RockShox Enduro Challenge Round 2 - Toowoomba, Australia
It was only a week earlier when the crowds were gathering at Jubilee Park for the Oceania Championships and National Downhill and Cross Country series, with hometown hero Jared Graves favourite for the win on his local Downhill trail. One week on and with a National title under Jared's belt, Toowoomba played host to the second round of the Rockshox Enduro Challenge powered by SRAM. Four stages spanning over five hours of racing and a field of 260 riders made for an exciting day across all ages and categories.
With the first round taking place at Mt Buller in February this year a change of location brought with it a change in conditions. The 40 degree celcius temperatures (104 degrees Fahrenheit) proved challenging all round and riders were longing for the Buller chairlifts as they walked their bikes up the steep fire roads to the top of each stage.
Team mates Jared Graves and Richie Rude performed consistently throughout their 20 minutes of racing although Jared had the upper hand on all four stages with a final time of 19:03.19 over Richie's 20:00.03.
In the female elites the field was missing a couple of the key names we saw at Mt Buller including top podium Peta Mullens. However Kylie Maduna proved she deserved the top position, riding convincingly despite a small dismount on one section of the track. She was followed by Brodie Chapman who had similar times on 2 out of the 4 stages.
Overall it was a tough day of racing but there was loads of incredible talent shown on the track which was enjoyed by spectators and fellow riders alike. The positive and friendly vibe generated at these events are a definite draw card and really drive the success of the sport.
With the Enduro World series at the end of the month this was an encouraging win for Jared Graves leading into the first race. Needless to say he has enjoyed the bonus of riding in front of family and friends while he's been back at Toowoomba.
MENTIONS: @SramMedia, @yeticycles
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 The second and final round of the Rockshox Enduro Challenge was held in Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia. |
With the first round taking place at Mt Buller in February this year a change of location brought with it a change in conditions. The 40 degree celcius temperatures (104 degrees Fahrenheit) proved challenging all round and riders were longing for the Buller chairlifts as they walked their bikes up the steep fire roads to the top of each stage.
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| Toowoomba has proven that its trails are world class, standing up to the test of two big weekends of racing in a row. |
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| While the trails are generally smooth and flowy they will punish you if you lose your concentration - a true test for riders of all levels. |
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| Josh Carlson arrived in Australia from Canada on Thursday, though it seems the heat was too much leaving him with sixth place overall. |
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| The first corner of the day collected a few victims who went out of the gate a little too excited. It made a great spectator spot for those waiting to begin their run. |
Team mates Jared Graves and Richie Rude performed consistently throughout their 20 minutes of racing although Jared had the upper hand on all four stages with a final time of 19:03.19 over Richie's 20:00.03.
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| Home town advantage maybe, but pure skill and determination are the obvious reasons for Graves' success. |
In the female elites the field was missing a couple of the key names we saw at Mt Buller including top podium Peta Mullens. However Kylie Maduna proved she deserved the top position, riding convincingly despite a small dismount on one section of the track. She was followed by Brodie Chapman who had similar times on 2 out of the 4 stages.
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| Brodie Chapman smashes out Stage 1 in 8:42.07, beaten only by Kylie with a time of 8:40.00. |
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| While losing four seconds to Brodie Chapman on the final stage Kylie Maduna finished strong to take the overall win by 44 seconds. |
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| Kylie Maduna took the win on her Yeti SB66C with custom pink graphics. Parts: SRAM X1 drivetrain (plus e13 XCX upper chainguide), Shimano XT brakes, Fox 36 fork, Thomson dropper post, Maxxis Minion DHF (front) and Maxxis Ikon (rear), Chris King hubs. |
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| There's not much you'll find on Kylie's bike that isn't pink. |
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| The event village was a busy place as riders refuelled and hydrated between stages. |
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| A couple of consecutive log drops along this section saw plenty of speed coming into the grassy knoll. |
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| The more technical section of the rock garden was detoured to prevent injury though some still fell victim to the unfamiliar lines. |
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| James South got heads turning when his back tire exploded landing the final jump, but that wasn't going to stop him - he ran the final 30 metres to cross the line to a cheering crowd. |
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| Assessing the damage. |
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| Not enough to provide relief for the riders, the little bit of water in the rainforest section on Stage 4 made for a nice change to the dry and dusty conditions. |
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| With fatigue setting in after the final hill climb the rock garden demanded riders' full attention. |
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| Popular amongst the field in attendance, the Santa Cruz Nomad saw plenty of riders through all four stages well. |
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| Fighting off some late sickness Lindsay Klein performed strong on each stage earning him a podium position. |
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| Lindsay Klein riding the Giant Reign 27.5. Parts: SRAM X1 drivetrain (plus e13 XCX upper chainguide), Avid Guide brakes, RockShox Pike fork, RockShoxs Monarch Plus DebonAir shock, RockShox Reverb Stealth post, Maxxis Minion DHF (front/back), DT Swiss Spline One wheels. |
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| Richie Rude and his Yeti SB6C. Parts: Shimano XTR drivetrain (with e13 chainguide and Renthal chainring), Shimano Saint brakes, Fox 36 fork, Fox DHX coil shock, Maxxis Minion DHF (front) and Maxxis Minion DHR II (rear), DT Swiss EX471 wheels. |
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| Jared Graves raced the Yeti SB5C again following his success at Mt Buller earlier in the series. Parts: Shimano XTR drivetrain (with Stages Power meter), Shimano XTR Race brakes, Fox 36 fork, Fox Float X RAD shock, Thomson dropper Post, Maxxis Minion DHF (front, new after last-minute change) Maxxis Ikon (rear), DT Swiss EX471 wheels. |
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| Full face helmets were compulsory for all of the four stages. |
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| Pringle Man moustache; a growing trend in Enduro? |
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| The loose switchbacks slowed riders down before they reached the grassy knoll - where the speed begins! |
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| Female Elite Podium. 1. Kylie Maduna 2. Brodie Chapman 3. Angela Williams 4. Veronica Lane 5. Hayley Kellner. |
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| The girls had a lot of fun with the champagne. |
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| Lindsay gets 'Happy Birthday' sung for him by the crowd. 1. Jared Graves 2. Richie Rude 3. Ben Cory 4. Lindsay Klein 5 Chris Panozzo. |
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| Elite Mens Podium, and the Champagne begins. |
Overall it was a tough day of racing but there was loads of incredible talent shown on the track which was enjoyed by spectators and fellow riders alike. The positive and friendly vibe generated at these events are a definite draw card and really drive the success of the sport.
With the Enduro World series at the end of the month this was an encouraging win for Jared Graves leading into the first race. Needless to say he has enjoyed the bonus of riding in front of family and friends while he's been back at Toowoomba.
MENTIONS: @SramMedia, @yeticycles
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Member since Feb 18, 2015
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@GoPro - please sponsor the races and get footage from the riders as well as various segments of the trail. Then stitch it together in Post for the top performers and put it in the inter webs!!! How awesome would that be. If you're too cheap to fit the bill, get Redbull as the co-sponsor. They have mountains of money apparently.
www.oneupcomponents.com/collections/all-products/products/xtr-nw-rings
cranks are production new XTR numbers, just look proto coz theyve alrady been thrashed and mud ridden a heap. and are therefore all scuffed up
It was quite a sizable gap which very nearly wasn't used for the race.
P.s was the only one reppin the pinkbike stickers,Where's my photo in this article?