Bendigo 6hr Enduro 2013

After having enjoyed last week’s Beechworth enduro race so much, Liam Jeffries and I decided to once again team up for the Bendigo 6hr event.

We were joined this time round, by fellow Torq Team riders Tasman Nankervis and Jason Lowndes.  These guys decided to smash out the trails on opposing teams; Tasman pairing with Target-Trek rider Chris Hamilton and Jason with his brother Russell.  Nice to see a little in-house rivalry!

The Bendigo MTB Club sure know how to put together a great event, giving me reason to keep coming back each year for their annual 6hr race.  This year was no exception!  The trails were very well groomed and with the sun shining all day and a coffee van on hand, what more could a mtbiker ask for!

The Torq Team set-up

Unfortunately for Liam and I, there were no other teams entered in the mixed pair’s category.  Instead of rolling around for an easy day however, we decided to put the ‘race-face’ on and aimed to finish as high up on overall standings as possible.  Well I certainly felt the pressure when Liam finished the first lap sitting in the top bunch of guys!

Liam made sure to fuel with a Torq gel just prior to the start

As it turned out, we had a great battle with some of the leading male solo and pair’s riders.  For someone so young, Liam continues to amaze me with his ability to keep backing up some great lap times. 7 laps, all within a couple of minutes of each other was really quite impressive!  On his last lap Liam even managed make a pass on the in-form solo rider Lucas Sproson and in doing so secured us 4^th place overall.  Not a bad day in the saddle, considering we had a girl on the teamJ

The other 2 Torq guys battled it out for 1^st and 2^nd overall. The young-guns of Tasman and Chris narrowly edged out Jason and Russell. The contest could have been that little bit closer if Jason hadn’t added in the handicap of a flat tyre.

It was great to also have Pedallab well-represented out on course.  I was so rapt for Nick Morgan and Karen Hill in the solo 3hr category.  Both showed they are rapidly growing form for the summer race season ahead with a 2^nd and 1^st place in elite male and elite female categories.

These last couple of enduro races have given me some specific intensity on the trails as lead up for the Flight Centre marathon in Qld next week and then the Kowalski marathon in Canberra the following Sunday.  Looking forward to many great battles ahead!