It’s been a minute since we had some mountain bike racing in South East Queensland and if the numbers of race entrants is anything to go by, everyone was gagging to get back between the tape. The Weekend saw the first round of the Fox SuperFlow Series hit Nerang Forest just inland of the idyllic beaches of the Gold Coast. It was another cracking winter’s weekend with spectacular riding conditions and a massive showing of racers for the two day stage racing format. We grabbed a bike and headed out between the tape to send some party trains through the Nerang Loam (dust and rocks) and bring you our take of a fun racing format.
If you haven’t had the chance to race a Rocky Trail Entertainment Fox Superflow race then you should consider it, not only is it a relaxed racing format for riders of all creeds, but it’s a load of fun as well. A super simple format consisting of three stages, most of the day to race them and the ability to hit each stage up to five times each with the fastest time counting for each stage. Pretty simple and a super laid back way of racing between the tape that will have everyone from seasoned racers to beginners having a bit of fun on the trails. One of the best attributes of the race format was the ability to send party trains with your mates in a timed format….flat out fun to be had by all.
Stages Set
The three stages for the day were ones very familiar with anyone that has raced at Nerang before, Pete’s into Comm games, Three Hills into Barneys and Mongrels in reverse (half). For anyone that knows these trails, they know that plenty of leg stamina was required with Pete’s and Three Hills requiring over five minutes of flat out pedaling to take the top step.
The sun was shining, the dust was ever-abundant and the temperature was moderate, all excellent ingredients for a Queensland mountain bike race. Over 300 racers donned a race plate and headed out into the forest over the two days to test their metal against the clock, an extremely well ran event meant all we had to worry about was having some fun on a bike.
Race Results
There was a good showing of outstanding riders involved in the event with UCI Downhill racer turned Enduro rider Jack Moir pinning it on his Canyon Strive, taking out the top step in the Elite Men’s category and posting the fastest time for weekend. The Elite Women’s category was taken out by Lisa Mathison who showed that gender is no barrier to excellence, beating a large proportion of men’s times for the weekend. All in all the women had an excellent showing in the race and it’s a sign that lady’s racing is alive and well in Mountain biking.
Full race results for all categories can be found by hitting the link below.
The Final Word
All in all it was one of the best run events that I have raced in with everything running smoothly and minimal wait times despite the large showing of riders. The fun, more relaxed format is a great way for many riders to try their hand at racing and it makes it a more social environment for anyone to have a crack between the tape. For those seasoned racers out there its a great way to send some party trains in between race runs and put some times down without a full face before the Queensland Enduro Series starts next month.
Rocky Trail Entertainment have been running events in NSW and ACT for a decade and commonly have over five hundred riders attend the events. The format is tried and tested and certainly is a welcome addition to the Queensland race calendar. The next round of the Fox Super Flow in Queensland is set to take place at Castle Hill, Ipswich on 22-23 August and the shorter more gravity orientated trails will be vastly different from the Nerang race. If you are looking to get involved in the next round the link below will take you to the event page at Rocky Trail Entertainment.
See you on the trails….
Castle Hill Fox Super Flow Entry
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