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Maxxis/Scody Sunshine Series Cross-Country 2006
Round 3, Hinze Dam, Queensland, May 21, 2006
Champions on show at Sunshine series
Mathison & Frendo find form at Hinze Dam
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Former UCI Junior Mountainbike Cross Country World Champion Lisa Mathison today re-launched one of the most promising careers in the sport with a decisive victory in round three of the MTBA Sunshine Series at Hinze Dam in Queensland.
Returning to the scene of her first ever mountain bike race, Mathison finally rediscovered the form which had eluded her during eighteen months plagued by a fatigue related illness.
The change in fortunes could not have come at a better time, as Queensland's most celebrated mountain bike export sets her sights on winning the Under 23 division at the World Championships in Rotorua, New Zealand in August.
“It’s great to be back, this is my first race back in a long long time,” Mathison said.
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“I’ve been training up since I came back to Brisbane in March,” The two-time Under 19 World Champion beat home a small but quality women's field, including the highly rated Imogen Smith (Flight Centre Scott) and in the process showed none of the ill effects which had placed her burgeoning career on hold indefinitely. “It’s just good to be able to push again and to feel like racing properly again,” Mathison affirmed.
“It's really promising and I'm optimistic for the first time in eighteen months.”
Mathison maintained a gap of more than a minute over her rivals on the much improved Hinze Dam circuit. To her credit, Smith (just returned from the Central Australia Mountainbike Challenge) never gave up the chase.
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“You need so much strength to get through the technical sections but it's just a fun track,” Flight Centre Scott's Imo' said with her trademark grin.
“It's good to have Lisa here, the standard of racing’s going to be really competitive.”
Hallam Takes Challenge to Frendo
The Elite Men's race featured two of Australia's most exciting cross-country mountain bike prospects in the shape of Under 23 National Champion Mark Frendo (Flight Centre Scott) and The Gold Coast Mountainbike Club's homegrown talent Daniel Hallam.
Racing up a few divisions to gain experience agains the best, Hallam took the challenge to Frendo, who admitted to racing on tired legs.
“Oh it’s a bit tough, I’ve ust been racing for a week in the Central Australia Bike Challenge,” a weary Frendo said at race end.
“Had a days rest after that then come out to race this so I was a bit tired.”
It didn't help that Frendo had to contend with one of the hottest young mountainbike talents on the block.
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Hallam, who will shortly link up with the Queensland Academy of Sport program, opened the throttle on lap one, testing the sharpness of the Flight Centre Scott rider.
“I tried to stay with Frendo but he’s a machine he ust stepped it up a gear and took off,” Hallam said.
“It’s good training for the world titles and everything, he’s (Frendo) just unstoppable at the moment.”
Re-Match awaits at kooralbyn Marathon
Frendo and Hallam won't have to wait long for a re-match.
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Queensland's leading cross-country mountain bikers are scheduled to meet again in two weeks time in the Kooralbyn Marathon, a race many local riders rate as the toughest test on the South-East Queensland endurance mountain bike calendar.
“It's a pretty tough course, a fair bit of climbing,” Frendo said of the up-coming contest which will be a key aspect of his preparation for the Rotorua World Championships.
'Old Firm' Stars in Masters Division
In the Masters category, the Gold Coast's 'Old firm' of Brett Stevens, Jack Weitenberg and Les Heap came within one place of a podium clean sweep - comfirmation once again that age is simply a 'state of mind'.
Stevens, who claimed to be 'taking it easy' in his preparation for the GeoQuest adventure race, took up where he finished at the recent Merida 24 Hour, blasting away the competition on his home course.
Details of the Sunshine Series program are available at the Two Wheel Promotions website: www.twowheelpromotions.com.au
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by John Flynn
- Lisa Mathison returns to winning form
- Imogen Smith concentrates before the race start
- Imogen Smith on the switchbacks
- Lisa Mathison happy to be home
- Imogen Smith powers away from the start
- Brett Stevens captured here breaking through the age barrier
- Lis Mathison looking as fast as ever
- Jack Weitenberg - Gold Coast Mountainbike Legend
- Roy Whitney loving the Hinze Dam single track
- Daniel Hallam on the pace in the opening lap
- Mark Frendo - nowhere to hide from the cameras on course
- Brett Stevens straining to burstinig point
- Watch out! Plenty of obstacles on the Hinze Dam course
- Nicholas Mirentis riding the single trail
- Sam Stirling - A stirling effort indeed
- Winfield Blues - Peter Winfield rides on after facing planting into mud
- Heads down and pumping the pedals on one tough climb
- Ivan Wilkin - another case of spot the roadie?
