THE Valley Lakes will spring into action this weekend with the final round of the South Australian State Downhill series, hosted by the Inside Line Mountain Bike Club.
The event is expected to attract more than 150 riders on the Brownes Lake course, with local hopes pinned on three main entrants.
Callum Morrison, is currently leading the chainless and elite classes and is said to be a good chance to set the fastest time down the hill.
Justin de Jong currently leads the senior hardtail and expert classes, while brother Shane de Jong is in the Under 19 category.
Apart from that, there will be several Limestone Coast riders who will contest the event who have not been part of the state series this season.
While the event is run by Inside Line, the track is presented by the Mount Gambier Mountain Bike Club, with committee member Sam Madzia excited about the event being on his home track.
“Inside Line is an Adelaide-based club and generally all the events they run are up around the Adelaide Hills area,” he said.
“Once a year they aim to do an away round – we had a race here last year and they are returning this year to finish off the season.
“We had about 170 riders compete last year and hopefully we will get a similar number this year.”
The track itself is steep, with some rocky sections and technical features, which include roots, jumps and steep turns.
Madzia said the track proved popular last year and he expected it to be even better this time around, with the volcanic soil draining well and producing a firm surface.
“Last year there was a lot of praise for the track, but conditions weren’t ideal,” he said.
“It was early in the year and quite dusty and powdery.
“This year there is more moisture in the dirt, so it will hold up a lot better and will be running a lot faster.”
The course also provides good viewing for spectators, with various points along the track where people can sit and enjoy the action.
“The finish line is at the bottom of Brownes Lake, so you just park down the bottom and wander up track-side,” Madzia said.
“There is enough area on the sides of the track to perch in a good viewing spot.
“Last year we constructed a finish straight at Brownes Lake with a couple of big gap jumps, so for people who don’t want to venture up the hill, there is still very good viewing right at the lake.
“It’s easy to set up a chair and watch people come through the finish.”
Madzia said last year’s event attracted plenty of spectators from wide a demographic in the region.
“All the riders come down and bring ‘tag-alongs’, then all the people who race BMX, road cyclists, mountain bikers, just the broader cycling community turn up to watch,” he said.
“We had a lot of interest last year from the general public turning up to see what it was all about.
“We were very fortunate, the weather was excellent, so hopefully it will be the same this weekend.”
As for the competitors, Madzia said there would be a mix, with the regular racers and those who come along to compete simply because it is their home track.
“A couple of local guys have been racing the entire state series and a few others like me haven’t done a single race this year,” he said.
“A lot of other guys who haven’t been racing all year, being a home-town race, they dust their bikes off and come down and have a crack.
“All the guys will come down from Adelaide and we will have a lot of guys come over from Ballarat as well.
“It is a good weekend to catch up with people we don’t get to ride with throughout the year.”
With such a wide range of riders competing, Madzia said it would be good to see a “local” set the fastest time down the hill.
Practice runs are set down for Saturday and Sunday morning, while racing will kick off in earnest on Sunday.
