2014 Queensland State Championships Adare, Gatton 24th August

Post date: Aug 26, 2014 8:26:38 PM

The Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) Mountain Bike Squad headed north over the weekend to compete in the Queensland Cross Country National Championships being held in Adare just out of Gatton.

For the competitors this was an opportunity to get access to these mountain bike trails on private land. The Adare trails typically utilise the natural topography with a few man made berms and a carpet which is laid on the steepest climb appropriately named the Magic Carpet. But don’t be fooled, this aggressive pinch with dodging rocks was incredibly challenging with only a few cleanly grinding through.

The U15 and above track was a 6km course, shaped in a clover leaf, with the event HQ setup in the centre, allowing for multiple views of the competitors as they slogged it out for the highly sought after State podiums. The track had four major climbs including a section on the last clover leave appropriately named “Death Cookies”. This was a challenge of climbing and maintaining a clean line up the ascent. It was a very impressive track incorporating the required wide range of skills from the constant aggressive hill climbs, step downs and rock gardens. The U13 utilised a shortened track which included a long but not too aggressive climb then a flowy downhill section.

The racing commenced with the U11’s heading out for the shorter loop and included NEMTB’s Sam Davis (4^th) and Frazer McQueen (Coughs Harbour) (7^th).

The first of the NIAS crew to race was Nick Chisolm who a fortnight previously had taken out the line honours at the last round of the Queensland Sunshine Series in the U13. Harry Wooster also competed in this category. This race turned out to be one of the closely fought ones with Nick and another Queenslander rider fighting neck to neck right up to the finish line on the fourth and final lap. Nick was just held off the line to take a well-deserved 2^nd and Harry Wooster coming in 7^th.

In the U15 girls, Emily Wooster maintained her dominance over the northern state to take the 1^st place with Isabella Hosking holding onto the 2^nd place. Isabella was racing up an age group.

In the U15 boys Fergus McQueen and Josh Chisolm rode very well in a large field to take 4^th and 6^th respectively.

Katherine Hosking, current U15 National Champion, took a convincing win racing up a category in the U17.

U17 boys was well represented with Michael Harris (3^rd place U17 National Championships), Jack Feltham (placed 8^th in Nationals) and Hugh Munday. As was always expected this was going to be a very fast race. Michael Harris had a commanding start to the first hill climb ensuring he lead the top three riders into the single track with Jack trailing by a short gap. Michael was able to control the race with aggressive attacks on every climb and maintaining good speed and composure on the descents. In the last lap of three Michael didn’t manage to maintain his dominance when a bad line caused him to come off his bike relegating him to 3^rd with Jack following in 4^th. Hugh Munday competed in his first year in the U17 grade with an 11^thplace.

As would be expected, for State Championship rules, none of the NSW riders collected any of the maroon silverware but were showered with accolades and prizes while also reminding our northern neighbour of the calibre of riders NIAS and NSW produces. Well done to the NIAS Coach Dave Harris, Assistant Coach Holly Harris (currently competing in the World Cup in Europe) and Team Manager Chris Feltham for setting the team up for success. It’s now time for the NIAS riders to park the formal training for a while before recommencing in early 2015 in preparation for the National Series and Championships.