2019 Wrap!

• It has been another massive year. Thanks to my team and team mates for all their support. While some our results are individual we get great support from friends and family who give up their time to hand out bottles and drive us after an exhausting day.
• We have a number of standout events and results, here they are in no particular order.
• 2nd Pair 12hrs in the Piney

• .

• 1st NW Mountainbikers Mt Borah GE

• .

• 1st NSW Police Games XC

• 3rd (5th overall) NSW Police Games GE

• .

• 2nd Jacks Ridge XXX

• .

• 4th Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 6Feb

• 1st Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 14Feb

• 4th Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 27Feb

• 4th Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 16Oct

• 7th Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 23Oct

• 2nd Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 30Oct

• 2nd Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 6Nov

• 7th Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 13Nov

• 4th Elite TAMMTB Summer Race 20Nov

• . 

• 2nd Masters 2 National Cup XCO NEMTB

• 2nd Masters 2 National Cup XCC NEMTB

• .

• 1st RT Grand Prix Championship Awaba

• 5th RT Grand Prix Ourimbah

• 8th RT Grand Prix Glenrock

• 17th RT Grand Prix Series (28th GC Rnd 3 & 5 only) 

• .

• 2nd Elite NIXCS UNE

• 3rd Elite NIXCS Tamworth

• . 

• 2nd RT SuperFlow Champs Jollynose

• 3rd RT SuperFlow Enduro Ourimbah

• 5th RT SuperFlow Enduro Taree

• 7th RT SuperFlow Enduro Awaba

• 7th RT SuperFlow Series
• JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;
  
  #ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres
  
  @jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

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.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

Team mate handover.

North West Mountainbikers - Gravity Enduro

A dozen riders from around the North West region and beyond to join in a morning of shuttles at Mt Borah, near Manilla, 50km north of Tamworth.

Attending were a number of junior riders from our local club Tamworth Mountanbikers, these kids have spent some of this year attending SuperFlow and other Enduro style events from the mid-north coast to Newcastle, and beyond.

It was our first visit to these trails and geared up with protection from 661, we felt this could be a good technical challenge. The Borah trails are strewn with jutting rocks and with the current dry weather a super loose top surface.

Photo: Ben Marsh

The Borah trails also have a number of drops, gaps and tabletops, all with B-lines. Rolling these trails can be slow and laborious, racing these trails, a technical nightmare of choices.

We managed to roll through the three trails North West Mountainbikers had put on offer. There were a plenty of sections that you could spend hours perfecting, but we were keen to put some timed runs together, to compare with the other riders.

Photo: Ben Marsh

After a “race” run on each trail, we felt there was still room for improvement, we headed back up to Stage 1 and 2. We put together smoother runs for both stages and reduced our times by 10 seconds on each stage.

Not resting on our laurels we rode back up to the top to get Stage 1 just a little better. Almost at the end of the run we lost some speed in a double drop biting the dirt on completion of the drops. Pushing our bike past the gate, bars bent and with dusty knees, we had managed to drop the race time by another 3 seconds.

Photo: The Broken Spoke Tamworth

In the wash-up we placed 2nd on Stage 1, 3rd on Stage 2 and 3rd on Stage 3 for a win by 8 seconds.

Full results here.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

Rocky Trail Grand Prix Championship - Awaba

A smaller crew had turned up at Awaba for the Grand Prix Championship for 2019. It was warm already on arrival with a forecast that only promised further heat and wind. 

We gathered with our JetBlack Racing Team mates, many of which had just completed a reccy lap, sweat already dripping from their brows. Some light banter as both teams and solos considered their strategies.

On our own short reccy we found the trail was dry and loose in sections. With Jason English naming the game for the day being smooth in and out of corners, it wasn’t long before we headed down the firetrail for a race start.

All photos by: OuterImage

On our first lap we were joined by team mate Kevlar, who was on his final run of large rides for the year. With Kev barking orders we wound our way around the increasingly diverse trail Awaba now has on offer.

Passing Kev, we kept an eye on the riders a couple of hundred meters in front of us, maintaining a nice pace over the first few laps. With the inclusion of Camelback Climb there was plenty of sweet long descents to have fun on.

Hitting the midway mark it was getting crazy warm and we could feel our body not responding well to the early heat. But it wasn't just us starting to suffer, we tagged onto, then passed Mobius rider Chris who admitted being cooked. Chis went on to slide 10mins behind over the course of the remaining laps.

