Hogarth wins opening stage at Mawson Marathon
King kicks off race as leader
At 7:30 am sharp, the stage riders lined up for the start of the inaugural Kona Mawson MTB Marathon. After a mandatory gear check and a warm welcome from the Blinman Community, all 20 residents of them, the flag went down...and the race began.
The first 18km of the race was on fast bitumen. As the group left the staging area in Blinman, the riders split up almost immediately; leaving a group of six riders took the lead down to the first turn-off. The leading group would ultimately account for the first six places in the results.
The Mawson Trail is an amazing historic trail offering variety of dirt roads, the dry creek crossing, some groovy singletrack mixed with open paddocks with magnificent million-year-old stone formation in the background. The first stage is definitely a smorgasboard of it all, causing the lead group of six riders to break up very early on.
As the lead pack splintered, Torq rider Robbie Hucker took the lead and didn't let go until he crossed the finish line in Rawnsley Park. Second in line was Ben Hogarth (Giant) following at 4:19, while Andrew Mock took third place. Dean Jones came in fourth, followed by Evan James (Giant), Dyon Balding, John Allison and Robin Tullett (Kona) to finish the top eight.
Eight riders also took part in the Triple Peaks Challenge; a challenge that has you leaving your bike behind and climb three of the iconic peaks in the Flinders Ranges; St Mary, Devils Peak and Mt Remarkable. Leaving from Wilpena, they raced up to the peak and back down on foot, to then continue their journey on the mountain bike to the finish.
The camp is set up in Rawnsley park, looking over the Wilpena Ranges and we set out to Hawker tomorrow for another 93km of fun-loving track.
Stage 1 and GC Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Jenni King | 4:03:41 |
2 | Jaclyn Schapel | 0:40:36 |
3 | Michelle Watkin | 2:26:42 |
4 | Gill Fowler | 3:56:29 |
5 | Wendy Stevenson | 4:23:13 |
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Ben Hogarth | 3:26:53 |
2 | Robbie Hucker | 0:06:41 |
3 | Andrew Mock | 0:09:40 |
4 | Dean Jones | 0:13:56 |
5 | Evan James | 0:19:09 |
6 | dyon balding | 0:27:19 |
7 | John Allison | 0:31:45 |
8 | Robin Tullett | 0:36:46 |
9 | Kym Hansen | 1:01:54 |
10 | John Dermody | 1:04:30 |
11 | Tom Cieslinski | 1:15:09 |
12 | Huw Kingston | 1:18:44 |
13 | Bert Heathwood | 1:20:56 |
14 | Michael Lentas | 1:30:09 |
15 | Robert Lecons | 1:35:30 |
16 | Colin Boyd | 1:35:32 |
17 | Bill Taylor | 1:45:38 |
18 | Jack Heyward | 1:46:15 |
19 | Gerard Knapp | 1:51:48 |
20 | Clive Strickland | 2:08:58 |
21 | Chris Holmwood | 2:13:39 |
22 | Anthony Knapton | 2:30:57 |
23 | Brian Lewer | 2:38:23 |
24 | Ian Johnson | 3:03:28 |
25 | Sam Harrington | 3:20:18 |
26 | Andrew Perry | 4:08:22 |
27 | Andrew Kennedy-Smith | 4:29:19 |
28 | Dean Walsh | 4:31:31 |
29 | Mark Hughes | 4:34:34 |
30 | Scott McConnell | 5:46:47 |
31 | Mark Clarke | 6:15:19 |
32 | sean homan | 6:15:23 |
33 | Martin Hand | 3:46:34 |
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
'You have to be positive, otherwise we wouldn't start' – Visma-Lease a Bike realistic but not giving up after Tour de France time losses
Jonas Vingegaard lost more time to Tadej Pogačar on stage 13, but team continues to look for opportunities -
'I'm paid to win, not give away races' - Tadej Pogačar refuses to rule out fighting for more Tour de France stage victories
After uphill time trial triumph, Slovenian now up to four stage wins in 2025, further cementing overall lead -
'The Tour is far from over' - Jonas Vingegaard back in the fray after second place in Tour de France stage 13 time trial
Dane says 'not at normal level' when he suffered Hautacam defeat -
'I just could not keep pushing the power' – Remco Evenepoel has disastrous day in Tour de France mountain time trial
World Champion finished outside of the top 10 and loses time on GC