The VIC Series continued with the Silvan race, which saw some unexpected #rockytrailracers turn up at the start line! Wowsers!
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Results and Photos:
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The Action:
Silvan MTB Park hosted Round 5 of the Fox Superflow® in Victoria on the weekend of 11+12 November 2023.
We’ve had some unexpected racers turn up: a couple of legends from QLD showing off their Series Trophies and none other than New Zealand’s lofty gravity racing star Wyn Masters turned up with the crew from Race Fit Athlete Development. What a thrill to experience Wyn’s larger-than-life character and see his insane bike skills in action.
Jack Ward: Local 18-year old claims the Elite Men’s win
Jack Ward took full home track advantage, clocking in the fastest race time on two out of the three race stages for a winning time in the Elites of 7:46.2. Huge kudos to the young 18-year old racer who claimed the win ahead of gravity legend Wyn Masters who certainly added a bit of international flair to the racing action at Silvan. Straight off the plane and visiting with the Ride Fit Athlete Development Squad, the 38-year old from New Zealand was chatting to fellow riders, mingling in the event centre and happy to sign race plates of our young shredders – thanks, Wyn, and welcome to the #rockytrailracer community! Wyn finished the three stages in 7:53.9 ahead of Sam Stephens (7:54.5) from Park Orchards.
Local racer Rachel Hore takes the women’s title
In the Elite women’s local racer Rachel Hore took the win in 9:08.7 ahead of Jen King (9:32.7) from Ringwood and Siennah Kean (10:11.5) from White Hills. The third outright place was strongly contested with Expert (19+ B-Grade) racer Grace Basham clocking in a sensational 10:11.7, placing fourth outright. In fifth was fellow Expert racer Rebecca Lowery (10:14.6).
Huge talent coming through in the juniors
Again, the under 17 year old riders represented over 30% of the field at Silvan – massive kudos to U17’s Men’s winner Sam Harberts (8:38.1) and winning U17’s female, Nathalie Fahnle (10:39.9). In the U19’s, Patrick Vanstan was the fastest with 8:20.4.
E-Bike testing at Silvan
For the first time and as an extension of Rocky Trail’s eBike Policy, new initiatives were tested at Silvan. This included a point-to-point speed test out on course that recorded all participants. The Rocky Trail team developed this in-house average speed testing program that is operated as part of their timing operations. Additionally, a local bike shop had been commissioned to perform eBike checks. We would like to commend our Rocky Trail Racing community for taking this initiative on board. All bikes tested were found to be compliant.
Nic Ferroni won in the Shimano STEPS Electroflow category in 8:09.1 ahead of Mitchell Crowley and Timmy Leggott. In the women’s Open category, Emma Stancic won in 10:21.4. In the Masters, Nathan Mawson won in 8:05.7 ahead of Jack Royle and Ben Hardman. In the Master Women’s, Hanh Le won ahead of Marj Taylor and Joanne Boarg. Overall, the event had 70 eBikers on course, an impressive 20% of the field.
A big shout-out to our awesome Event Managers, Jo Parker and Bob Morris, who worked tirelessly for weeks liaising with Parks Victoria to secure the event permit. Rocky Trail Entertainment respects and supports the pleasures of mountain biking and related self-reliant outdoor activities. As such we advocate that all of us have a big responsibility to protect and preserve the natural landscape for the enjoyment of future generations. It is important to us to make sure that the venues we race and play on are safe and protected not only from racing but also event hub activity impacts. At Silvan new access protocols were established and we appreciate the support from the Parks Victoria team.
Coming up
First a 2-day Edition Fox Superflow® in Orange NSW and two more races in Victoria at Falls Creek with our 6-stage “Alpine Edition”! – There’s one race with uplift shuttles, there’s one race to ride uphill and you can pick which race you do on what day! Drop in with your buddies on each other’s tyre or leave a space to pin. It’s about doing party trains, railing berms and SENDING IT! – Click below for info and to sign up!