- Davey Whitney - nothing like winning on the track you helped build!
- Frendo Still Queensland's form cross-country mountain biker.
Results
Elite Men 1 Mark Frendo 1.57.36 2 Daniel Hallem 4.47 3 Andrew Mallett 6.40 4 Andrew Wilcher 7.11 5 Ben Nicol 11.51 6 Simon Fredricksen 13.51 7 Scott Finlay 19.59 8 Craig Saunders 25.03 9 Ben Van Der Kamp 30.35 Elite Women 1 Lisa Mathison 1.33.19 2 Imogen Smith 1.22 3 Erica Oldfield 5.42 4 Sharon Heap 9.23 5 Constance Silvestri 16.39 DNF Lee Schulz Under 19 Men 1 Mat Callow 1.27.11 2 Sam Stirling 13.11 3 Aaron Nicoll 22.23 4 Roshin Sidhu 25.20 5 Stuart Drake 25.45 6 Andrew Lockhart 54.43 7 Geoffrey Kubler 1.05.54 Super Master Men 1 Kevin Jones 57.57 2 Alan Mumford 1.15 3 Roy Whitney 6.54 4 Greg Carr 7.28 5 Mac Stirling 10.48 6 Jeff Brooks 12.32 7 Paul Haggarty 16.28 8 Brian Biga 24.25 9 Warren Prior 28.23 10 Ken Mullally 35.32 C Grade Men 1 Shannon Duggan 57.55 2 Richard Lucas 0.22 3 Stariha Lee 0.31 4 Justin Whelan 0.45 5 Wayne Partridge 0.46 6 Michael Corcoran 1.17 7 Craig Shepperson 2.10 8 Norman Doyle 2.37 9 Stephen Cody 2.46 10 Lee Winn 2.48 B Grade Men 1 David Whitney 1.23.35 2 Russell Davies 1.54 3 Kirk Brown 2.31 4 Aaron Maunder 3.26 5 Lyle Vinter 6.10 6 Matthew Faehrmann 8.51 7 Joshua Bosschieter 9.57 8 Jason Gibson 10.20 9 Glen Murphy 12.45 10 Richard Brownhill 18.46 Under 17 Men 1 Kieran Poole 1.05.07 2 Daniel Peach 1.23 3 Sam Judd 4.00 4 Tom Kearney 5.34 5 Steven Holm 7.00 6 Chris Major 7.56 7 Joshua Slade 10.22 8 Nathan Goves 37.41 Veteran Men 1 Matt Christmas 1.24.59 2 Paul Adams 3.15 3 Matt Easton 5.11 4 Jordan Vogel 6.45 5 Justin Claridge 7.47 6 Steve Perry 10.08 7 Nicholas Marentis 10.27 8 Darren Perry 10.50 9 Vaughan Casely 10.51 10 Jayson Headridge 13.16 Under 15 Men 1 Ryan MacAnally 2 Richard Cook 3 Carl Winn 4 Jared Oldfield 5 Josh Christie 6 Alex Skippen 7 Callum Coates 8 Jamie Searle 9 Stephen Mmoodie 10 Timothy Bell Under 13 Boys 1 Ben Forbes 16.35 2 Dhugald Snow 1.54 3 Lachlan Hickey 1.55 4 Andrew Bieniewicz 4.29 5 Tyson Stevens 5.58 6 Lachlan Cook 5.59 Masters Men 1 Brett Stevens 1.25.11 2 Les Heap 5.39 3 Dave Gilbert 6.22 4 Jack Weitenberg 7.51 5 Nichloas Taylor 10.12 6 Mark Evans 11.26 7 Ian Holm 18.18 8 keith Jarrott 20.54 9 John Travers 22.22 10 Robert Henderson 24.28 Under 17 Women 1 Ellen Blackmore Under 15 Women 1 Lucy Stirling Under 11 Boys 1 Remy Morton 11.43 2 Rohan Irving 0.05 3 Nick Pinnell 2.00 4 Samuel Duncan 2.10 B Grade Women 1 Jayne Ryeland 1.04.57 2 Nicole Duncan 1.15 3 Gillian Duncan 5.15 4 Cailan Carrier 12.04 5 Alison Forbes 18.29 6 Ong Yuli 22.45