All the front running teams and solos had seemed to slip away again for this event, leaving what seemed like a huge gap of space to makeup. Thankfully with less riders on trail this did leave plenty of open trail and very little passing over the course.

Two laps from the end our support crew must have been reading our mind as they handed us an extra bottle of water and a cooling towel. The towel, a permanent part of our riding kit, soaked with water brought some relief from the punishing conditions.

On our final lap we were joined by team mate Dave, who was riding in a team of three for the 7hrs. Having Dave behind us kept our mind focused on riding and not worrying so much about the dry heat sapping all our energy.

We crossed the line with 15mins remaining on the racing clock and very little left in the tank. We waited and were relieved when our competitors chose to call it a day too. This gave us our best result for the Rocky Trail year with a 1st in Category and 5th overall. Thanks to all my JetBlack Racing team mates for their support again!

It has been a solid week of racing with the NSW Police and Emergency Games XCO [1st] and GE [3rd] (a 1200km road-trip) and the Grand Prix Championship (a 560km road-trip).

Full results can be found here.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

NSW Police & Emergency Services Games - XC

When one of my riding colleagues mentioned they wanted to compete at the Games, I was keen to join. These Games had been on and off the radar a few times due to clashes with other events but we had never managed to participate. This years event included a Cross Country (XC) race and a day of Gravity Enduro, first up was the XC.

This was our first time at Green Valleys MTB park and this was another attraction to this particular event. GV had a good name amongst the gravity crowd for its range of trails, features and shuttle back to the top. 

But first the XC event, and there were no shuttles, just pure climbing followed by a descent. We were joined by about 20 others for a one hour plus a lap format of race.

We jumped up onto the front row of the small crowd to get our best start into the singletrack. The race organisers had included a short grassy loop to filter the riders before we headed up the hill.

Our colleague got the jump on the start and we pulled into second wheel to push along the grassy section. It was pretty immediate to notice that our bunch of riders weren’t all pinners as we lead a strung out line onto the course.

We held second wheel for the majority of the climb. It was a fairly graded effort, a number of spots which pinched up and had you grabbing a couple of extra gears. The climb wound its way up a +50m vert hill and the graded efforts were connected by a series of switchbacks.

Nearing the top and before the descent we rode around to the front before the bike started to point down. The descent was fairly natural to start with, a series of dusty and blown-out corners from the The Block Party a week prior. We then skipped onto a more open section, jump a series of doubles and roll down to transition.

We almost took the extra grassy loop for a second time but got called back and they pointed us up the hill again. While climbing the switchbacks we could see my colleague had dropped back a little way and just behind him were a number of other riders.

Over the course of the next laps, only about 8-9minutes a lap, we caught a number of riders and passing through transition there was some joviality about slowing down for those behind us. 

Some of the on-course obstacles included a Butcher bird who took to buzzing the left side of your helmet if you rode alone. The bird was consistent and tapped your helmet over a number of trail sections.

Rolling through transition just before the hour mark we only had one rider left to lap, our colleague that lead us out at the start. He was a quarter of the way up the climb already so we spun up the hill after him. As we crested the hill there must have only been 10 or 20 seconds between us, we pushed the bike down the hill for a last time.

This hard push resulted in us overcooking a corner and coming down in the dust before we had left the forested descent. Back on the bike we rolled through the remaining course to finish our first Games event.

Thanks to the Games and the small team of event organisers for hosting. It was great to ride Green Valley too. We'll be sharing the images from this event on our Instagram and Facebook page when they become available.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

RTE SuperFlow Taree - Round 5

The Taree Tease

An all but to brief visit to Taree for the fifth round of the SuperFlow Series. We made an exception and included it into our weekend of adventures, two hours out of our way, on what would have been a four hour journey. Given our time restrictions, this would see us time dependant on trail. Getting all our race runs, and improvements done, all in three hours.

Taree has to be one of the only east coast trails we haven't ridden. No XC, endurance or gravity EVER! Not sure really why we haven't raced at Taree but all we knew was that it was over due. Sadly we only were able to see the trails of the SuperFlow course this time, but with that as a sample... this place rocks!

We were treated to well sculpted flowing trails, in the loose dry and fast way. A variety of switchbacks, berms and gaps were laid out for what was at times a choose-your-own-adventure between the thick dusty braking ruts. As the day progressed, there was evidence corners were being over-cooked aplenty.

