishing each stage within a couple of minutes of each other. About six of these ladies were joined by a similarly strong group of men and we charged through countryside in an almighty pace line. Heart rates rested, (some exploded) and I shook my head in amazement at the pace that we maintained. We finished the race a much happier group than those who had to go this distance alone in the wind. Those who had a bit of gas left in the tank could pull away on the technical climbing and descending that followed before hitting up the local BMX track before a finish banner, handfuls of cut up oranges, and a chance to swap stories with new friends made on the trails so far.

Hansen rolled in just ahead of Anset, with such a close gap Anset retains the yellow jersey

STAGE FIVE:

Nick Both had a good ride in the time trial and rode into 3rd place with a 1:02:09, behind Ben Hogarth 1:01:22 and stage winner Andy Blair at 59:42

Thursday began with a 24km time trial. Riders were seeded from slowest to quickest and went off at 30 second intervals – the best part about this being that you were chasing, or being chased by, someone you had probably met a few times on the trails so far. After a flat, pedally fire road and a climb that would have been quite scary if we hadn’t faced a few already, this course was all about singletrack.

A fast lap with Craig Findlow as he rips around the Stage 5 course   Video footage from Stage 5

The same loop – from and to the Alice Springs golf course – will be used for the night stage later on this evening. The morning time trial gave riders the opportunity to take in the flow of the trails, sight tricky lines over a few of the rockier sections and look at the view while the sun was high. It was also a chance to ride the singletrack as fast as you can.

Not much beats a good hour or so of fast singletrack with no one holding up the line in front and only the odd rider or two putting pressure on you from behind. Because the course will be re-used tonight, all the track markers offer people supporting the event (but not necessarily racing in it) a chance to hammer along some of the best trails in the area too.

On the racing front, Andy Blair and Mel Anset are looking comfortable and fast in the men’s and women’s yellow jerseys. Lots of mini battles have formed between riders elsewhere on the GC, which keeps the motivation high, the pedals turning and the heckling fun. Head over to the event website for additional news and info and to the Multisport Australia site for up to date results.

Mike Blewitt, Andy Blair and Robby Hucker leading the pack on Stage 1

STAGE ONE:

The Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro (ICME) packs in seven stages of racing over five warm winter days.  Based in Alice Springs, the terrain is rocky, dry, dusty and full of all kinds of things that can make tyres go bang.  Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many people on the side of the track fixing blown tyres as I did in Stage One. Number 2 plate, Billy Sewell (Torq), watched time tick by as he fixed four flats on this leg of the race. He still managed to power home in 2:03:16 but lost half an hour to current GC leader, Andy Blair (Swell-Redshift).

Winner of the Golden Ticket, Stuart Brown, cashing in on his free season of racing Rapid Ascent events

Word from the locals is to carry spare tubes packed with sealant as there will no doubt be 20 other thorns in your tyre by the time one goes through a little bit too far.  These riders obviously know a thing or two about how to beat flats out here, as most of the riders holding on to tyres, pumps and tubes have travelled here from somewhere else.

The course was brutal on tyres with not only having to contend with punctures, but also sharp rocks that would tear sidewalls with ease.

Before riders lined the side of the trails fixing tyres, the stage began with a police escort out through town to the motivating cheers of Alice locals. A few fire roads followed, then some lengthy singletracks put a whole range of skills to the test: powerful pedalling, smooth fast descending, technical climbing and riding quick on the rocky and loose stuff. In between chasing each other down, and saying goodbye to pre-race nerves, riders were treated to breath-stopping views of the territory. It’s hard to take racing too seriously when views like that are as much of the experience as the pedalling, tubing and downing of gels.

STAGE TWO:

Andy Blair ran skinny slicks for the hill climb, as any advantage was welcome. 2nd place behind Ben Hogarth was enough to keep Andy in the leaders jersey

Stage Two, the ANZAC Hill climb was held on Monday afternoon. It also made riders think twice about how hard they wanted to pedal.  Go all out to get to the top as quick as possible, or go a little easier, hold back the desire to vomit and save some punch in the legs for the rest of the week.

