State Round; Marrinup, Western Australia

17/7/13

Well the last week seems to have flown by in a whirl-wind.  I have been way out west in WA spending some quality time with some quality people riding some quality trails!

The Tucknott family were kind enough to have me stay at their place for much of the week, giving me ample opportunity to experience the well-known Kalamunda trails.  The Tucknotts are a talented bunch with many Australian titles to their name.  Young Rhys has shown his talent both on the road and MTB in recent years. This year he will ride top-age in the under 19’s category and I’m sure his name will feature over the coming National Season.  Of course I knew of Rhys’ talents before even getting to Perth, but his younger sister Sarah surprised and certainly impressed me with her speed through the trails. I have a sneaking suspicion that we will be hearing the name Tucknott some more, over the coming years!

Sarah and I getting ready to hit the trails!

The day after I arrived into Perth, I took part in the WA State Series race down at Marrinup.  I get a little confused with all the towns in Southern WA as they all seem to end in ‘up’.  It doesn’t matter however, whether you are in Dwellingup, Marrinup, Nannup or Manjimup, each have a certain charm about them.

The race was quite a flat course, but included heaps of fun single track with some nicely placed berms and jumps and quite a few trees to negotiate.  Of course racing in WA wouldn’t be the same without that sliding feeling on the pea-gravel surface.  I made sure to break well before each corner to avoid hitting the deck! We arrived to the track quite early and although the sun was sneaking though the trees, it was freezing!  After a hot cup of coffee in attempt to warm my core temperature; Tony, Sarah and I hit the track for a practice lap.  I knew at once that I was in for a tough day with the leg muscles seemingly not wanting to contract and my fingers and toes still aching despite gloves and booties.

Unfortunately, Sarah lacks the competition.  So much so that there are no other girls racing MTB in her age group in WA and she therefore regularly races with the U15 boys.  I could see the look of determination on Sarah’s face as she entered lap 2 and perhaps even more determination on the faces of the 2 young boys trying to hold her wheel! Sarah was excited to claim her first win in this category in a sprint finish.

Sarah’s parents lived up to the Tucknott name with Jenny taking out the Masters Women category and Tony finishing 5^th in the competitive master’s men category.

As organiser of many great events, Tony Tucknott is a well-known face in Australian MTBing

Following the age groupers racing, the elite men and women took to the track.  I took the lead into the first piece of single track, more to control the pace and allow my legs to warm up a little than to attempt any break-away.  This worked out well and going into lap 2, I was starting to gain a little more rhythm.  With flat and fast conditions, myself and 2 of the other girls opted to take turn at the front and the pace was a little up and down.  I tried to attack mid-way through the race and gained a small margin, however Bronwyn motored along one of the fire-trails to get back onto my wheel.  I sat back for a little while then and decided to save my energy for the final lap, where I was able enter the more technical single track in the lead and push the pace in order to “break” Bronwyn who was riding very strong!  This proved to work well and I was able to cross the finish line with just under a minute gap back to Bronwyn Sax in 2^nd and then Carmen De Rooze in 3^rd.

It was hard to shake Bronwyn from my wheel!

So, it was a successful day for both me and the Tucknott family in terms of result.  More importantly, however I got to meet the Perth Mountain Bike Club gang and hang out with a bunch of awesome people….even if it was a little cold.

Stay tuned for my next blog on the success of the WA Junior Development Camp, held down in Pemberton.