As the cross country season and National series
came to end, it was time for Oceanias, held in Glenorchy, Tasmania. With a new
course this year from those previously held in Glenorchy, it was going to be a
level playing field. It was going to be a good race with everyone competing for
the UCI points up for grabs. The course involved a switchback climb with a fire
road section to midway up the downhill course and a fast flowing descent out of
the forest onto the fourcross track, down into the start/finish area located on
the local football ground. I landed in Tasmania on the Wednesday before the
race, with only a few days to learn the new course. Thursday was spent riding
laps, working lines and getting used to the course. The steep fire road section
was my favourite part of the course due to the fact that it would break the
field up and create an opportunity for riders to get away.
Lining up on the start, it
was clear that it was a strong U/23 field, with Anton Cooper, an U/19 World
Champion, Jack Haig, the current Australian National Champion and Dirk Peters, a
World Championship competitor. The race was on from the gun, with Anton Cooper
and Jack Haig taking the front positions and riding away from the field. I
found myself chasing from the first lap, coming back through the start/finish in
fifth position behind Ben Forbes. On the climb I managed to break away from Ben
and rode in fourth for the rest of the race. With a lap to go I was a minute
and a half down on third but was not able to close the gap. I finished in
fourth behind Anton Cooper, Jack Haig and Dirk Peters, finishing in first to
third respectively.
It was a great race
and I was really happy with my result. Thanks to everyone who supported me, as
I couldn’t have done it without you all. Looking forward to some racing on the
road with the Baw Baw Classic in a couple weeks time.
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