"Buffed athlete" of the week must go to Allan Stancombe who is leading the Masters category (60+)

The elite men rode this stage like they’d been launched out of a rocket ship with Ben Hogarth winning the 300m climb in a time of 45 seconds. Sarah Holmes (Torq) took the honours in the women’s event riding to the top in 1m06s.  Ben Mather and Jodie Willet will be pleased to know they’re records of 42s and 58s from previous events still stand.

The ANZAC Hill provides riders and spectators with a great view of the surrounding areas, but I totally forgot to take this in, preferring instead to look at the tarmac in front of me as I tried to catch my breath. Fortunately, some pre-race hot air balloon tourism meant I got to see things from even higher up before the racing began (a higher perspective). It has certainly made my appreciation of the landscape even stronger as the event progresses.

Mount Beauty rider, Matt Zagorski showing the strain on the hill climb stage

STAGE THREE:

Tuesday was a one-stage day, packing in 50-odd kilometres of riding which began at the historic Telegraph Station – one of the original relay stations from the overland telegraph line.  After about 10km of fire roads and sand, riders were treated to seemingly endless amounts of world class singletrack. Today’s course included trails with names like Helmet Track, Sink Track, Shitter Track, Roo Track and the Huffy Track. The local MTB crew have obviously named these trails according to trackside features more than the flowy terrain.

Melissa Anset in the leaders jersey at the start of Stage 3

Race leaders Melissa Ansett and Andy Blair put even more time into their competitors today, riding into a class of their own.  Less time seemed to be lost by other riders further back fixing flats, but race nutrition has started to come into play. With so many fun trails to ride, eating, drinking and steering is not as easy at is sounds – especially for riders who opt to go without a bladder on their backs.

At approximately 77kms, tomorrow’s ride is the biggest day of the race. The loop consists predominantly of 4WD and 2WD tracks with some fast sealed sections thrown in to get contestants from A to B. It will favour riders who put power through the pedals over riders who gain time on the singletrack and category rankings by the end of this stage should give a good indication of the final standings on Friday. I guess there’s only one way to find out!

For more info on the race head to:

The Torq boys working up front with Ben Hogarth (Giant) and Andy Blair sitting in.

And for up to date results go here: 

Thank you to Rapid Ascent for the images above and an amazing journey so far as well.

The performance of these 120mm carbon XC bikes is amazing and the 2 riders don’t hold back in the least.

A great piece of footage and a good distraction from the work environment.

North Shore XC style

The first championship for one-geared mountain bikes in New Zealand was raced in the spectacular Whakarewarewa Forest mountain bike network on the city’s southern border in 2008.
The event was also in Rotorua in 2009, with around 500 entries over the two years.

Then in 2010, the city hosted the Singlespeed World Championships with 1000 entries from 30 countries competing for bragging rights, with the men’s and women’s champions receiving the winner’s tattoos.
“That was a fantastic week,” says Rotorua Singlespeed Society President Gaz Sullivan. “Town was packed with bikers, the race was on a perfect spring day, the costumes were wild and colourful and to cap off a truly memorable event Rotorua singlespeed hero, Garth Weinberg won the tatt.”

The New Zealand championships were held in Queenstown in 2010, Hawkes Bay in 2011 and in Nelson in 2012.

“It seemed right to bring it back to the North Island and ‘home’ for 2013,” continues Sullivan, “We’re pretty good at this sort of thing and just about everyone involved was part of the team who ran the 2006 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials Worlds.”

Singlespeed events are a lot more informal than the one the UCI runs, with costumes and beer short cuts.
“Riding a one-geared mountain bikes is bloody hard and the riders also enjoy a good bit of socialising at the after-match function,” says Gregg Brown from the Pig & Whistle, who will be sponsoring the championships. “We’ve been involved in the previous two New Zealand championships and the Singlespeed Worlds in Rotorua and it’s a perfect fit for us. We’re mountain bikers, too and proud to back a fun event like this one.”

Since the 2010 Singlespeed Worlds there’s been a dramatic rise in Australian mountain bikers taking advantage of Air New Zealand’s direct flights from Sydney to ride the Whakarewarewa trails. A DVD was produced at the time for Australian Mountain Bike and part 2 is currently being edited for release later this year.

