Riders take on gruelling XCM race, jumps comp a highlight

Almost 200 riders took part in the scenic and gruelling XCM race which kicked off the Southern Peaks mountain biking festival in Albany at the weekend.

The XCM race, part of the State series, offered three different distances, with riders tackling 17km, 37km or 50km courses.

John Gregg took out overall honours, coming across the line in a very handy time of 2hr 14min. 31sec. to also win his 50km open male division.

Chris Fisher (2:18.21) was second more than three minutes behind Gregg while Willmore (2:23.53) was more than nine minutes further back in third.

Steff Van Amerongen was the first female across the line in the 50km event with a time of 2:49.28 ahead of Simone McCallum (2:56.47) and Jane Deane (3:32.05).

Riley Heslop (junior male), Rhianna Farrell (masters female), John Wood (masters male) and Bert Floss (mega masters male) were the other category winners in the 50km event.

Beau LeFort took out the open male category in the 37k event in 1:51.50, as Vince Radford (2:10.45) while Tom Moodie (2:13.49) rounded out the podium.

Frances Kirchner was a clear winner in the open female division with a time of 3:40.55, well clear of Kelly Lee in second who narrowly edged Janelle Braidwood.

Jessica Waldron (junior female), Bailey Christie (junior male), Simone Jones (masters female), Tim villa (masters male), Di Fry (mega masters female) and Damien Russell (mega masters male) were all division winners in the 37km event.

Amy Gostlelow took out the open female category for the 17km event ahead of Casey Greay and Rani Rawlinson.

Brady Rawlinson took out the male section more than 15 minutes clear of Daniel Coetzee and Trevor Greay.

Chelsea Sobik (junior female), Vincent Bascombe (junior male), Jane McLean (masters female), Ryan Morgan (masters male) and Kevin McGill (mega masters male) were category winners in the 17km race.

The 37km and 50km event started at Maitraya Private Resort, before travelling along the coastline and through the bush to the Emu Point Channel.

The riders then crossed the channel by boat to Emu Point where the 17km event started.

Riders continued through a variety of sneaky single track, gruelling climbs and the hidden highlights of central Albany.

The 17km and 37km event finished at Stirling Terrace event village while the 50km ride continued past York Street and up the steep incline and rocky descents of Mt Melville before making their way back down to Stirling Terrace.

Albany Mountain Biking Club president Nick Walls said the event was a huge success.

“The whole weekend went amazingly, we’ve had nothing but positive feedback from competitors and spectators,” he said.

“The Emu Point Channel crossing is always unique and a great highlight for riders.

“The whole of the Urban Downhill down on to Stirling Terrace with the massive berm and car jump is always a highlight.

“Having Todd Meyn show his tricks in the jumps comp was an awesome spectacle.

“It was a really good location, the sea containers worked really well and one of the best crowds we’ve had.

“It’s extremely rewarding to see this happen, it’s been a really big push by all involved and it’s a massive combined community effort to get it together.”

On Saturday night David Pinelli took home $500 for first prize in the jumps comp held at Proudlove Parade with 10 BMX riders in attendance.