And we’re back, welcome to Day 2 of the
Hellfire Cup from Kellevie, Tasmania. For those just joining this race is a four day, eight stage XC race in one of the most southern parts of Australia; Tasmania. In fact it's usually the part of Aus that gets left off pictures of the country altogether.
But I digress.
Day 2 at Hellfire and it was straight onto Stage 3, the Adidas Evil Eye Assault. Keeping the sponsors happy is always as important as the racers and the 50km loop didn’t disappoint. Today was the penultimate stage with three large climbs to crest before descending back into race HQ. It would be a mix of ‘fire road, 4wd trail, single track, insanely fun tramline descents’ according to the race booklet so expectations were high.
Once again the top three spots for each category would be hotly contested. The 50kms was to be completed as a pair so it was up to each rider to get stuck in. As the horn went off (that’s right, not a gun, more like a loud kazoo from a cartoon) the Elite Men were flying up the hill to the first turn. The rest of the field followed and within the first few km's there were plenty of mechanicals, leaving some of the mixed and male elite pairs to have to chase back on.
As some events inevitably encounter, a person that was none to fond of mountain biking decided to do some course rerouting. After the lead men’s Elite pair of Chris Hamilton and Tasman Nankervis went past a fork in the trail, this lovely human decided to change markers, leaving the remainder of the field to get led on a scenic route not one person was really up for.
No event organizer wants or needs this over the course of a four-day event. The Hellfire team were quick to right the wrong and as the rest of the field came through they were sent on the correct way. The remainder of the pack that had been waylaid all agreed to neutralize the stage and just enjoy the trails the best they could.
Once again Therese (Terri – were all friends here now) and I were out having a great day on the dirt. After having not such a great stage one, we agreed that it might not be the best tactic to see how hard I could go out the gate. Eight minutes of peak speed is ideal for enduro, 50km XC stages not so much.
So settling into a rhythm we headed up the climbs, the first we had done yesterday and the second was a steady slog up a beautiful temperate rainforest fire road, with the trees enveloping you and a long line of wheels to follow it made getting to the top quite pleasant. Next was to see who could ascend the ‘4Shaw Nutcracker’ climb without dabbing. This would have been a good spot to put a $50 dab jar for those that didn’t make it. The race crew would have made a tidy sum with my $50 included.
If you can see a theme for entertaining trail names then you are correct, after the nutcracker it was onto ‘Babyhead Alley’ a super fast fire road descent with big boulders. It was a good time to be aware of just how much speed you can pick up on a 29er.
Surviving this descent Terri and I started the Old Woolstore climb, and damn Tasmania you’re forests are just so pretty. Huge trees and lush undergrowth made you feel like you were a world away from anything. Cresting this climb ensured you had only 20kms to go and working off Duncan’s model of ‘you have to finish on sweet descent or it's just not mountain biking’ the best was yet to come.
You know when you go away to a race, fly down some awesome track and go ‘jeez it would be awesome to come back and ride that again!’. Well, that’s exactly why the larger loop for today weaved you right back into the super fun turns you slayed the day before. Nailed it.
This time, the effort we had put in earlier in the day meant Terri and I had clear track for the descents. Sweet, glorious, clear descents to chase each other down. Another reinforcement of what this race is just so fun as a pair’s format.
Rolling back into the village in just over three hours to the heckling of other riders was great. And time to see how everyone had fared.
The Elite women’s pairs kept their formation with Jenni King and Karen Hill coming across the line just in front of team Willie Locke, Canberra riders Eliza and Brooke were a shade back in third.
Over in Elite men teams two through to five all received the same time, leaving a reasonably insurmountable lead to the Torq Team of Tasman and Chris.
Mixed Pairs were out to change things up a bit with Peta Mullens and Jarrod Moroni snagging second place. Both Peta and Jarrod have been to every Hellfire thus far and have been great ambassadors for the race so it was great to see them back in the mix. Swiss Kiwi took out the top step with Torq riders Holly and Tristan having to settle for third.
Elite GC Female1. Canyon / Rocky Mountain - Jenni King & Karen Hill 2:32:03.9
2. WillieLocke - Naomi Williams & Rebecca Locke 2:34:00.6
3. Squeak and Stack - Brooke Rowlands & Eliza Kwan 2:53:39.4
Elite GC Male1. Tasmans Fault - Tasman Nankervis & Chris Hamilton 2:02:55.4
2. Tuwardski - Kyle Ward & Mark Tupalski 2:19:38.4
3.
#DoLess - Anthony Shippard & Guy Frail 2:19:39.4
Elite GC Mixed1. Swiss-Kiwi - Renata Bucher & Olly Shaw 2:18:26.2
2. Jeffy & Pesta - Jarrod Moroni & Peta Mullens 2:19:42.2
3. TORQ Mixed - Holly Harris & Tristan Ward 2:20:20.2
Notable mentions go to single speed bandits and all round hilarious dudes Brett Bellchambers and Matt Hunnibell who after the ‘course rerouting’ were actually leading the race. And boy did they claim it.
So keeping in line with taking in the spectacular scenery around Tasmania, we were off to go walk in the icy cold water of Primrose Sands beach. Like an aspirin for your legs, getting them all prepped for Stage 4, 5 and 6 tomorrow.
Full results at
Hellfirecup.com
MENTIONS:
@JacSchapel