08 December 2010

Another successful Jeep 24hr Mountain Bike has been run over the weekend 27-28 Nov at Forrest, Victoria.

 

Drizzly conditions didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the several hundred riders who turned out for the event. The pros were hammering out lap after lap showcasing world class feats of endurance and bike handling in the muddy conditions. The winners are the riders who clock up the most laps at the end of the 24 hours. However the majority of riders were there to soak up the awesome riding that Forrest has to offer and have a great weekend away with their friends and family.

In the prestigious solo categories the winners were Christy Harris in the women’s with 19 laps and Scott Chancellor in the men’s with an amazing 26 laps. With a lap being around 15 kilometres long – that’s nearly 400 kilometres over the 24 hours. Lead riders push on through the night to clock up these distances and Scott Chancellor took out the event to with a decisive 2 lap margin over nearest rival Matthew Zagorski. There is a solo single speed category where riders use just one gear instead of the 30 gears often found on modern bikes. These guys are considered to be just a little bit crazy and Brett Bellchambers, red hot favourite for this category, had a resounding victory over Karri Golding – 25 laps to 18.

The elite teams categories are where the riders can go flat out the whole time because they are sharing the riding. These teams feature some of the fastest cross country riders in the country. Felt / SRAM Racing anchored by Paul Van der Ploeg prevailed in the male supersixes with 34 laps. Merida Flight Centre Racing headed up by Adrian Jackson won the supersixes mixed with 33 laps.

Kristjan Snorrason, organiser of the Jeep 24 hr said “The performance of the elite riders was definitely impressive and I am very excited by the junior riders coming through the ranks. But I have to say I get a real kick out of the novice riders out here having a go sharing the riding with a group of mates or family members. These riders get to experience some great riding and share the track with world class riders yet still have plenty of time to chill out and soak up the atmosphere too. There is something in it for everyone and it is great to have Jeep backing the event because it is opening up mountain biking to so many people.”