South Australia’s new Eagle Mountain Bike Park will host its biggest event to date when the first round of the 2007-2008 National Mountain Bike Series gets underway this weekend. Although the park was opened in December 2006, this will be the largest competition held at the venue and now adds mountain biking to the prestigious list of South Australia’s major cycling events.
Over 400 competitors from around the country are set to race in the first round for Cross Country Olympic and Downhill and will create history by being the first national cross country event ever held in South Australia.
Saturday’s elite women’s and men’s events will attract riders aiming for Olympic selection. Adelaide’s Chris Jongewaard along with fellow Commonwealth Games rider, Sid Taberlay from Tasmania will headline the men’s field. Jongewaard, the current National Champion, will race in his home town for the first time in his career.
With South Australia hosting other major cycling events such as the professional Tour Down Under and the BMX Supercross World Cup in 2008 the Eagle Mountain Bike Park will assist in raising the profile of mountain biking throughout the nation and in particular in South Australia.
After six year’s in the planning, after planning for the facility started with the two Adelaide mountain bike clubs, Bike SA and government bodies. Now the two Adelaide clubs, Adelaide Mountainbike Club (AMBC) and Insideline Downhill Mountainbike Club (IL), along with the Office of Recreation and Sport will take the venue to a new level of event. Already it has hosted many state events as well as the World Police & Fireman Games and recently the Australasian Masters Games.
According to event manager, Nick Rudzki, this event will showcase some of the talented riders in the discipline of downhill.
“We have upcoming talent with enormous potential from 15 to 19 years and some of them will certainly follow Sam Hill’s path to becoming a World Champion,” he said. “In fact I think one of the future World Champions will come from South Australia.”
Over the past two years the discipline of downhill has seen an increase of 30 percent in South Australia. Along with that Adelaide riders have claimed many high national rankings and elite riders such as Craig Yates (Camden Park) and Dave West (Rostrevor) leading the state. West also claimed second place overall in last year’s national series.
The younger ranks of downhill are swelling with talent with riders such as national under 15 champion, Troy Brosnan (Secombe Heights) and Will Rischbieth (Stirling). Rischbieth claimed the Oceania Championship title and also the under 19 national series title. He recently represented Australia at the World Championships in Scotland.
According to Rudzki, the Eagle Mountain Bike Park facility has helped to increase local racing numbers but the difficulty for recreational riders is that a shuttle service is not available to get downhillers from the base to the top of the course. "For events like this we can run buses and shuttles,” he stated, “but for training and recreational use no vehicles are allowed at present."
With Australian downhill riders among the best ranked in the world race times are expected to be close during competition on Sunday. "With top riders expecting to near the two and a half minute mark there could be a huge advantage for the local riders,' claimed Rudzki. "For them knowledge of the local track and could save precious seconds."
Official practice begins on Friday morning while Cross Country racing starts on Saturday morning. Downhill qualifying begins on Sunday at 1 pm with final runs starting near 4 pm.
Regards,
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Over 400 competitors from around the country are set to race in the first round for Cross Country Olympic and Downhill and will create history by being the first national cross country event ever held in South Australia.
Saturday’s elite women’s and men’s events will attract riders aiming for Olympic selection. Adelaide’s Chris Jongewaard along with fellow Commonwealth Games rider, Sid Taberlay from Tasmania will headline the men’s field. Jongewaard, the current National Champion, will race in his home town for the first time in his career.
With South Australia hosting other major cycling events such as the professional Tour Down Under and the BMX Supercross World Cup in 2008 the Eagle Mountain Bike Park will assist in raising the profile of mountain biking throughout the nation and in particular in South Australia.
After six year’s in the planning, after planning for the facility started with the two Adelaide mountain bike clubs, Bike SA and government bodies. Now the two Adelaide clubs, Adelaide Mountainbike Club (AMBC) and Insideline Downhill Mountainbike Club (IL), along with the Office of Recreation and Sport will take the venue to a new level of event. Already it has hosted many state events as well as the World Police & Fireman Games and recently the Australasian Masters Games.
According to event manager, Nick Rudzki, this event will showcase some of the talented riders in the discipline of downhill.
“We have upcoming talent with enormous potential from 15 to 19 years and some of them will certainly follow Sam Hill’s path to becoming a World Champion,” he said. “In fact I think one of the future World Champions will come from South Australia.”
Over the past two years the discipline of downhill has seen an increase of 30 percent in South Australia. Along with that Adelaide riders have claimed many high national rankings and elite riders such as Craig Yates (Camden Park) and Dave West (Rostrevor) leading the state. West also claimed second place overall in last year’s national series.
The younger ranks of downhill are swelling with talent with riders such as national under 15 champion, Troy Brosnan (Secombe Heights) and Will Rischbieth (Stirling). Rischbieth claimed the Oceania Championship title and also the under 19 national series title. He recently represented Australia at the World Championships in Scotland.
According to Rudzki, the Eagle Mountain Bike Park facility has helped to increase local racing numbers but the difficulty for recreational riders is that a shuttle service is not available to get downhillers from the base to the top of the course. "For events like this we can run buses and shuttles,” he stated, “but for training and recreational use no vehicles are allowed at present."
With Australian downhill riders among the best ranked in the world race times are expected to be close during competition on Sunday. "With top riders expecting to near the two and a half minute mark there could be a huge advantage for the local riders,' claimed Rudzki. "For them knowledge of the local track and could save precious seconds."
Official practice begins on Friday morning while Cross Country racing starts on Saturday morning. Downhill qualifying begins on Sunday at 1 pm with final runs starting near 4 pm.
Regards,
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
