The Speights Summit Super D was in the inaugural event for the 2012 Queenstown Bike Festival and took place on Saturday 31st March in the Queenstown Bike Park, utilising the Skyline Gondola. The format was simple, race against the clock for 6 hours, clocking up as many laps as you could in that time. Do it as a team of two or three, or even solo for those man enough.
Super D enduro events are proving more and more popular every year, and the turn out at this one was no different. It was great to see lots of people from out of town making the journey this year and entries were pretty much double that of last year.
The course this year was superb, it had a real mix of technical descents and lung busting climbs. You started off heading down the top of the Vertigo track, and then straight into Thingymajig. Once you hit the mid-way clearing you then faced the first climb back up Fernhill Loop for about 4-5 mins until you met Hammies Track. A flat out blast down Hammies until you reached the One Mile walking track where you had a new section trail to ride with some technical switchback climbs that took you onto Singletrack Sandwich. Down Singletrack Sandwich until you hit Original in the open section, where you then climbed back up to the Step Up/Step Down section. This had a real little short pinch of a climb in it which hsaw a few people getting off and walking and battling cramp! From here you turned back on yourself and it was through an old piece of singletrack that was cut a few years back that weaves it way through an open grassy paddock that connects back to Original a bit further down. Then it was a flat out blast down the rest of Original and along the return trail and back to the pits by the Gondola bottom terminal.
Lap times were around the 24/25 minute mark, with the fastest lap being just under 23 minutes.
The most hotly contested event was the team of two event, with the racing remaining really tight right until the very end. Matt Scholes and Jimmy Pollard of Alexandra took the win over Paul Angus and Blair Christmas by just over one minute over the 6 hours of racing!
The Vertigo Bikes/Giant team won the three man team by over 2 laps after the 6 hours, with Tim Ceci, Simon Smith and Jamie Tilbury showing domination throughout.
Ethan Glover took out the solo win, and also the fastest time to complete 15 laps throughout the 6 hours, very impressive indeed!
Another superb event and a great start to the week long two wheeled festival!
Photos courtesy of Spoke Magazine, cheers Caleb
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