The 2006 Commonwealth Games - Melbourne

The 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Lysterfield Park XC Mountain Bike Race.

The Sun beat down on our heads and the sweat ran down our backs and riders went past with expressions ranging from pain and suffering to good natured fun and this was only on the long walk to the venue from the car park. As we walked my excitement grew to the point I was bouncing up and down and clicking my fingers like a 4 year old. I was at the Commonwealth Games, it was at the park that I had ridden my bike for over 10 years and there were thousands of people here to see what this MTB thing was all about.
The Women’s race kicked off first and the Canadian girls put in the hard work from the start, setting up a good lead early on. The teams to watch were the Canadians, the English, the New Zealanders and of course the Aussies. Also competing in the women’s XC were Scotland and the Cook Islands. The women’s race was 6 laps of the fast and furious course and the women all had great bike skills through the technical sections with all attacking the rock gardens and boulders with fearless determination. Watching Canadian riders attacking trail obstacles and clearing logs with perfect bunnyhops was awesome to watch. These women were all experienced mountain bike riders and all handled the track, the temperature (which climbed to over 30 degrees) and the pressure to perform on the day with amazing consistency and skill.
The women’s field stayed reasonably tight over the race with all women finishing the race they started. By the end the Canadian’s had set the lead and the Aussies were playing catch up with the Cook Islands and Scotland following behind. Final results honoured the work put in by Marie-Helene Premont (CAN), Rosara Joseph (NZ) and Kiarra Bisaro (CAN). Australian results were 5th, 7th and 11th. Full results are below. The worst luck of the women’s race had to be handed to Claire Baxter with her disastrous mechanical failure (thought to be the dreaded derailleur in the spokes) resulting in a final ½ lap run to the finish.
After a lot of negative comment from local riders about the quality and technicality of the Lysterfield XC race track the race seemed to prove that although it did not represent the best of Australian MTB technical off road trails it was an excellent venue for spectators, TV coverage and most important of all, making the racing fast and exciting. As a spectator I was able to move to multiple locations about the track easily and quickly and viewed riders in many different trail conditions.
The Men’s XC had a much larger field and represented many countries not usually synonymous with mountain bike riding. Amongst the usual suspects of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the English riders were less known countries such as Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, Northern Island, Scotland, The Isle of Mann, Wales and Guernsey.
It was clear from the beginning that the skill and experience in this field was far more varied than is the women’s race. Many of the African riders were running older or less high end bicycles with one rider on a bike that was new over 10 years ago. For me, this was a bit of a reality check and a reminder of what a rich, white boys sport that mountain biking currently is. Talk from the crowd was that many of these riders had only obtained bikes once they arrived in Australia and had set about learning the more technical aspects of the course in the days leading up to the race.
As the race got into it’s first couple of laps (of 8 for the men), Australian Chris Jongewaard set the pace early and went out hard on his own, putting the boots into all the riders in the field. The chase group consisted of English, Canadian and Australian riders and struggled to catch Chris for much of the race.
In the fragmented back half of the pack many of the smaller countries struggled with the pace and by the end of the third lap many riders were retired after being lapped by Chris. From the more technical sections of the course it was obvious that the rough, rocky sections of the course were proving to be a massive challenge for many of the riders. The crowd really got behind the underdogs of the race and cheered them on through spills and near misses on the course. Surprisingly many of the riders from smaller countries held their own right until very late in the race and managed to keep themselves in contention despite the cracking pace set by the lead rider. Right around the course, Australians and visitors got behind the riders and cheered them on despite the background or position of the rider. It was awesome to see this in a country that has been plagued by recent events that have shown our cultural parochialism and difficulty embracing other cultures and people.
As the race progressed the second chase group managed to separate into 3 riders from the UK and Canada and started on the hunt to catch Chris, still leading by over a minute and a half. On the sixth lap they finally caught the exhausted and fading Aussie and passed him on the final climb of the lap. On the downhill section they managed to push a new level pace into gear and the trio took a strong lead into the final lap. There was a massive crash in the spirits of the crowd as it became clear that Chris wouldn’t be able to pull himself out of his slump after leading the race by such a large margin for so long.
Australians Sid Taberlay and Josh Fleming were fighting for position in the middle of the pack and during the later laps began to make moves forward. By the end of the last lap, 2:15hrs after they set out, the English riders Liam Killeen and Oli Beckingsale had set a lead for first and second and Canadian Seamus McGrath had earned himself a bronze. Rolling over the line in 4th place Chris Jongewaard managed a signature wheelie but still obviously bummed with his final standing. Sid and Josh managed 6th and 7th respectively. Full results are below. Of the initial 29 riders that started the race, only 12 managed to complete without being lapped on the hot and fast track. Honourable mentions must be made of the many riders that managed to avoid being lapped until the final lap but were unable to place or finish due to course regulations that they had to be pulled before the line on the penultimate lap.
As the crowd thinned massively the final presentations were held with Price Philip himself on hand to present the Gold and Silver medals to the English winners.
After speculation that riders from the Northern Hemisphere would struggle in the hot conditions it was proved from both the Women’s and Men’s races that training and preparation were the keys to winning. It has been rumoured that the English had spent many months training in the hot Greek sun to prepare for the Australian summer, highlighting the difference in support from MTB programmes by different countries sporting bodies.
Overall the event went off without a problem. The crowds were amazing to see at a Mountainbike event, usually only attended by riders, significant others, mates or family. I hope this helps to lift the respect for off road cyclists by the general public, land managers and the ‘power that be’ within Australian Cycling who still treat MTB as the poor cousin of road and track. With crowds of this size and the number of bikes in the crowd, it is clear that MTB is strong and healthy in this country.
Always worth sparing a though for the riders who travelled from across the globe to represent for their countries on bikes older than most private bikes on the Lysterfield trails on the weekend. Maybe we need to think about the wealth we have in this country and what we can do to help those with what we have been born into.

