2012 DuO Wrapup
Sunday, 6 May 2012
The final event in the 2011/12 DuO Adventure series attracted 80 competitors which
included a mix of old and new competitors and a large contingent from the ACT. There was
a steady stream of competitors leaving the Belanglo House start area for the first leg of
around 6.5 km on the MTB through mainly flat fire roads. The ground was generally dry
with the odd patch of water/mud thrown in around the gullies. This leg took around 15 to
20 minutes to complete before arriving at the first foot transition. The control at the foot
transition was busy all day as competitors punched in four times after completing each
bike and foot stage.
The foot stages, although not being too long between controls were in difficult terrain, with
plenty of rock faces, shelves, cliffs and scrubby gullies in between. Most of the controls
took around 4 to 6 minutes to reach depending on route choice. If you planned well, there
were several good single tracks to run along and lead you to the controls. Several
competitors still struggled around the rocky areas and found it a little frustrating at times.
The area was more challenging as far as navigation goes but most competitors enjoyed
the area and the difficulty.
The second MTB stage was a little longer with around 19km for the long course and 12 km
for the short course. We were required to keep off the single tracks in the area by the
Forests Department. This meant that the navigation was not as challenging on the bike.
There were some great flowing, bumpy trails skirting the plantation area as well as a few
short sharp hills to climb. To add to the challenge some of the controls on the bike leg were
placed 50 to 150 m from the tracks. Competitors dropped off their bikes at various points
to grab the controls on foot, some competitors managed to get the control easily but
struggled to find their bikes when they popped out on the tracks and their bikes were out of
view.
The front runners in the Long course were Greg Barbour, Patrik Gunnarsson and David
Simpfendorfer. They set a fast pace both on bike and on foot, with very little difference in
their times between controls. Mary Fein was a clear winner in the Women’s class and was
very close to the overall leaders in the long course.
The Short course was another close result with Robert Prentice leading the way from
Fedor Iskhakov and Andrew Power. Cath Chalmers was the winner of the Women’s class
with Carolyn Matthews close on her heels.
There were several competitors who tried out the MTBO course only and a good turn out
of parents and children trying the novice course. It was very hard for the Dad’s to keep the
children on course as they spent a lot of time riding through the mud holes. Mark Shingler
ran the novice course alongside his son on the bike, a good effort for 90 odd minutes.
A sausage sizzle greeted the competitors on their return to Belanglo House, thanks to Tim
Hackney and Kerry Bacon for keeping up the hot food for nearly three hours. A big thanks
to the organising club ( Illawarra ) and their members, Keith, Sue and Ian, who gave up
their time to keep the start and transition area flowing steadily throughout the day.
Kevin Curby was cool, calm and collected on the registration desk, with plenty of changes
and enter on the day for Sport Ident system. He ensured it worked perfectly all day! There
were a few mis punches and withdrawals on the day, but we have all been in the same
position and hopefully all the competitors will be up to the challenge again in the next
series. Greg Bacon
|