6 March 2010 For Immediate Release
The high tides weren t the only thing riders had to contend with on the final day of the DT Swiss Mountains To Beach.
Recent rains in the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla Shires saw the Ground Effect Surf Safari become a contest of wills rider versus nature. The rains, while welcome to all locals, meant that every lake crossing on the 49km stage from Bermagui to Narooma was a wet one. This combined with a high tide, saw many competitors wading chest deep with bikes held aloft. One or two $7000 bikes endured a full dunking in the salt.
The crossings combined with soft sand beaches and lush grass paddocks made it a real challenge for some of the remaining 135 competitors. A stiff NE headwind slowed progress too. No such trouble for the lead riders though, with Jason English finishing in 2:07:01 with Andy Blair again coming in second, two minutes and seven seconds behind on 2:09:08. Nick Both was third, just a second behind Andy on 2:09:09
The win provides Jason with his second Mountains To Beach title. His total time for the 385km event was 11:42:21, eleven and half minutes ahead of Andy Blair, second overall in 11:53:49. Third place went to Andrew Fellows on 12:04:32, ten minutes further back.
Andy Blair said after the race that although disappointed he didn t win, he d be back next year to try again. The DT Swiss Mountains To Beach provides so much variety of mountain biking and scenery; it truly is the most challenging of journeys and after 2 years and 2 second places I want to be capture top spot!
In the Women s category, Megan Dimozantos from NZ found the terrain difficult but enjoyable and this was borne out in her three minute win over Belinda Porter. Megan s total time was 2:57:33, with Belinda coming in at 3:00:52. Clare Lonergan came in third, almost fifteen minutes later on 3:15:42.
Almost half an hour separated Megan and Belinda in the overall category, with Megan completing the race in 15:48:47 with Belinda finishing in 16:18:24. Clare Lonergan came third on 17:03:47, forty five minutes after Belinda.
All riders agreed that while challenging the locations visited certainly made it worthwhile. Many of the returning riders found the change in the countryside amazing and will be making
Full race results can be found at www.wildhorizons.com.au/mountains-to-beach/results-reports
source: Beverley Atkins, InSync Public Relations & Event Management
