TWO Mount Gambier downhill mountain bikers will head into this weekend’s final state series round at the Valley Lakes full of confidence after taking out South Australian state championship titles at Fox Creek near Adelaide recently.
Justin Dejong and Ben Kilsby fared well on the difficult Lone Gum course to finish top of their classes and will hope for similar results as they wrap up the series on their home track.
Dejong – in his third year of downhill racing – claimed back-to-back hardtail state championships, after he also topped the field in 2017.
He sits in a prime position to claim overall honours for the class as well, sitting in equal-first heading into Round 6, with the state series run separately to the state championship.
If all goes to plan, Dejong could also finish in third position in the elite class, which is the A Grade of the series.
His aim was for a top 10 finish at the start of the year, but an overall victory in Round 5 saw him remain within reach of the podium.
In just his second year of downhill racing, Kilsby won the sports class state championship.
The class acts as the C Grade of the series and Kilsby was pleased to claim the title in his new sport.
“Last year I just aimed to finish top five overall and I finished fifth I think out of the 20,” he said.
“This year I aimed to do better and just mainly improve my riding.
“I was lucky enough to get a few podiums this year and do well.”
On top of the state championship win, Kilsby also sits in second place for the series, but a crash in the previous round puts him just out of contention for the overall win.
“Coming from a motorsport background I never did much on two wheels,” he said.
“It is good to do something different and get better every race.”
“It was pretty disappointing (to crash) in the last round, but the state championship made it a bit sweeter.
“It will be good to finish on a high note at home.”
Kilsby grew up in karting, where he travelled all around Australia to compete.
He said downhill is a much different sport, but there are some skills which carry over and he hopes to build his way up through the classes.
“Some skills apply with looking ahead and the speed is similar, but it is a different challenge,” Kilsby said.
“Next year I want to step up to the expert class, which is like B Grade and try to keep improving.”
For Dejong, going back-to-back in the state championship was something he was proud of, especially in the hardtail class, which often requires riders to “just hope and hold on” through the bumps and turns.
Dejong said the Lone Gum track was in perfect condition, after the rain subsided on the Saturday before Sunday’s racing.
But that did not take away from the difficulty of the course.
“It was probably the roughest track all year,” Dejong said.
“It is probably classified as the national track in South Australia at the moment.
“It has just been developed, last year was the first time riding it.
“This year they tweaked a few bits of it and made it pretty hard, which is always good for a downhill track.”
When asked what drew him to the sport, Dejong said it was “something different”.
“It is not quite BMX, it’s not quite motorbikes,” he said.
“It is something in the middle.
“You sort of have to have a taste for it and a love for it to push up the hills and then ride down them and race.
“But it is just good fun.”
With the sport growing in Mount Gambier, Dejong hopes this weekend’s event will help build the popularity of downhill racing.
He and Kilsby are keen to wrap up the SA series on their home track before the Victorian series starts in summer.
