The 2019 Fox Superflow, sealed by Stan’s event on the Central Coast took place on the first day of Spring on Sunday, 1 September. The event was supported by Central Coast Council and with heavy rain that preceded the event until the Friday night, a brave field of 180 racers who trusted the forecast for a sunny race day, enjoyed the trails at Ourimbah State Forest.
Home advantage for the Elite win: Shane Gillett
Local gun Shane Gillett took full home advantage on the Central Coast MTB trails, winning by one second ahead of Sydney’s Jon Odams. In third was none other than Victoria’s Paul van der Ploeg, a multiple World XC Eliminator Champion.
Coming back from injury, Shane Gillett from Charmhaven on the Central Coast admitted that his victory came as a surprise, “When Jon Odams and Paul van der Ploeg put down their times I didn’t think they could be beaten. I was just in a battle with Robert Hofman for 3rd. I just kept giving it my all and to my surprise I got the win!”
Jon Odams raced on the back of a successful racing campaign at the BC Bike Race in Canada and was excited to be racing a gravity event close to home. The regular starter at Rocky Trail’s Fox Superflow events said the trail conditions were better than expected after the rain from previous days and that he enjoyed spending the day out with team mate Paul van der Ploeg.
Van der Ploeg has cemented his name on the World Enduro Series scene over the last few years commented that he enjoyed the relaxed Fox Superflow racing atmosphere and that riders had so much flexibility without start orders. “Jon and I hatched our chickens early, I must admit, and kudos to Shane for taking the win. I like this easy-going Fox Superflow racing, where you still get to smash it down the trails as hard as you can and clock in as many race times as you can.”
Many riders commented that they liked that Rocky Trail Entertainment kept refining the Fox Superflow concept that allowed juniors and keen amateur racers could compete alongside such high caliber athletes and all share the same professional racing experience against the backdrop of a relaxed and friendly event atmosphere.
Top female BMX racers enjoy endurance challenge
The Women’s classification was dominated by World Class Elite BMX racers – the 2016 and 2019 BMX National Champion Leanna Curtis from Lake Illawarra took the win by almost 1.5 minutes ahead of BMX icon Melanie Gibson from Canberra and Sydney’s Kath Bicknell. Up and coming BMX junior Zoe Cooper took the U17’s win.
“Putting my foot out saved me a few times today”, admitted Leanna Curtis who said that she had heard about the Fox Superflow events from fellow BMXer Melanie Gibson who caught the Rocky Trail racing bug earlier this year and has been spreading the word about the fun endurance challenges.
“I like getting to know new tracks and bringing along my BMX friends”, said Melanie Gibson, a highly acclaimed BMX Champion from Canberra.
In third was Kath Bicknell from Sydney, for whom it had been the first Fox Superflow event and that it had been a great reminder of how much she enjoyed participating in events, after struggling with health issues over the past few years. “Riding has been a huge part of rebuilding my health but riding at an event provides a framework for different experiences to happen, especially when things run as smoothly as this one did, which is a huge credit to the Rocky Trail Entertainment team”, she said.
Having raced in Rocky Trail Events in the past she said, “This crew have been running events for several years now. It’s clear they really listen to rider feedback and adapt accordingly to keep things serious enough, casual enough, clockwork enough, and fun. Right from rego, this vibe carried through to all the participants out on the trails. An event format where you can leave as much space as you like between riders before attacking each trail certainly supports this too.”
Fox Superflow Series heats up
Each Fox Superflow race is a standalone event, however, participants also collect points towards the overall series classification. After the Central Coast event Jason Capenecas from Wollongong is the new men’s Fox Superflow Series leader. In the women’s Elite field there are quite a few names in the ex-aequo lead and the upcoming event on 22 September at Kiwarrak State Forest near Taree will be a decider going into the final series event at Greenvalleys MTB Park in November.
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