EWS Qualifying in Toowoomba – Full Report
Round five of the 2016 SRAM Enduro series was looking in doubt in the days leading up to the event. Wet weather was doing its best to settle in, causing potentially dangerous conditions for riders and a situation that could lead to track erosion. On Saturday’s practice session at Toowoomba the rain caused an early finish for riders. However, when race day arrived the rain had held off long enough to allow the tracks to dry off sufficiently for the event to proceed. 250 riders arrived to make for a great day of competition.
This was the final race in the 2016 series and leads into the State Championships at Mt Joyce in August. This was also a qualifying round for the Enduro World Series as well as the final round of the National MTBA series, which brought interstate riders to compete in the challenging and slippery conditions. It didn’t take long for the tread on riders tyres to fill with mud and their backs to be sprayed brown. Concentration was paramount on the drying trails and those who hit the jumps ill prepared struggled to remain upright.
At the end of the day most of the bikes and many of the riders were hard to recognise under the cover of mud but the smiles burst through at the podium as everyone gathered around to cheer on their mates, have a laugh and possibly get a soaking in champagne. The trails held up well.
Taking their place at the podium for the Elite Female category were Angela Williams in first position, Jaclyn Schapel from Hobart in second position and Jodi Newton in third position. The winners in the Elite Male category were Kaine Cannan in first position, Ben Cory from Canberra in second position and Mark Frendo with third position.
It was a fantastic conclusion to an exciting series and you could feel the excitement brewing for the State Champs in August.
The EWS is coming to Tasmania in 2017 thanks to the hard work of EMS over the last two years. On the 8th and 9th of April riders will be treated to the rugged and stunning terrain in the Derby region as riders from around the world explore the trails of north east Tasmania.
