Cooranbong Park will again be the venue for both the start and finish of Stage 3 of the Port to Port MTB event through Awaba Mountain Bike Park on Saturday.
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The Port to Port MTB is one of Australia’s premier mountain bike endurance races.
Riders begin their odyssey with Stage 1, in Pokolbin, today [Thursday].
Stage 2 is in Killingworth, Lake Macquarie, on Friday.
Stage 3 is the Awaba/Watagans section on Saturday.
And riders will bring the event home with Stage 4 at Glenrock, in Newcastle, on Sunday.
The 60km stage through Awaba Mountain Bike Park is considered by many riders and event organisers as the most challenging of the event.
The course is designed around a stunning single-track system which takes in the Watagans, and a loop that includes some serious climbing followed by one of the best off-road descents anywhere in Australia.
Defending champion Brendan Johnston, of Moruya, on the South Coast, is among the favourites this week.
He has three national marathon cross country MTB titles and has recorded 19 straight wins starting in 2015.
He said the Port to Port MTB was a unique event that posed specific challenges.
“it’s like having a cross country race every day for four days because the intensity can be quite high with the level of talent that turns up to these races,” Johnston said.
And it seems his body is made for the event.
“I have always been pretty lucky that I can back up well. Some people are hopeless at it. It depends on your physiology and whether you are able to still compete while hurting day after day. I have been lucky that I fair pretty well in these multi-day events.”
In the women’s section, Wollongong rider Jessica Simpson – a former triathlete, turned mountain biker – is looking forward to testing herself at the event’s fifth anniversary.
“My background is actually mostly in triathlon. I came to MTB from racing semi elite long-course triathlon (whilst trying to hold down a job) and needed a change and a new challenge, so started mountain biking maybe six years ago,” she said.
Simpson placed overall at the Port to Port in 2017 and fifth in 2016.
The action starts at Cooranbong this Saturday at 8am. Visit porttoportmtb.com for details.
