CX/Short-Track

When it is all done and dusted.

ADCC Mountainbike Championships

A ute loaded with bikes and a weeks worth of possible medical gear we left Sydney for the unpredictable weather of Canberra and the 2011 Australian Defence Cycling Club Mountainbike Championships. Monday morning was familiarisation session on the trails of Stromlo. A small group of us choose the trunk trail to get up past the observatory and then of course the spectacular Skyline and Luge on the way down. It gave us an opportunity to ensure our bikes were ready for the weeks racing and scope trail conditions.
In the afternoon it was a skills session with Indi Boer, former Australian National DH Champion, and James Bashford, Australian DH representative, on the 4X track and DH trail. Leaning new skills like manualing, and the line selection experienced riders use added to everyone's abilities.
Tuesday morning was 4X and I used the new found skills to fly through the heat and into the semi final. During the semi final run I missed out on the Final by half a bike length.
In the afternoon it was the XC and it was lightning fast. It was a carpark sprint to the first corner between scattered showers and onto the now tacky track. With only four laps and a total of just 28km it was an all out sprint. I gave it a solid hit-out and attempted to red-line the whole race, lap 1 was a little slow with traffic but lap 2 through to 4 only varied by less than 10 seconds. I just couldn't make back the time to the XC specialists in such a short distance..
The weather was continuing to be wet on Thursday morning and the DH riders headed up the mountain for some timed runs. Slowly the scattered showers started to clear and the wind picked up drying off the trails. Just before lunch I headed up for one timed run and a starting time to work from for the afternoons final race runs. I was happy to post just under a 4 minute time.Stromlo's Downhill track is world-class and has been used for Australian National Championships, UCI World Cup and the 2009 UCI World Mountainbike Championships. With a variety of terrain and features, my aim was to attempt as many A-lines as "reasonably practicable". The infamous "Rock-Garden" was on the list, but the G-20 drop, Triple Treat and road gap were not. The afternoons competition runs were a little interesting in the wind, my first run I crashed after a bad line after a drop-off and small rock-garden, completing the run in 3:45. My final run clocked a time of 3:28 and was about a smooth and clean as any run I had completed all week.

It was great to spend almost a week on the trails of Stromlo, catching up with and making new friends, and of course riding two Yeti Bikes. Results for the ADF Champs, Semi Finalist 4X on the AS-R 7, 5th Elite XC on the ASR-C, 6th Elite DH on the AS-R 7.

ADCC Downhill

Yeti's AS-R 7

Big bike, big travel and the big brother to the highly popular 575, Yeti's AS-R 7 is a serious machine for those long crazy descents with the capability of riding to the top again.
Its generous reach had me immediately comfortable and a flick of the ProPedal, set to ride to the top of any hill. The long wheel base was only noticeable on the tightest climbing corners and the extra bulk play a bit of a factor when keeping up with lighter, short-travel bikes. Best treated as a seated climber.
It wasn't until the sweeping descents and baby-head rocks we en-counted heading back down the mountain that I really understood the AS-R 7. Although on the tall side, the bike's length provides great stability, confidence and smooths out the rough terrain. Assured of the bikes DH ability with its burly 2.35" tyres, DHX Air shock, through-axle front and rear, it was time to drop the seat and put it to the extent of my DH riding abilities.
Unfortunately the AS-R 7 was running a standard seat post and with the interrupted seat tube I couldn't get the seat super low, though the bike is adjustable seat-post ready with clips on the top tube. After two deep breaths I pointed the Fox Float RC2 fork at the Double Diamond run...
With no hint of flex, the bike handled precisely and easily soaked up the terrain. Extra emphasis is needed on big drops/launches with plenty of weight over the back wheel due to the bikes tall nature. The AS-R 7 challenged my skills at full speed, with ledges, launches, drop offs and doubles not normally considered. This bike took on everything I pointed it at and did it with ease.
If your prepared to ride to the top and need plenty of travel for the way down or need a versatile in the AM/DH category this could be the bike for you.

Ok here it is...

Take one Yeti AS-R7, Stromlo DH trail and an endurance rider.