Action Packed First Day of Competition for the Maxxis All-Mountain Assault

Wow…Day 1 of competition just went down and it was FIRE! Competitors were greeted with incredible conditions for The Maxxis All-Mountain Assault…grippy and baked dirt allowed for bikers to really get stuck in and do what they do best…rip the mountain apart!

A packed field of close to 500 lined up at the top of the Gunbarrel Express around 1790m above sea level, they took in the amazing views and took in deep breaths for the seven kilometre, 450 vertical metre descent to the village.

After a week of rain, the weather turned it on with loads of sunshine and a big blue sky. The track conditions were primo, starting out wet in sections swinging to sweet and tacky once racing was underway, getting faster and faster as the day went on.

The pro division saw Ben Forbes repeat his 2016 win, hitting the line at 12:37:22 around seven seconds ahead of Josh Carlson with Scott Graham nudging into third. In the pro women’s Sian A’Hern took the win only seconds ahead of Claire Whiteman and Tegan Molloy in third.

“It’s was great out there, it’s a really long time to be on your game, you have to be out of your seat the whole way, it was gnarly, but great to take the win” said Forbes.

When riders were asked to describe the race they said “it was brutal” with technical descents, natural features, jump options and pinch climbs, it pushed even the most seasoned enduro rider.  This is one of the longest enduro race tracks in the country, so solid slabs of time were won and lost, but in some categories it was only a matter of seconds that separated the podium places.

Congratulations to all the competitors that made it onto the podium.

Pro Men
1 31 Ben Forbes 12:37.22
2 23 Josh Carlson 12:44.23
3 33 Scott Graham 12:51.21

Pro Women
1 102 Sian Ahern 14:26.89
2 105 Claire Whiteman 14:29.24
3 100 Tegan Molloy 14:44.16

U19 Men
1 204 Harrison Dobrowolski 12:44.07
2 244 Sebastian Weber 13:04.40
3 215 Jay Cottrell 13:34.18

U19 Women
1 304 Amelia Cafe 15:29.05
2 300 Ellie Smith 16:12.71
3 302 Sally Potter 17:44.66

Amateur Men
1 430 Carl Dawson 13:54.14
2 458 Samuel McNaughton 13:55.28
3 496 Lachlan McKillop 14:00.04

Masters 1 Men
1 659 Mark Ludenia 13:27.48
2 610 Mathieu Taris 13:34.76
3 619 Simon Ballard 13:38.18

Masters 2 Men
1 730 Shane Gillett 13:49.36
2 746 Shaun Martin 14:24.41
3 752 Lincoln Ohma 14:26.92

Super Masters Men
1 802 John Myssonski 14:26.56
2 823 Mark Profaca 15:11.10
3 830 Alexander Valenta 15:22.26

U17 Men
1 976 Jack Hewish 12:48.88
2 1023 Riley King 12:52.59
3 900 Ethan Corney 13:11.28

U15 Men
1 1155 Remy Meier-Smith 14:03.95
2 1105 Thomas Krpan 14:38.06
3 1148 Cooper Lowe 14:38.59

U13 Men
1 1201 Felix Ashton 15:41.61
2 1221 William Melloh 15:48.48
3 1215 Luke Jansen 15:51.32

Novice Men
1 1270 Darcy Plunkett 13:46.51
2 1255 Luke Dalrymple 15:01.95
3 1259 Mitchell Hore 15:08.81

Amateur Women
1 1311 Lucy Mackie 15:27.74
2 1309 Stephanie Jackson 16:15.71
3 1313 Rachel Cook 16:33.05

Masters 1 Women
1 1353 Mel Hayes 15:06.63
2 1350 Sarah Booth 15:23.64
3 1355 Sharna Scott 20:24.71

Masters 2 Women
1 1401 Julia Boer 15:48.94
2 1400 Coleen Boyes 15:53.45
3 1404 Mandy Davis 16:05.12

U17 Women
1 1459 Tess Buckley 16:53.25
2 1450 Cassie Voysey 17:23.58
3 1457 Tahlia Richens 17:53.22

“It was a massive day of racing – sunshine, record number of riders and a fantastic track that just kept on getting better and better as the day went on.  The next few days are set to be epic with everyone raving about the Flow and Downhill track conditions” said Tim Windshuttle – Thredbo MTB Assistant Manager.