Racing: East Coast Titles 2017

on

Words & Photos: Angus Cairney

On the weekend, Greenvalleys Mountain Bike Park and Wollongong Mountain Bike Club held their annual event, East Coast Titles, for the third year running. Always a popular event with riders and spectators alike, there was racing in  enduro, cross country and downhill, as well as a whip-off.

The Carpark and Lower Sections of trail at Green Valleys Mountain Bike Park.
After practice on Saturday the enduro race got underway, which saw riders complete 2 different tracks with the fastest combined time determining the winner. The race involved a big turnout of 119 competitors and the pace was high with riders like Anthony Elliott and Scott Graham out chasing the win. In elite male, Anthony Elliott took the win, with Scott Graham and Hamish Cowan close behind in second and third places. The elite female podium consisted of Sian A’hern, Rebecca Wyatt and Vanessa Thompson. The younger categories also saw some fast paced action, with Kye Ahern taking the win in Under 19 Male, over 25 seconds faster than anyone else in his category.

Scott Graham charging in one of his runs.
On Saturday evening spectators were in for a treat with the Whip-Off. A one hour long jam, featuring riders such as Timmy Eaton and Pat Butler getting sideways and backwards in efforts to take the win, judged solely on the crowd’s reaction. In the end, Pat Butler took the win with an impressive display of his ability to whip both ways. Special mention to Duke Millington for sending a huge flip.
Pat Butler was pulling all sorts of shapes in whip off.
Duke Millington Sending a huge backflip in whip off.
Tim Eaton stylin’

Sunday’s Downhill did not disappoint either, with big names like Tom Crimmins and Tegan Molloy out for the occasion, racing was high speed and exciting. This event allowed riders two runs on the same track, and their best run would count. In Elite Male, Tom Crimmins took out the win, 2.5 seconds ahead of whip off champion Pat Butler who slotted into Second place. Tim Eaton also performed well taking Third. Special mention to Jon Gatt, finishing just 6 seconds off the pace on his XC bike. Elite Women also saw some exciting racing, with only 0.36 seconds separating Tegan Molloy (First) and Sian Ahern (Second), followed by Kellie Weinert in Third. Chris Palser rode into First place in Under 19 male, which was another highly contested category.

Tim Eaton charging.
Special mention to young gun Jadon Wilson for keeping it real with this no foot can in his race run.

Overall, the weekend was a great success, and a big congratulations is due for Nick from Greenvalleys and Wollongong Mountain Bike Club for running another successful event for the third year in a row.

You can check out more of Angus’ photos here and for a small fee purchase unwatermarked photos:  Angus Cairney Photography on Facebook
For more info on the venue visit Greenvalleys MTB Park, definitely one of the best MTB venues out there!