The three-day event included four race stages and the Australian National Marathon Champion Johnston from Canberra took out the outright title against a high-profile line-up of mountain bikers. The fastest female was Karen Hill from Melbourne. In the Elite men’s classification former World Cup Sprint Eliminator Paul Van der Ploeg from Victoria comes in second ahead of up and coming cross-country and marathon talent Owen Gordon from the Blue Mountains.
“When CORC founded this event last year, we wanted to showcase the variety of mountain bike trails in Canberra and we are excited that with Rocky Trail Entertainment we found a partner who will take this race to the next level”, said CORC president Matt Battye.
Overall in third is the Master winner, Andrew Blair, one of the local club members from the Canberra Off-Road Cyclists (CORC) and initiator of this event last year. “I really enjoyed the format this weekend”, he said. “Not only could I race hard against such a great line-up of riders but I really enjoyed the social aspect that Rocky Trail instilled into the event. There were plenty of opportunities to socialise with fellow riders and especially the un-timed liaison stages on the Saturday along the Centenary Trail added to this unique atmosphere.”
“I loved that my family could come along and that I could do a few little laps back at Stromlo Forest Park with my kids and that there was such a great offer with food trucks and entertainment and the Kids MTB Fair for them while I was out on course”, Blair added.
Under the patronage of CORC, one of Australia’s major private mountain bike organisers Rocky Trail Entertainment has plans to establish the Terra in the Berra as a flagship multi-day event in Canberra. The 2019 race had started with a short-course race at Majura Pines with its event centre at the Mount Majura Vineyard, which provided a spectacular backdrop for the social gathering after the racing action. On Saturday the event featured a 43 km circuit, which included two timed stages: for the first time an organised cycling event offered a ride from Stromlo Forest Park to Kambah Pools and along the Murrumbidgee River to Pine Island. Racers returned to the event hub at Stromlo Forest Park on the popular Centenary Trail with a hill climb challenge on Coleman Ridge with amazing views of the Capital. On Sunday the event was hosted by Rocky Trail’s AMB 100 Marathon at Stromlo Forest Park and featured two loops of the longest racing circuit possible at the park.
Event Manager Bob Morris from Rocky Trail Entertainment said that the race had received enthusiastic feedback from Elite and hobby racers alike, “We want to enable the local club to ride and race and showcase the trails in Canberra, but also provide local businesses the opportunity to benefit from our event – the local Handlebar crew put on a fantastic first ‘Hills and Hops Spring Festival’ to coincide with our event, which created an amazing celebration of mountain biking and cycling!”
Six Australian States represented on final day
The third and final day of the Mitas Terra in the Berra was hosted by the AMB 100 Marathon, which celebrated a decade of marathon circuit racing at Stromlo Forst Park – hailed as one of the toughest marathons on the Australian mountain bike racing calendar, it attracted competitors from all around the country with racers representing NSW, ACT, QLD, VIC, WA and TAS. The over 25km circuit on the challenging trails set out by the Rocky Trail Entertainment crew had to be completed twice as part of the Terra in the Berra event and also offered a classic marathon distance with a triple loop. Eight racers competed in the infamous “100-Miler” challenge with five loops and its race start at 5am.
In the AMB100 Marathon, Canberra’s Chris Hanson won the infamous 100-Miler classification outright with fellow local racer Em Viotto and Reece Tucknott from Perth claiming the top steps of the Triple loop classic marathon challenge. Sarah Tucknott from Perth and Liam Johnson from Tasmania are the Double loop winners. Kathryn Passalis from Canberra and 14-year old local club racer Cameron Rogers took out the single loop challenge.
Winning three out of the four race stages with a total race time of 4h25:57.7 including the Double challenge in just under two and a half hours at the AMB 100 Marathon the Australian Marathon National Champion Brendan Johnston took the win and the fastest woman was Karen Hill from Melbourne in 5h15:04.8. Both agreed that they most enjoyed the social aspect of the event and the great variety of trails. “Every day was different and that was really entertaining”, said Karen Hill. “To back up the racing day after day is tough, but really enjoyable and I look forward to next year already”, she added.
The Terra in the Berra race will return to Canberra late in 2020 with the final race date to be confirmed over the next few months.
TOP RESULTS Mitas Terra in the Berra
Elite Female Champion
1. # 278 Karen HILL / 5h15:04.8 (Melbourne VIC)
Elite Male Champions
- # 279,Brendan JOHNSTON / 4h25:57.7 (Canberra ACT)
- # 383 Paul VAN DER PLOEG / 4h29:15.8 (+3:18.1) (Tawonga VIC)
- # 390 Owen GORDON / 4h40:23.7 (+14:26.0) (Blue Mountains NSW)
Master Male Champion
- # 180 Andy BLAIR / 4h33:59.6 (+8:01.9) – 3rd overall (Canberra ACT)
TOP RESULTS AMB 100 Marathon
- 100 Miler Winner: #518 Jonny Harrison / 07:42:41 (Sydney NSW)
- 100 Miler Male Master: #525 Chris Hanson / 07:14:54 (Canberra ACT)
- 100 K Male Elite: #700 Reece Tucknott / 03:43:52 (Perth WA)
- 100 K Female Elite: #552 Emma Viotto / 04:23:32 (Canberra ACT)
- 66 K Male Elite: #582 Liam Johnston / 02:27:30 (TAS)
- 66 K Female Elite: #608 Sarah Tucknott / 03:04:13 (Perth WA)
- 33K Male Elite: #726 Cameron Rogers / 01:17:12 (Canberra ACT)
- 33K Female Master: #693 Kathryn Passalis / 01:34:13 (outright winner, Canberra ACT)
MEDIA RESOURCES
Photos by OuterImage.com.au may be used for free with image credits for coverage of this media release and/or Rocky Trail events.
- Brendan Johnston on course at Stromlo Forest Park.
- Karen Hill on course at the hill climb challenge.
- Social racing action at Mount Majura Vineyard.
- Race start at Stromlo Forest Park.
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