Rhiannon Prentice 2nd W14

The Australian MTBO Championship Carnival has had a very successful weekend in Alice Springs.

Over 120 competitors from all Australian states and New Zealand have navigated their way around the many kilometres of single track trails surrounding Alice Springs.

Saturday’s middle championship was held on the west side of town and finished at the Albrecht oval, Larapinta. The terrain was extremely rocky and rugged in sections and the elites had quite a bit of sand to contend with too. Courses were well set by Steve Sullivan, requiring some intricate map reading but also crucial route choices.

The long title was on an even larger and more complex area of tracks on the east side of Alice, starting and finishing adjacent to the Todd River at the Telegraph Station complex.

Most courses had some massive route choice legs but also included a lot of single track riding. Many riders found themselves in a maze of tracks vehemently hoping they had selected the correct one leading to their control. Lee Merchant was the course setter and was warmly thanked for the challenges he presented.

The final event, the sprint, will be held on Monday, again on the west side, with courses set by former WOC representative, Paul Darvodelsky.

The women’s elite had a large field, including three former WOC representatives. ACT’s Julie Quinn has made a successful return by winning both titles with Carolyn Jackson the runner up for both. Marina Iskhakova took third in the middle, with Norwegian based Melanie Simpson third in the long.

In the men’s elite Paul Darvodelsky had the fastest time in both events but was riding unofficially given that he lives in Alice and knows the tracks well. Alex Randall (VIC) won the middle from Steve Todkill (NSW) while Chris Firman (QLD) took the gold in the long, with Alex Randall second.

A surprisingly number of riders have managed to win both titles although there has been close competition in all age classes.

Three Alice Springs residents have been successful in gaining the podium so far in the competition. St Philips student Jordyn Kindness has won both events in the W14 class. Georgina Landy rode strongly against very experienced orienteers to place a close 3rd in the long championship in W40. Cecily Sutton did brilliantly for second place in W60 in the long also.

In the Australia v New Zealand Challenge the Aussies lead 10 classes to 6 after two days. The small contingent of Kiwis did extremely well to be 4 all after day 1 but the Aussies won 6-2 on day 2.

Day 1 – NZ won W50, M50, M60, M70.

Australia won M21, W21, M40 & W70.

Day 2 – Nz won W50 and W70.

Australia won W21, M21, M40, M50, M60, M70.

Sunday evening saw 120 people attend a buffet dinner and presentation night at The Chifley Resort – Alice Springs. Leigh Privett (Albury Wodonga) was the extremely pleased winner of the 29 inch carbon Norco bike donated by the sponsoring bike shop, Ultimate Ride.

 Class winners Australian MTB Orienteering Championships