XCO NATIONAL SERIES HEATS UP!

The MTBA National XCO Series started with a bang at Kinross State Forest, NSW, on the weekend of 9-10 December 2017. Stacked fields in the Elite and younger categories lit up the trails that had been so well prepared by Orange Mountain Bike Club. With a mix of bermed pine forest trails and built-up rockier features, the two courses for Saturday and Sunday found worthy winners. And it was New Zealand’s Samara Sheppard who dominated both women’s races, while Cam Ivory showed he was the man to beat the whole weekend. After a break for Christmas the National Series went to Nerang, QLD, for rounds 3 and 4. With Saturday’s race tackling the Commonwealth Games course, the elite field was strong and the forest was full. Plenty of local riders had been scratching their heads as to how riders on crosscountry bikes would be tackling the steep rock features. And riders like Anton Cooper, Daniel McConnell, Samara Sheppard, Tasmin Nankervis and more showed them exactly how. With a handful of New Zealand riders over to check out the course, the racing was hot – almost as hot as the high temperatures with high humidity. The conditions took as much of a toll as the course, with some riders suffering more than others to the point of needing to stop, or making an A-line to the medical tent post race. Somehow, the heat favoured the Kiwis, with Samara Sheppard and Anton Cooper coming out on top on Saturday. Sunday’s race used some different trails, tracing some of the climb from the previous day before transition to a rocky singletrack climb and descending into Barney’s, a popular trail at Nerang. The long descent had a rolling climb back before a final descent to start another lap. Given a hotter forecast laps were reduced but the victors remained the same as the previous days – why can’t the New Zealanders get their own National Series? The weekend of racing has shown the best of Australia’s and New Zealand’s talent, and we’ll be left to see what the other Commonwealth countries bring to the table in April. Full results and galleries are on