THE Valley Lakes provided the perfect layout for the final round of the Inside Line State Downhill mountain bike series on the weekend, with the weather insuring a successful event.
Over the two days of competition 117 riders tackled the steep course, with $500 up for grabs for the elite men and women.
In the end two Limestone Coast riders were the toast of the town, after claiming wins in their respective categories for the state series overall.
Over the weekend Callum Morrison placed fourth in the Chainless and the Elite Men’s categories, despite recent setbacks with injury.
But the results provided a successful season, with solid performances leading up to Mount Gambier giving Morrison outright series victories in both categories.
Justin deJong won the Senior Hardtail on the weekend, after being the rider to beat all year in the series in events staged around Adelaide.
DeJong also placed second in the Expert Men’s category.
Again, those performances were enough to provide him the overall honours in both categories for the series.
The course began at Potters Point and wound its way down to a long straight and a couple of jumps at Brownes Lake, providing plenty of action for spectators who turned up in droves to watch the action.
The volcanic base soaked up the rain and provided a grippy surface on the steep incline, which included multiple drops, challenging rock gardens and a double jump with a sprint to the finish line.
Fractions of a second separated many of the top runners, with all coming to terms with the track and its fastest line.
Other notable Limestone Coast performances were Sam Madzia, who has the track named after him – “Madzos”.
Madzia finished second in Sport Men, with Ben Kilsby fourth.
One highlight of the weekend was the inclusion of UCI World Cup rider, Darcy Coutts from Ballarat, along with his team mates from Club Mud, providing fellow riders and spectators with a taste of top-level racing.
It was the second successive year Inside Line had held an event at the Valley Lakes venue.