While not overly steep the Taree SuperFlow trails still offered up plenty of technical challenges and one "pedally" section to really balance out the competition. Looks like we'll have to book in a few more visits to Taree and have a look at ALL the other trails on offer. Our next big event is in a few weeks time... See you there!

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

Inverell MTB Copeton 6hr

Tamworth local at Pairs team rider Ann bombs through one of the many rocky sections. All photos by: CrummyMTB

We'd never heard of Copeton but when it came up on the list as one of our "local" events we were keen to get along and have a look. Copeton 6hr has been a long standing event for the Inverell mountain bike community for close to ten years and for good reason. The location is on the edge of the great Copeton Dam and the event hub this year was based out of the Reflections Holiday Park. The park is a solid two hour drive north of Tamworth and included a section of dirt road.

Riding this week in the annual Ride for the Chopper and getting some kms under the belt.

We joined a number of TAMMTB, NEMTB and Inverell riders, who had sorted themselves across a variety of teams and solo categories. A quick reccy before any official business and we found a number of short but rocky descents and plenty of wide hard-packed trail, sprinkled with patches of sand. The rock and hard-pack were particularly grippy, with no surprises about the short sections of sand.

The trails and granite rocks of Copeton.

The race got underway with quick start by some of the teams, we followed but just not too enthusiastically, finding a Inverell team riding spinning along at a reasonable pace. Tamworth endurance rider Mick Sherwood wound his way onto our wheel and we settled into a nice train. While the teams swapped riders a pleasant wave and a call of our race number was all that was needed from solo riders. Back out on the trail Mick had joined us again and we were discussing and trialing a few line choices. Not that line choices were bad either way, a couple of sections could have you off the bike if you weren't careful or they could have you putting in more effort for little reward. We had worked through a couple of laps that most B-lines may only cost a few seconds.

Inverell hosted and had a number of riders in attendance.

Mick was still following us onto our fourth lap, we were sitting pretty high in the overall standing with just a few teams in front and a few swapping lap times similar. It just took an error on a fence crossing to bring us to a crashing halt, catching the bottom of our pedal in some of the wire. On inspection nothing was broken, a cork in the thigh from the headset but when we looked at our bike we were missing a pivot linkage bolt. This missing bolt brought our ride to an end and Mick had to complete the remaining in his usual solo style as we made our way back to transition to call it a day.

Mick went on to take the solo win, only a number of minutes down on some of the fast teams. We were stoked to have had a solid couple of laps out on the Copeton trail, then getting to hang about the transition area and out on the trail watching the race unfold. We look forward to the next opportunity to ride this unique location, thanks to our TAMMTB friends for all their support!

Great support by the regions clubs TAMMTB, NEMTB and Inverell.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;
#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

Rocky Trail GP Ourimbah - Round 5

All photos by OuterImage Collective

It was a short series again for us this year. Last years series saw us only get to two rounds and again this year, for different reasons, we unfortunately only got to two rounds of the series. 

In the last ten years of RTE GP Series our consistency has shone through with sufficient results, and only a small amount of individual wins, to place on the podium for the series.

Check out our 2009 GP races here. 2010 GP races, 2011 GP races, 2012 GP races, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and our previous 2019 round here.

The RTE show was in their home town at Ourimbah, the massive Shimano arch and the Red Bull tent were up and providing the hub for this final round of the Grand Prix series.

JetBlack Mountainbike Racing Team were out in force for this round too, and for good reason. A year of excellent individual and team results throughout the rounds was going to cumulate today, hopefully.

It was a packed start and we had underestimated how many riders were in attendance. We wound up with a fairly lazy start lap but well warmed up.

The course was a pretty standard Ourimbah XC offering. A couple of new sections to link it all together and some newly updated features to keep the trail a little more sustainable. Conditions were very dry and sandy, roots and rocks were harshly exposed in some sections more than the last time we race here.

After a couple of laps we caught up with some of the leading 7hr solos Garry James, then further on Mark Astley. Mark and the next 7hr solo rider ahead of us, Mick Sherwood, are focusing on the upcoming 24hr endurance events and were smashing along at their "all-day" pace.

Unfortunately our next lap saw us get a smashing of our own when we joined another rider in at moment of "what just happened?". Seems we both collected a stump with our foot which sent us into the bush, off the trail and off the bike. Thanks to the lady with the Tathra MTB Rider jersey for looking after us both, hopefully the other rider got his glasses back and you enjoyed the rest of your ride.

