12hrs in the Piney - 6+6 Pairs

Solos, Teams and Support Crew.

 It has been a massive build towards Armidale hosting the WEMBO World 24hr Solo titles in 2020. As part of this build the New England MTB Club have hosted a couple of National Cup races, and a year out from WEMBO they hosted the Asia/Pacific WEMBO/National 24hr Solo Champs and their annual 12hrs in the Piney race, as one event!

With team mate Browny looking for a pairs partner, and our only goal to attend, we were off to the races and had our spot booked in the 6+6 event. Riders from all over NSW/ACT, QLD and some from Victoria (we even spotted a kiwi flag) descended on Armidale for a festive weekend of racing.

A combination of WEMBO, National 24 solo and 12hrs in the Piney.

With everyone settled in their pitting areas and the formalities carried out by NEMTB, Browny was dressed and ready to go (for our little team). We had Kevlar, Catherine and Dalene from the JetBlack Team entered in the 24 solo, Guru and Chops in the pits, and Peter returning to riding in the solo 6+6.  In addition to our pit area we had multiple World Champ Jason English and crew Jenni PLUS Grafton locals Michelle and Grant (in their first 24 solo).

A number of small changes had cleaned up the UNE trail providing a mostly smooth hard-packed trail free of loose obstacles and gravel. They had included a couple of kilometres of grass following the creek-line and a steady-grade grass hill to push the trail out to 10km. With the solos getting a two minute lead on the 6+6 riders, we had about thirty minutes to get dressed and ready for Browny's return.

Working our way through the trails on a warm and windy Saturday afternoon.

Browny and I went lap for lap, heading out onto the trail. While resting and fuelling in the pits we helped out as the solo riders rolled through. Many solo riders were just as quick as many of the teams, well at this early stage. It was a very fluid and dynamic environment within the pit, looking out for our riders, being on hand to help and getting ourselves ready for our next snappy lap.

As the afternoon progressed it was evident Browny and I were being outclassed by the duo of Justin and Simon, but we were also having a little friendly competition with the Inverell pair Jodi and Brad. As the afternoon faded and the 6+6 riders completed their first 6hrs, the solo riders plodded on, probably relishing in the quiet open trails.

When the 6+6 race paused, we continued to help the solo riders.

It was time to refuel, savour Guru's custom pizzas and to maintain vigilance for our solo riders. For the solos it was was "lights-on", warm food and bike swap. It had been a windy afternoon and as dusk settled in the wind died down, the party atmosphere paused and the flood-lights were lit. 

After a short sleep it was an early rise to pull on some fresh gear, including all out winter warmers for the single digit dawn temperatures. I was pretty happy to knock out that first lap and hand over to Browny as the sun started it's steady rise into the clear sky. Unfortunately with the rise of the sun the wind began too, punishing all riders with a headwind over open sections of trail.

Having a blast on Sunday morning.

As many of our previous experiences have shown, much had happened overnight with the solos. The drop in the wind had increased the dust through the pine forest. Quite a few riders had paused for lengthy periods overnight. Notably the Elite female leader had stopped at lap 17, around midnight, opening the door for those chasing ladies. There was a few changes of placings in the Elite male as Mick Sherwood faced off with Kevin Hawes for 2nd place. Mick eventually stopped racing at 29 laps, over 18hrs of racing due to issues with the raised dust. There were so many different stories.

The trail conditions hadn't changed much overnight, maybe a little more dusty. Browny and I completed our laps with a double by me. We'd put in a solid effort staying competitive with those around us. We held onto a 2nd place in the Pairs, a couple of laps on 3rd.

A solid 12hrs of racing with Browny.

Our team mates went well too, Kevlar rode into 5th with 24 laps. Catherine held 1st with 29 laps and Dalene placed 1st with 12 laps. Peter completed 8 laps in the solo 6+6. Watch out 2020 WEMBO...

Full results here.

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Team mate handover.