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Kellevie 24 - "Punters and Pros"
Kellevie, Tasmania, May 5-6, 2007
By Simon van der Aa and Dave Eldridge
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Towards the end of 2006, Duncan Giblin was out riding and met Bernard Woolley, a local farmer at Kellevie, about 45 minutes drive SE of Hobart. Bernard owned a large property, that already had an established 4WD Mud Run and Off-Road motorcycle course on it. Duncan put the idea to him of building a cross country course on the land, and holding a 24 hour race there. Bernard's response was "Do what you like boys!". Duncan approached the Dirt Devils MTB club in Hobart, and with the help of Dave Eldridge and a band of helpers, the race was underway.
Eight months later and over 190 riders, made up of 15 solo riders and 46 teams came to race on 9.5km of freshly constructed singletrack linked by sections of fireroad and cross-paddock trails (that turned into a challenge in their own right with the heavy rain), all supported by a perfect flat grassy race village complete with a large shed for timing and light charging, and a large fireplace that was most pleasant for those timing at 4am (more thanks go to Bernard for his large supply of firewood).
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Gale force conditions and the prediction of rain worried the organisers a little on the Friday night. The first tent was lost at about 5pm and a further four went that night. However by morning the wind had dropped out and the sky had cleared into a glorious day. The rain stayed away (mostly), and the wind didn't come back up until most competitors had gone home on Sunday afternoon.
Many of the competitors looked a little wary as they lined up for the traditional Le Mans start, not because of the prospect of riding for a full 24 hours but more about Bernard starting the race with a shotgun. The gun went, and off they went. The solo riders (sporting "solo nutter" seat numbers) were spared the Le Mans start and rolled off the front of the line, they had enough difficulty ahead of them! The remaining competitors ran 200m to their waiting bikes, and the race was on. Within two minutes the hopes of the single-speed community getting a win in a solo category were dashed as Clinton Turner crashed heavily and broke his collar bone. A big thanks to the St. Johns guys for helping him out.
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First through after one lap was ex-Australian MTB champion John (The Driver) Gregory, closely followed by Kris Clauson, Ben Grieve-Johnson, Andrew Fellows and Richard Wilkinson (not necessarily in that order as the timing had gone on the fritz and it was all getting hastily written on a scrap of paper).
While conditions were good the guys were banging out laps in the low thirties and on his second lap Phil Madsen did a 29'38 which was never eclipsed. The only other two to go under the 30-minute mark were Simon Fielding and John Gregory.
Lap times then slowly increased as the paddock sections turned. These were originally thought to be the areas that would provide a rest for riders but with the rain over the previous couple of days soon they turned in to a slog fest especially for the larger riders. People were trying new lines everywhere and what were eight inch wide pieces of track became massive sections of gloopy mud. The rest of the track held up remarkably well, but the paddocks were certainly testing.
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In the Solo Male category Andrew Fellows and Dirt Devils rider Ben Grieve-Johnson were punching out early laps that put a lot of the teams to shame. Ben started to pull away in the third and fourth laps creating a 20 minute gap by lap 7. However by lap 10 Ben's lights had failed and the gap was down to three minutes.
Ben went to bed leaving Fellows and Greg Dwyer to take over the front positions. The end of the race saw Fellows finishing with 29 laps and Greg Dwyer on 25 laps. Ben made it in for third with 19 laps, one in front of Scottie Williams.
The Solo women was taken out by Eleanor Patterson, the reigning women's Vets National Champion. Eleanor did 12 laps lapping consistently in the high 40's. She did however do an eight hour lap and appeared very refreshed afterwards.
The 12 hour saw Luke Jordan win with 13 laps followed by Nicholas Parrott who completed 12. Brent Ranson came in thrid with 11 laps on an old rigid clunker. The female 12 hour solo was taken out by Melissa de Clouet who completed 7 laps.
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The Teams event was won overall by "We don't like to be labelled". This team, made up of Adrian Cooper, Chris Ringk, John Gregory and Peter Oliver did 40 laps. This was one lap more than the Cyclingo All Stars (second), the Ay-up Torpedos in Tuxedos (third), and The Cyclingo Outlaws (fourth). All these teams were four man teams, the most hotly contested category with 17 teams entered. They even held off the winning mixed team team (5 person) Fetish for Freida who finished 38 laps.
The three D's (Dave, Duncan and the Dirt Devils) would like to thank all the people that made the event possible. The sponsors, the marshals, track builders and those that helped with village infrastructure, the people that came over and helped with timing, the competitors, the Tasmanian Fire Service and St Johns Ambulance, the Kellevie Progress Association, food vendors and of course Bernard. We look forward to seeing you all next year for the bigger better Kellevie 24 '08.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Brad Harris/www.bhphoto.com.au
- The solo riders hit the track riding, the teams using the traditional Le Mans start.
- The teams riders set off in pursuit of the solos.
- Eleanor Paterson, eventual women's 24 hour winner.
- Brett Stewart in solo men.
- Andrew Fellows continued this form to complete 29 laps to take out the Solo male category.
- The track contained both tight singletrack and flowing open sections through paddocks.
- Simon van der Aa, riding a singlespeed for Team Caravan Dad Factory Racing who finished 5th.
- Kellevie in Tasmania's South East was the venue for the inaugural Kellevie 24.
- Tasmania's bushfires in Christmas 2006 were not enough to stop the race from happening, and the forst is on it's way back.
- Riders battle their way up the climb away from the race village.
- Ian Stanley.
