Lots of events to let you know about this week, local and further afield. We’ll start with the local ones…
Hopwood and the Coombesberg make the difference
By Ben Ross
Thursday night's Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club handicap race was the Barwite Loop.
It was a small field of ten riders with the first person to start being Dave Jagger, three minutes ahead of Adrian Dowd and Tim Hall. Starting two minutes after that was Ben and Tim Ross followed by the ‘Block group of Ryder Chadd, Simon Hall, Steve Duke and Andy Garrett, with Josh Hopwood insisting that he go by himself off Scratch.
The dreaded Coombesberg climb claimed Jagger and Hall and only Dowd managing to hold on to the Rosses as they steamed past.
Meanwhile Hopwood had caught the ‘Block group with Chadd and Garrett holding on.
The Rosses and Dowd were preparing for the finish but at the last corner were caught by Hopwood and Garrett. It was a slow sprint up the hill with Josh Hopwood taking first, Ben taking another win for the Rosses in second and Adrian Dowd rounding out the podium in third (followed by Andy Garrett and Tim Ross in fourth and fifth respectively).
Hopwood claimed fastest time in 30.52 for the 21km around the loop, an average of 39.7km/h, doing the first half on his own!
Here are the results and many thanks to both Alex and Tony for their images.
Thank you to the volunteers who helped make our racing possible.
Next week’s race is Howes Creek Road; entries close at 8pm Wednesday.
Dirt crits Two-way time trial
By Kate Stonnill
The first XC Dirt Crits returned for the season under the direction of Cam Dobson in Damian’s absence.
The course was set by Cam and to avoid any misadventures by riders Cam took the riders on a lap first. The riders then all took off on a bunch start. Not surprisingly the lead was quickly taken by Ryder Chadd with Ben Ross close on his tail on the first lap.
Once back all riders waited for their second attempt at the course except Mika Chadd who decided to keep riding his two laps in quick succession, possibly needing to listen a little more closely to the race briefing at the start.
The winner was determined but who had the most consistent times over two runs. Ryder Chadd took out first and also had the fastest run time, however young Ben Ross stayed close enough to Ryder and proved just as consistent with coming equal first with only 4 seconds separating their two run times.
Second on the podium with a difference of only 5 seconds was Tim Ross, putting father and son on the podium together. In Third was Steve Curnow (+6 sec), 4th Luke Vivash (+8 sec) and finishing off the podium in 5th was David Bock.
It was great to see a couple of new faces come along and hopefully return.
Nicole Hoegenben came through with the biggest improvement between runs by 17 seconds..
Thanks to Cam for the course and here are the results.
Dirt Critters Update
By Tim and Luke
Great to get started with Dirt Critters again for Term 4. Welcome to some new faces and welcome back to our regulars.
For our first week we tried out some of the easier XC-style trails, next week we will do a bit of Enduro style riding.
Starting up NEXT WEEKEND is the Alpine Cycling Club Junior MTB Race Series. This is a great series of 7 races over the summer across North East Victoria (including a race in Mansfield for the very first time). The races in the series are fun, relaxed and cater for everyone from 5 to 15+ years old; a great introduction to Cross-Country MTB racing. Last year we had up to 20 Mansfield kids racing all or part of the series. More details, and entries here.
For more info or queries email Tim or call Luke on 0455 604 785.
Upcoming Events
With the advent of summer there is lots of racing opportunities available for both kids and adults away from Mansfield. These include:
Alpine Cycling Club Junior MTB Race Series
A series of seven races across North East Victoria including one in Mansfield. This series caters for kids from 5 to 15+, with predominantly XC (cross country) style races. The series is a fun and relaxed introduction to MTB racing, and a number of families from Mansfield have taken part over the last five years. And this summer it’s sponsored by All Terrain Cycles!
More details here. Or contact Tim Ross or Luke Vivash on 0455 604 785.
Rookie Cup
Junior Downhill series aiming to introduce riders to the sport. A series of three rounds over the spring (two rounds have already been decided, with several Mansfield kids taking part). Caters for U11 to U17.
More details here or contact Luke Vivash on 0455 604 785.
Victorian MTB Championship Series
This series has 8 rounds over the summer in venues across Victoria (including in Buxton and Eildon). This is the peak state-based MTB competition, and caters for riders from U13 to Masters 7+ (really old people). In recent times local riders including Bruce Halket, Ruby Dobson and Ben & Alastair Ross have ridden parts of the series. More details here. Or contact Bruce Halket, Cam Dobson or Tim Ross.
VICS (Victorian Inter-School Cycling Series)
A series of eight road-racing events over the summer aimed at school-age kids (upper primary and secondary). All events are off-road/closed road, mainly Melbourne based. More details here.
Victorian Downhill Race Series (VDHS)
Six rounds (round one has already been and gone) around the state, culminating in the Mansfield round in March 2026. Go to their Facebook page for more details.
Victorian Enduro Series
National MTB Series
Four rounds for both downhill and cross country in four different states (territories.) Click here for more details.
National MTB Championships
Both XC and Downhill. At Mt Buller again this year in March 2026. A great experience racing at the highest level, and a worthy aim and so close to home! Click here for details.
Riders from Mansfield are expected to partake in all of these series, why not give one of them a go!?