APRIL’S AMB 100

Now in it’s 5th year, the AMB 100 continues to grow. Rocky Trail Entertainment have nurtured the event that we sponsor, and in 2018 every single racer benefitted from the climatic conditions in Canberra – a location known for its extremes.

While mid-week was scorching, and horror tales of inch deep dust and mid-berm bomb holes on Mt Stromlo fluttered across social media, a storm rolled across the nation’s capital on Friday afternoon. High winds, lashing rain and cold temperatures brought a sense of calm to the trails. Dust was down, grip was up. A repeat performance on Saturday meant that come race day on Sunday, the trails at Mt Stromlo were in the best condition for a long time. With one long lap marked out, race director Martin Wisata guaranteed that the course would provide the best bits of Mt Stromlo – all killer, no filler.

WE’LL RACE AT DAWN

Dawn would be a late start if you lined up for the 100 miler! With these hardy souls starting at 5:30am in the crisp autumnal air. Too crisp for some, and over half the elite field failed to finish the complete race that was won by Jason English ahead of Adrian Middleton. For everyone else, 8am would suffice for a start time. While the event is said to tackle a 33km lap, it’s usually closer to 25km. And that feels like 33km. So while the 100 milers head out for 5 laps, the other categories tackle 3, 2 or 1 lap. The 2 and 3 lap races are wellattended by fast riders and those in for a challenge and this year was no different. With riders like Brendan Johnston, Cristy Henderson, Andrew Arthur, and Amelia Cafe on the top step for their races, it’s clear that the AMB 100 draws a good crowd of fast riders. Minter Barnard placed 4th overall while winning masters, and Garry James was 12th overall while winning Super Masters. The single lap (called the 33km race) is where the fun is, with one hard and fast lap of the trails. Even when the going gets tough, at least you know you’re on the last lap! Jack McFarlane was fastest on the day and Alexandra Durr was the fastest woman. You can find the full results with our gallery on With finisher beers on hand from Bent Spoke Brewery, suspension tuning and servicing from Fox, a new event building for shelter from the rain, a coffee van doing a roaring trade and DJ Mista Nije keeping the tunes going – the event was buzzing. Thanks to everyone who came along to ride, to race, to support or to volunteer their time with Rocky Trail Entertainment to make sure the event ran so well. We hope to see you all again next year!