“It’d be great to get a big crew of Aussies here for the Singlespeed champs,” says Paul Laing from the RSSS. “The event has always been run on the week of Anzac Day when the Aussie and Kiwi soldiers are commemorated and celebrated, so it’ll be good to share a beer with a few of them.”
There will be the usual unexpected twists and turns that singlespeeding specializes in – and also some old classics.

“A great race and challenging course, a beer or two after – and maybe during – the race, and the Big Kiwi Breakfast on the Sunday morning,” says Sullivan, with a laugh.
“We also have to fit in the usual negotiations on where the race will be run in 2014,” adds Laing, “It’ll be good to have it back in Rotorua, but also great to see it continue to move around.”

Website: coming soon; entries: soon-ish.
Media inquiries: graemesimpsonNZ@me.com

Shawn Lewis snatched victory from a hard charging Adrian Jackson

There was undoubtedly a focussed vibe in Woodend VIC as riders arrived days early to ride parts of the Wombat100 course in preparation of Round #1 of the Real Insurance XCM Series. The Wombat100 is one of two iconic Australian mountain bike events hosted by Maximum Adventure, attracting over 2,500 participants annually.

A chilly autumn Victorian morning greeted the riders for an early 7am start at Cammaray Waters. Adrian Jackson set out from the gun driving record Elite field of over 50 riders at a blistering pace. Team mates Shawn Lewis and defending XCM Series champion Dylan Cooper managed to match his pace, but it was Jackson to crest the top of the KOM climb first. This put Jackson in the lead in the KOM Series competition. Jackson will be marked at the next round in Canberra as he will be wearing the KOM jersey.

Andy Blair chased hard after his flat to take 5th spot on the podium

Andy Blair had an unfortunate early puncture and had to chase the leading trio with Ben Mather. The two very experienced riders were able to catch up the leaders just before the 75km mark, showing that they are on top form. The trio of Lewis, Jackson and Cooper put the hammer down as soon as they were caught and managed to open another gap, which they held until the end. A few kilometres before the finish Lewis and Jackson got away from Cooper and it was down to an exciting sprint finish. Lewis just pipped Jackson by a few inches for an important and well deserved win. Cooper followed shortly after with Mather and Blair rounding out the top 5.

Cooper rounded at the podium for third, making it a pretty black & white podium

The women’s Elite field was stronger than at any previous Real Insurance XCM Series event. Riders like Peta Mullins, Tory Thomas and Jess Douglas lined up alongside defending champion Jenny Fay. Fay and Mullins set themselves apart early, but Fay proved to be in a class of her own as she pulled away and won both the QOM competition and the overall event by a convincing margin.

Jenny Fay is becoming well practised at the victory shower

The 2nd leg of the of the Series will take the riders to Canberra for the Capital Punishment next weekend. Lewis and Fay will be wearing the coveted Real Insurance purple leader’s jerseys, with Jackson and Mullins the King and Queen of the Mountain Jerseys. An even stronger field is expected to line up in Canberra next week as more riders are launching their campaigns in the Series.

It's good to see Tory Thomas back to racing after having her first child

The Real Insurance XCM Series is Australia’s premier mountain bike Series, with 6 of the biggest mountain bike marathon events tied into a Series. Over 7,000 participants are expected to take part in the 6 events, with their 3 best results converted in a ranking by CycleNation.
For more information go to CycleNation website

Jason English, Andy Blair and Aiden Lefmann battled it out for line honors in 2011

Every year this race keeps on getting better, it offers the chance to race fantastic (DRY) trails, explore a very different environment  and as always the events run by the Rapid Ascent crew are a lot of fun. Entries are still open so if you’re looking to combine a holiday and a race it is a great one to do.

Competitors of all ages compete in the race.

Details about the event:

The Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Enduro (ICME) captures the spirit of the Red Centre by leading riders on a true off-road journey through the heart of Australia – complete with dust, sweat and tears along the sweet single tracks and dusty 4wd tracks of the mighty MacDonnell Ranges around Alice Springs.