Brushing the dirt off our jersey, checking our head, neck and collarbone. Not injured we took a couple of breaths before heading off down the trail and back on our bike. There seemed like a huge gap time to pull back, lap after lap we attempted the smoothest run and it seemed like we were not getting back amongst the riders prior to the incident.

Thankfully we had a number of team mates in support, much like the JetBlack MTB Racing junior team chasing us and the pairs and teams of three. This kept us motivated and pumped for the next lap.

Climbing out of the gully for the last time we were very happy to have left everything out on the trail.   There were so many fun sections and we had managed to dial in some fast lines across the trail. Checking on the results we managed a respectable 5th place amongst one of the most competitive categories. We are excited to return to Ourimbah next week for SuperFlow!

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

Jacks Ridge XXX

Photo: Forestry Corporation NSW

We don't get to Jacks Ridge often enough. Growing up on the Mid North Coast of NSW the Macksville/Nambucca area is pretty familiar even some twenty years later and we always find it a bonus when we can get back to the area for a ride. Previous visits have included social rides with the NVCC crew (Youtube) and some night racing with the Dusk till Dawn (2015).

This time we returned to Jacks Ridge with team mates Nathan (from Port Macquarie) and Browny (from Sydney), who where teaming up to race pairs for this event.  The Nambucca Cycling crew had a great little hub going with a BBQ, coffee van and a loose horse creating the atmosphere. Riders from across NSW had come to ride these delightful trails, crews included those from Taree and Armidale.

Photo: Forestry Corporation NSW

Browny lead off the start line but had to submit his hole-shot onto the single track after attempting to turn down the incorrect trail. Both Browny and Nathan had a good race and never looked back, gradually extending their time gap from us. 

Our race was steady off the start as we got comfortable with the trail conditions and new tyres from Mitas. Once we were warmed up we spotted our main competitor for the day, not the speedy Mick Harris who was already way up the trail but local roady Greg who dabbles in the dirt art. We put in a consistent effort to bridge the gap to Greg on the second lap and stuck with him for the remainder.

We swapped turns in leading around the lap with Greg a number of times taking up the bulk of the race. Greg would show his strength on the climbs but we would catch him quickly the more narrow and tight the trail got, this seemingly balanced out by the time we returned to transition for the next lap.

Photo: Forestry Corporation NSW

In a moment of distraction Greg made an error and got a taste of the dirt leaving me to inflict a solo lap on my unprepared legs. A lap later Greg came screaming past on the tail of a Taree teams rider but on the remaining portion of the lap we clawed our way back onto his wheel. We headed out on our final lap and there didn't seem like there was much in the tank, Greg still lead but we were pausing longer to pass riders and there didn't seem like the earlier spring out of corners to get back on-pace.

On the returning trails to transition Greg motioned he wouldn't contest this final lap and we passed him, putting 100% into the final sections to take second place in the 5hr.

 JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres

NIXCS Series Tamworth Round Finale

Hardy souls gather for NIXCS Tamworth. Photo: Ben Marsh

We woke to a pretty brisk morning for the final 2019 round of the NIXCS series. Multiple cold fronts had crossed the region delivery proper cold and windy weather. CrummyMTB HQ was a flurry of action to fit a quick visit to our local ice covered regions before getting back to Tamworth for the midday start of the race.

A number of committed enthusiasts trekked from Inverell, Armidale and the surrounding areas to take part. TAMMTB had set a fast and flowing course with only a hill and a half in the loop.

Photo: Ben Marsh

With a number of juniors recently peaking for the National Schools event, it was a cracking start and their pace was well maintained through the race. Nick Chisholm lead from the start followed closely by U15s shredder Eddie Willis, the rest of us, eating their dust and fighting for our place over the first couple of laps.

Photo: Ben Marsh

 It was a pleasant ride, when you were riding out of, or with the wind, the rest of the time we found our body, even after warming up, was in a state of shock. We had a good ride with the returning Brad Newman, who managed the sub-zero temperatures in just a jersey and knicks (Brett Bellchambers style).

Photo: Ben Marsh

Thanks to TAMMTB for putting on the event. You can check out our other NIXCS race this year here.

JetBlack MTB Racing are support by the following;

#ridejetblack #jetblackproducts #theoddspoke #rockytrailentertainment #hubbardproof #prismbike #M2Oindustries #blacktownfamilydental #ambmagazine #mitastyres

@jetblackmtbrace @ridejetblack @jetblackcycling @theoddspoke @rockytrailentertainment @prism.bike @M2OIndustries @australianmountainbike @mitas_tyres