Hottest Sydney night on record forces some to change strategy
Despite Sydney suffering the hottest overnight temperature ever recorded, 350 mountain bike riders lined up at the start of the JetBlack 24 hour race at Wisemans Ferry over the weekend. Organizers added extra water stations with ice and sprays to keep the riders hydrated as temperatures rose over the 42 degrees Celsius mark.
The extremely hot conditions were not enough to stop two time World Champion solo rider, Jason English, from claiming his third consecutive 24-hr JetBlack title. English, from Port Macquarie, recorded 44 laps of the 9.8 km circuit at the Del Rio Resort. This race marked English's first 24-hour race after claiming the 2010 world title in Canberra in October.
This race turned into a a different sort of challenge to survive the searing heat. The Merida rider said he had never experienced such conditions and found himself changing his race plans.
"At one stage, I was drinking four bottles in an hour," said English, who was in second place overall after the first lap, but the four-man team of Czech riders, named "Bernard", was proving too strong.
"I was trying to race them for the first five hours," said English. "It was then I realized I had no chance.I thought I better be sensible."
A close race developed for the overall win. Four Czech riders Ondrej Slezak, Michal Kafka, Victor Svacek and Michal Burda were up against a team of two Canberra riders, Andrew Hall and Ed McDonald. The Canberra duo eventually finished one lap down and with 57 laps, putting them second overall.
The other solo men's podium places were decided in the early hours of the morning when Joe Johnston made a move which eventually gave him second. The Bowral rider recorded 40 laps, a remarkable result considering it was his first 24-hour race. Chris Mohen from Willoughby completed a respectable 38 laps and claimed third place.
The solo women's winner was Jac Kennett from Glenfield.
Full results
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Solo men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Jason English (Merida Racing)
44
laps
2
Joe Johnston
40
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
Chris Mohen
38
Row 2 - Cell 3
4
Shane Taylor (Onya Merida)
19
Row 3 - Cell 3
5
Jason Harrod
4
Row 4 - Cell 3
6
Adrian Jones (Type 1)
4
Row 5 - Cell 3
7
Gareth Stephens (Cunning Stunts)
1
Row 6 - Cell 3
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Solo women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Jac Kennett
9
laps
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Solo master men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Clayton Locke
36
laps
2
David Whisker
33
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
Trevor Fairhurst (InTrevenous)
32
Row 2 - Cell 3
4
Ivan Chan (johnnielongpants)
24
Row 3 - Cell 3
5
Tim Dobe
11
Row 4 - Cell 3
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Duo women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
SuperBeeros
36
laps
2
Noodie and Crackers
32
Row 1 - Cell 3
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Duo men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Nerds on wheels
57
laps
2
Cool for Cleats
48
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
Team Mick Mock
43
Row 2 - Cell 3
4
Mumbles Racing Team
21
Row 3 - Cell 3
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Duo mixed
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
The Looney Cells
26
laps
2
Midnight Sun 2
13
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
Midnight Sun
13
Row 2 - Cell 3
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Triple women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Newy Cogheads Torque Talk Torque
18
laps
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Triple men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Dumplings
36
laps
2
ASSORTI
15
Row 1 - Cell 3
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Four-women team
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Lap Hogs
40
laps
2
Newy Cogheads Talk Torque
31
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
Newy Coghead Team Talk
29
Row 2 - Cell 3
4
Newy Coghead Love 2 Torque
23
Row 3 - Cell 3
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Four-men team
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Bernard Riders
58
laps
2
Battered Savs
55
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
Four Amigos
54
Row 2 - Cell 3
4
The UGLies
51
Row 3 - Cell 3
5
Cycling Central
51
Row 4 - Cell 3
6
The Pool Cleaners
45
Row 5 - Cell 3
7
Over the Hill
44
Row 6 - Cell 3
8
ADCC
43
Row 7 - Cell 3
9
Razorback acme Rockets
42
Row 8 - Cell 3
10
SHAKE AND BAKE
41
Row 9 - Cell 3
11
Putt Putt
39
Row 10 - Cell 3
12
The Jackson 4
36
Row 11 - Cell 3
13
Mudgutz
34
Row 12 - Cell 3
14
3 men and a potato
28
Row 13 - Cell 3
15
Hayes Brakes
28
Row 14 - Cell 3
16
White Noise
26
Row 15 - Cell 3
17
Marshalls Newy Cogheads
23
Row 16 - Cell 3
18
Anti-Fitness
19
Row 17 - Cell 3
19
Marshalls New Cogheads 2
17
Row 18 - Cell 3
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Four-masters men team
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Crankmeisters
46
laps
2
GO 4 IT
40
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
MoreCowbell
9
Row 2 - Cell 3
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Four-person mixed team
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
Team Trihard
48
laps
2
Suprisingly Slow
40
Row 1 - Cell 3
3
The Puddings
37
Row 2 - Cell 3
4
Mixed up Rolex
36
Row 3 - Cell 3
5
The Dodgy Kebabs
32
Row 4 - Cell 3
6
FatBastardRacing
24
Row 5 - Cell 3
7
yeah yeah
23
Row 6 - Cell 3
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Four-juniors team
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
Header Cell - Column 3
1
The Beaches Bike Shops
45
laps
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