A Sodden Eagle - A.I.R DH at SA State DH RD #3

The gates of Eagle Mountain Bike Park were one again unlocked and a convoy of eager racers navigated the sketchy road into the heart of the complex on the weekend, ready to battle in the slush for round three of the SA State Title Series. A fit and healthy team of four AIR Downhill riders were early and ready to get dirty on the rocky, technical course. A seemingly constant drizzle of rain in the days preceding the event had the track all greased up and ready to be churned by 26 inch wheels.

The course at Eagle MTB Park frequently changes with a plethora of line options available to the track markers, and the weekend was yet another new variation of the trails at hand. Starting slightly lower in altitude than previous years, the weekends racing line joined the original ridge line trail just after top bridge for those who know the network well. Rendering the top bridge unused for the first time ever in a downhill event, the new line was just one of a handful of minute changes to the course.

Getting a feel for the groove of the new track took a bit of work during Saturdays practice session, the inconsistent rain had the soil changing from a wet mess to a gluggy slop and back again throughout the day. Grip levels were forever changing and even the regular gun riders were having difficulty judging an appropriate level of attack.

Sunday morning brought more rain which was more than welcomed by the AIR DH team as at the very least a wet course was going to be more predictable than one at various stages of drying out. Steve’s practise got off to a horrible start on Sunday morning, blowing wide on an already wide line over a rock filled jump, only to snag his derailleur and tear the hanger in half only seconds into his first run of the day. The short practice session left little time for him to replace the hanger and reattach his now bent derailleur, but with the help of Adelaide Mobile Bike Service’s neutral race support, he managed to get back on track to complete one and a half practise runs for the session! The rest of the boys had relatively event free practice runs throughout the weekend, with the odd slip up here and there of course.

The constant drizzle over Sunday morning slowed for Elite Seeding but didn’t clear completely; it was enough to ensure the track wouldn’t turn too gluggy. Tyson put together a smooth run and landed himself the 14th seed in the Elite Men category. “I haven’t felt overly confident all weekend, I love riding in the wet but struggle as soon as there’s rain on my goggles. My run was really consistent,” Tyson said. Darren put together a faster seeding time and secured himself eleventh seed while Steve showed he is just as reliable in the wet and held on to grab the fifth seed for the weekend. “I got down pretty safely even though it was so much more slippery than in practice,” Steve mentioned.

In the Under Seventeen category, Henry had his work cut out for him as he tried to claw back some points after crashing in the first round of racing at Willunga. “I didn’t leave anything on the track and didn’t really make any mistakes,” Henry said after he finished his race run in 2:13.82. Just 0.59 seconds behind first place on the weekend and 0.11 behind the leader in Round 2, Henry is putting the pressure on when it counts and we are set for a very interesting second half of the series!

When the Elite Men headed up to the top of the hill for racing, conditions hadn’t changed at all. Small pockets of sun broke the steady precipitation but the course was still going to be muddy. After seeding in 14th, Tyson was the first AIR DH rider to leave the start gate but didn’t get very far! Within the first pedal stroke out of the gate, his left pedal popped out of the crank arm rendering his race over. “I think the grit from the weekend got the better of me in my warm up. At least it didn’t happen further down the track!” Tyson said. Darren’s race run was more of a success story, putting together his lines and crossing the finish in 2:10.5 to grab twelfth place. “My run was better than in seeding, the track was probably a little bit faster too,” Darren said after taking over four seconds off

his seeding time. The last of the AIR DH riders on track was Steve and he has yet again proven himself to be one of the most consistent riders around. Posting a blistering time of 2:05.32 and securing fifth place, his time was just outside of a second from third place and well clear of sixth. “I didn’t have the most perfect run but I don’t think there are many people that could say that they did this weekend,” Steve commented.

Although it may not have been the ideal weekend for the entire team, we are stoked to see Steve continue his impressive form and have Henry up the pointy end where he belongs. Round 4 is to be held on the ‘Long Track’ at Fox Creek on July 5 and 6, and we are quietly confident the results will keep on coming!

Words : Tyson Schmidt Photos : Ryan Finlay