2019 NIAS MTB Program - Wrap

February - Stoked to spend the morning with a bunch of shredders, Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) coaches Nathan an Alyssa take an opportunity in the shade to discuss their manual techniques.

At University of New England, AU with Sport UNE and Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) , testing athletes and scoping lines for the upcoming Mountain Bike Australia - MTBA National Series. New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB) hosts the racing weekend.

A morning of trails and skills at Tamworth Mountain Bikers park with Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) athletes.

March - Awesome to join the Tamworth Mountain Bikers/Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) crew at the Verges Creek - Hammer Endurance Series Race 1 with TrailTerra. Keep an eye out for the next Verges Creek MTB Track event, it is a super fun trail with unique vibe!

The Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) athletes were out doing their thing today. Also checked out some of the new Tamworth Mountain Bikers trail work. All in a day's walk.

May - A morning with some of the New England and extended districts mountain bike athletes with the Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) program.

As my JetBlack MTB Racing team mates wrap up the Rocky Trail Entertainment GP at #wingello , we are tipping it into a fun weekend with our Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) MTB #crew.

June - Pumped for #SuperFlow tomorrow but first we hit the Tamworth Mountain Bikers Park with the Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) coaches and athletes.

Great to have the support of the local businesses in providing our Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) athletes the best information and experience.

After a snappy 4hr at Glenrock it was time to check out UNE trail with the Northern Inland XC Series. Thanks to Tamworth Mountain Bikers for their race wrap.

November - Awesome to see our Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) / Tamworth Mountain Bikers and JetBlack MTB Racing team mates have a good day at Orange Mountain Bike Club Mountain Bike Australia - MTBA State Champs!

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

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

Tamworth MTB Winter Rides Launch

TAMMTB launched their winter series for 2019 with a cryptic Facebook post. It included tyres, a baton and an egg, what was TAMMTB doing at 3pm for their Sunday Session?

Photo: CrummyMTB

Almost thirty riders were paired, before the all was revealed, this Sunday Session was to be a Relay Race, with an egg as the baton.

Photo: CrummyMTB

To add a little twist a short relatively simple 10min lap was chosen, it was a short, fast, and competitive. The rider pairing wasn't random, faster riders were paired with the less fast riders.

Photo: TAMMTB

We were paired with MTB newbie Chris. This was his second ride on his MTB and he carried the egg, in is hand, for almost half the lap. The other half the lap the egg was slipped into his sock.

Chris and I didn't win, but we managed to be in the running by keeping our egg safe for the whole race. What a cracker of a way to kick off the winter series of event with an inclusive fun relay style event, well done TAMMTB!

Photo: TAMMTB