THE new Bathurst Bike Park had its first workout on the weekend, with the Fairfax and Western Advocate-sponsored Evocities MTB Series event declared a resounding success.
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Bathurst’s new bike track on the Vale Road was the location for the third round of the mountain biking event, which saw 156 riders saddle up to compete.
Below average temperatures might have had some out-of-town cyclists shivering, but the on-track action was hot, according to Bathurst Cycling Club president Phil Egan.
While entries were a little down on expectations, due to the four-day Port to Port running on the same weekend, Mr Egan said the event had something for every rider.
“I think what we lacked in quantity with made up for in quality,” he said.
Mr Egan said a number of the state’s best riders chose to compete at the Bathurst event rather than the Port to Port.
The first major event at the track also got a resounding thumbs up from competitors who praised the track’s flow, switch back and technical aspects.
“It got better and better, the switch backs were awesome,” Claudia Fiess said, who came third in the solo masters.
While her partner Hans Haegele, who also came from Sydney to compete, said the track’s flow and berms were great.
Mr Egan said they weren’t the only people to travel to Bathurst for the third round of the series, with others making the trip from Port Macquarie, Canberra, the Blue Mountains, the South Coast, Wollongong, Tamworth and Dubbo.
He said the event would not only boost Bathurst’s economy, but also the city’s reputation as a cycling destination.
“With accommodation, food and multiple people you’d have to be thinking $150,000 in spending in town, which is pretty good,” Mr Egan said. “There will have been people here who wouldn’t have ridden here before. Now they know we exist.
“It’s a really fantastic event and a credit to everyone involved.”
The only incident to mar the event was an accident in warm-up when a 35-year-old cyclist crashed at speed and was transported to Orange Hospital with head injuries and a fractured clavicle.
Mr Egan said the Bathurst track was “completely different” to the first round of the series held in Orange’s Kinross State Forest on February 15.
Mr Egan said the Bathurst track was a “spectator’s track”, giving people a great view over much of the track.
“It’s a completely different style of track. It’s so open, you can see people racing ... the fast guys can see each other,” he said.
The next round of the Evocities MTB Series will be held in Albury on June 21.