- Dave Eldridge, in between running the timing and race village management, managed to churn out some tidy laps.
- Mel Weber has her own personal cheer squad.
- Simon Brown, usually more at home on the road, turned out some quick laps for the Praties team.
- Simon French, better known for his downhill riding and track construction at Tolosa Park, riding a night lap.
- As the sun went down the lights went on.
- The track wound its way around the open hills towards the end of the lap, allowing riders to always see who was coming and who was going.
- Night settles in and the riders get down to the business of lapping in the dark.
- Racers head towards the village after half a lap.
- The race village was well lit up, giving the riders something to head towards.
Images by Tony Ross/www.tonyjross.com
- The track winds its way up towards the back half of the course.
- Eleanor Paterson, women's solo 24 winner.
- Although the track was mostly dry, the rain left a few reminders that it had been there.
- One of the Ayup Torpedoes in Tuxedos - no prizes for guessing the uniform!
- James Porter runs his bike through transition/timing.
- Dave Eldridge sets off on the Dash for Cash.
- Jeremy Hills grabs the flag off Dave to claim the prize in the Dash for Cash.
- The recent bushfires somewhat reduced the undergrowth, but that didn't stop racers from enjoying a great day.
- Dennis Ling crosses the final bridge before the run home.
- The Black Forest used to be a lot greener, until the bushfires changed all that!
- Simon Fielding slogging through one of the boggy paddocks.
- Ian Cooksey (Praties) banging out consistent laps.
- The bridges meant the boggy creek crossings didn't become impassable.
- The paddock looks firm underfoot. It wasn't...
- The bushfires didn't get all the trees.
- The long run up towards the Treadlies Twisties.
- The pre-race briefing.
- Dave Eldridge, race co-ordinator, addresses the masses.
- Race Central formed the main part of the village, surrounded by shop tents, food and coffee, and St Johns.
- There was the traditional Le Mans format, with the exception of the solos who could start riding immediately.
- Tas Tasmanian Fire Service and St John Ambulance provided excellent marshalling and first aid support throughout the day and night.
- Drew Edwards starting another lap.
- Darrin Barker comes down towards the start finish line.
Results
Solo Male 24 1 Andrew Fellows (BikeRide) 22.29.15 2 Greg Dwyer (Not Rooted Any More) 22.26.53 3 Ben Grieve-Johnson (Maggot Goes Solo) 22.53.30 4 Scottie Williams 22.47.23 5 Brett Stewart 23.39.38 6 Steve Aitken (Newby) 24.03.14 7 Phill Miller (2 soft 4 solo) 20.07.09 8 Chris Miller (RIP Herb) 20.07.06 9 David Dennis 22.06.00 Solo Female 24 1 Eleanor Patterson 23.26.41 Pairs Male 24 1 FIIK 22.45.26 2 The Giantz 23.26.22 Pairs Mixed 24 1 Pip & Marcus 23.08.40 Teams of 3 to 4 Male 24 1 We Don't like to be labelled 24.17.36 2 Cyclingo all stars 24.01.09 3 Ay Up Torpedos in Tuxedos 24.13.42 4 Cyclingo Outlaws 24.25.12 5 Caravan Dad Factory Racing 24.03.31 6 Praties 24.28.43 7 Cutters 23.55.30 8 EARTH WIND FIRE AND WATER 24.06.43 9 Southern Pedals XXXX Gold 24.34.26 10 4 - 1 = 3 23.57.07 11 Ghosts on Discs 24.02.20 12 The Flaming Pes Anserinas 24.17.46 13 OTB R&D 23.56.00 14 Boags Bandits 24.23.39 15 Another Perspective Design & Drafting 22.46.31 16 VIVO 23.36.47 17 Get out of the way sheep shagger 24.23.22 Teams of 3 to 4 Female 24 1 Ice Queens 23.38.33 Teams of 3 to 4 Mixed 24 1 The Elders Have Spoken 24.06.01 2 Three Men & a Little Lady 24.00.50 3 Knocklofty Nomads 24.06.00 4 Eastern Shore Rover Crew 24.00.03 Teams of 5 to 6 Male 24 1 Team Stumpjumper/Ray Appleby Cycles 24.35.21 2 Bike Ride Shop Team 24.15.01 3 Treadlies Twisted Team 24.46.05 4 Lainesport 23.43.11 5 The Pedalling Plodders 23.40.11 6 SPI full strength export stout 24.01.31 1 Cyclingo chicks 23.24.52 1 Fetish for frieda 24.00.25 2 Running Late 23.56.54 3 Lance Armstrongs Lost Siblings 24.13.26 4 Ride Bellerive 24.11.46 5 Chai Wombles 21.16.18 Solo Male 12 1 luke jordan (solo moe) 12.35.02 2 Nicholas Parrott (Swifty) 12.15.27 3 brent ranson 12.37.05 4 Philip Potter 12.06.44 Solo Female 12 1 melissa de Clouet 11.05.13 Pairs Male 12 1 Walls and McPherson 12.14.53 2 Chugglee 12.03.21 Pairs Female 12 1 Team STEPS 11.54.04 Teams of 3 to 4 Male 12 1 Wednesday Knights 11.59.35 2 LogicaCMG 12.09.35 3 Leon is weak 12.14.05 4 marshal mofos 12.36.54 Teams of 3 to 4 Female 12 1 Girlie MTB 09.10.47 Teams of 3 to 4 Mixed 12 1 McBain Cycles 08.23.15