Alice Springs is surrounded by a myriad of tracks and trails with kilometre after kilometre of hand built single track made especially for mountain bikes. Combined with the expanding network of 4WD tracks, dirt roads and access tracks and there is plenty of variety in a place where the sun always shines.

C’mon, come eat up some serious dust with us in Australia’s stunning heartland.

Check out the website for further details ICME Enduro

We’ve also posted the coverage of the race from previous issue of Enduro so that you can see how good this event really is.    Enduro Issue #19

and looking further back Enduro Issue #13

Destinations, April/May 2012

“It’s not a religion, it’s just a technique
It’s just a way of making you speak
(When) distance and speed have left us too weak
And destination looks kind of bleak”

These are the words that inspired Spoke issue 45. While Steve Kilbey was in no way referring to mountain biking, despite being the late 80s and my first mtb still a year or two away from taking over my life, the song ‘Destination’ has been a soundtrack for many dirty adventures over the last 20 odd years. Travelling with, or by bike is always like adding extra spices to an already tasty curry. No matter how many times you’ve tasted it, that little bit of added flavour keeps us coming back for more. Most of us will never get to ride in exotic locations like Nepal, or Iceland, or float down a river to find new trails, but you can live vicariously through words and images. There’s many more places we take you in issue 45, plus all of our writers’ unique takes on their own personal destinations. Come along for the trip.

To find out more about New Zealand’s leading cycling magazine – Spoke Mag

kronolog features /

The kronolog is a fresh new design with many unique features:  robust simplicity / The kronolog is a very simple design, with a limited number of functioning parts. Fewer parts means fewer failures. The kronolog passes 2.7 times EN fatigue testing, making it twice as strong as other posts on the market. mechanical design / The mechanical design allows for very accurate, precise movement. The kronolog is the only mechanical post that is infinitely adjustable.  hydraulic feel / Although it functions mechanically, the kronolog feels hydraulic. It is smooth, supple, and quiet.  air spring technology / The air spring technology allows you to adjust the preload and return speed simply with air using a standard shock pump.  two-stage damping / Air damping allows the saddle to return to a normal riding position in two, smooth stages.  rotational stability / The unique keying system between the quill and shaft virtually eliminates rotational play.  two-way locking /  The seatpost locks into position both upward and downward. Pull up on your saddle, and your seatpost stays in place.  improved cable routing / The cable routes from the post?s stationary body, so when the post moves up and down, the cable does not move. No excess cable to interfere with your riding.  travel adjust / It is possible to reduce the travel of the kronolog in 20mm increments by simply adding a spacer.  remote adjust / The kronolog remote attaches to the handlebar using a standard handlebar clamp, and can be configured for either right or left hand control. stronger and lighter / the kronolog seatpost offers more travel, durability, and robustness, all at about 50g less than the previous crankbrothers adjustable post.

We’ll be chasing one up for review very soon…

Expected availability ~~ end of March.

Hans Rey features in crankbrothers video with a full review of the post, it’s set-up and functions. Hans kronolog video

Wheels 4 Life has funded over 3000 bikes in over 75 projects in 20 different countries around the world.

This week's bike is a GT Distortion (Size large) with a full Crank Bros. fitout. Winning this auction not only gets you a fantastic ride, but also benefits a great charity, that is close to out hearts.

The Wheels 4 Life / Crank Brothers DREAMBIKE auction is currently live. Please help us promote this wonderful promotion.

This weeks DREAMBIKE is a GT Distortion (L) bike, all the money raised from the eBay auction will benefit Hans Rey’s Wheels 4 Life non-profit charity.

The Distortion looks hot with it's colour coordinated componentry; including the metallic orange highlighted Truvativ crakset with matching anodised Crank Bros. pedals and suspension pivots. It is a very distinctive bike.

The DREAMBIKE project consists of 13 custom-built bicycles. The goal is to raise enough money with the sales of these DREAMBIKES to buy Wheels 4 Life 500 bicycles for people in need of transportation in Developing Countries.

Hans sees firsthand how a bike can give life, helping people to work, to get to school or even to have the capacity to visit a doctor in a far away village

Link to the auction (4 days left):

Link to the Crank Brothers Dreambike website:

Link to the Wheels 4 Life website: