There is nothing better than taking a long drive through the country only to end up at an MTB Race. Especially when the race you’ve rocked up at is the first round of national series and Australia’s reigning XC Champ Dan McConnel is lined up at the start gate, surrounded by a large majority of the country’s other top XC riders. Setting up for what could only be an epic first race.

Set in the Victorian high country just outside of Bairnsdale, Mount Taylor provided quality terrain for XC racing with 4.8km course, filled to the brim with tough pinch climbs and smaller descents making sure the racers were always on the gas to earn their position. Straight off the start was a short fire road climb to disperse the group before hitting the single track. Focus rider Shaun Lewis was first off the road, closely followed by Specialized marathon rider Andy Blair and fellow team mate Scott Bowden. The first lap of racing stayed pretty close with Blair in the lead as they crossed the line for the first time. The pace was fast with the top riders lapping the course around the 14 and 15 minute mark, however during lap three McConnel put the hammer down, completing the lap under 14 minutes and putting what would be a race winning gap between him and the rest of the field. The standard has been set with an awesome first round of XCO racing. I'm looking forward to seeing how the series pans out over the summer. 

Full results here:

 http://onlineresults.com.au/results/competition/aa3872f3-835e-40f7-be90-aba6316375ba