2014 Rockytrail Entertainment Shimano GP Rd 3 Ourimbah

I haven't raced a xc / endurance race at Ourimbah for quite a few years. It use to be my favourite track to race on and I was reminded why. The 10km course was very similar to what I have raced in the past and had heaps of variety to keep things interesting. The race start was on fireroad straight uphill to sort riders. I was glad to sneak into the first single track with the top few riders as with a mostly single track course there wasn't much room for passing. The race headed almost straight into some big dippers through wet clay gullies that rewarded a rider who was willing to risk some speed with the luxury of a free roll up the next climb. The first A line vs B line is always great value dropping almost vertically down almost 10 meters causing a sudden increase in speed. After some little pinchy climbs the middle part of the course takes in some of the downhill that was used in the gravity enduro earlier this year which wasn't quite as fun on a super light hardtail. The graveyard took me ages to get sorted but by the end of the race I felt I could ride this area fast enough while still being efficient. The last part of the track had more punchy climbs that by the end of the race started to take their toll.

From the start the pace was on with a few teams and four hour riders charging off the front. I was happy to sit back a little aiming to keep Callum and Andrew in sight. Andrew got caught back at the start but by lap 3 we had a train of around 10 riders lapping together. This train was made up of 4hr and 7hr riders which stayed together for the first 3 hours until Callum pulled out of the race and I took the lead as I tired to keep lap times consistent around 30 minutes. Andrew dropped his pace around 4 hours into the race and I managed to catch up to the overall team with 3 laps to go for a little fight for the overall win. The team was made up of two Torq Nutrition riders who proved a little to strong come the last lap!

Thanks to the Central Coast MTB Club for keep your track fun and fast. I had a great time and will be looking for another excuse to head south.
Rockytrail Entertainment did a great job, running another great event. There was a great atmosphere on track and I appreciated the race trash talk up for the overall win!