OFFICIAL RESULTS:
Women’s XC:
Rk Bib Country - Name Time Time Behind Speed
1 1 CAN - PREMONT Marie-Helene
1:55:04 21.144
2 4 NZL - JOSEPH Rosara
1:56:31 1:27 20.881
3 2 CAN - BISARO Kiara
1:57:59 2:55 20.622
4 10 ENG - HUNT Amy
2:01:33 6:29 20.016
5 12 AUS - STARR Dellys
2:02:12 7:08 19.910
6 3 NZL - WONG Robyn
2:02:36 7:32 19.845
7 6 AUS - COLSON Emma
2:06:07 11:03 19.292
8 5 NZL - FOOTE Sonia
2:09:32 14:28 18.783
9 8 COK - MOLLER Myra
2:11:33 16:29 18.495
10 7 SCO - MCGAVIGAN Ruth
2:13:47 18:43 18.186
11 11 AUS - BAXTER Claire
OVL

Men’s XC:
Rk Bib Country - Name Time Time Behind Speed
1 1 ENG - KILLEEN Liam
2:13:11 24.215
2 3 ENG - BECKINGSALE Oli
2:13:26 15 24.169
3 7 CAN - MCGRATH Seamus Patrick
2:13:43 32 24.118
4 10 AUS - JONGEWAARD Chris
2:15:08 1:57 23.865
5 2 NZL - LEUCHS Kashi
2:15:29 2:18 23.804
6 5 AUS - TABERLAY Sid
2:17:18 4:07 23.489
7 14 AUS - FLEMING Joshua
2:20:14 7:03 22.997
8 8 NZL - NORTHCOTT Mike
2:21:11 8:00 22.843
9 9 NAM - HEYMANS Mannie
2:21:32 8:21 22.786
10 22 RSA - STANDER Burry Willie
2:21:59 8:48 22.714
11 4 CAN - KABUSH Geoff
2:23:44 10:33 22.437
12 11 ENG - RICHARDSON Simon
" " 22.437
13 13 SCO - MONTGOMERIE Gareth
2:24:53 11:42 22.259
14 17 NAM - BASSINGTHWAIGHTE Marc
2:26:33 13:22 22.006
15 15 WAL - ROACH Steven
2:27:13 14:02 21.906
16 16 NZL - AVERY Clinton
2:27:30 14:19 21.864
17 25 NAM - VAN WYK Ermin
2:28:56 15:45 21.654
18 6 SCO - OUCHTERLONY James
2:29:52 16:41 21.519
19 12 NIR - FERGUSON Lewis
2:30:46 17:35 21.391
20 19 IOM - ROCHE Andrew
OVL
21 29 RSA - MAKHALE Azwimangadzi Jus.
OVL
22 26 KEN - KINJAH David
OVL
23 28 GUE - SMART Robert James
OVL
24 20 KEN - FROOME Christopher Clive
OVL
25 24 KEN - KIHAGI Davidson Kamau
OVL
26 21 MRI - PASSE Cedric
OVL
18 SCO - WARDELL Robert
DNF
27 UGA - MATOVU KIGONGO David
DNF
23 UGA - MAGEZI David
DNF

DNF=Did Not Finish
OVL=Lapped

Notes:

Lysterfield Park is a State Park in the outer south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. It has been home to some of the best single tracks and trails in the Melbourne area for many years. There have been a lot of issues with illegal trail building and parks management over the years. Always remember that the park is a multi use park and that MTB riders need to respect other trail users and the park management. Recent development of MTB facilities in the park reflects better communication and relationships between the park managers and riders. Please keep this in mind when riding the park and keep to only open trails and avoid damaging the trails during wet months.