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Geraldton hosts WA Gravity Enduro mountain biking series for first time at Echidna Park

Lachlan AllenGeraldton Guardian
Geraldton rider Josh Phillips in action.
Camera IconGeraldton rider Josh Phillips in action. Credit: Supplied

Geraldton is set to play host to the WA Gravity Enduro Series for the first time this weekend, as a new venue makes its debut.

Mountain bikers from around WA will head to the Mid West to compete in round five of the series at the recently completed Echidna Park, 20 minutes east of Geraldton.

The Enduro series is a multi-event series challenging riders to conquer different trails across the State.

Race director for the WA Gravity Enduro Series, Steve Janiec said riders tour the State to determine WA’s best mountain bikers.

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“I like to explain it similar to rally car racing, where you race stages, our stages are all predominantly downhill across a number of stages,” he said.

“So there’ll be eight stages and all the connection trails between those stages are untimed. So we’re just trying to find the fastest rider on those timed sections.”

There are 28 different categories across the men’s and women’s divisions with about 300 competitors expected to enter.

“It’s a massive turnout and we are excited to debut this new venue,” he said.

“With the struggle of fuel prices being so high at the moment, it’s really amazing to see the support for local mountain biking, but also the attraction of this location right in the heart of WA, to attract competitors from Albany and around the rest of the State as well.”

One rider hitting the trail will be Geraldton local Josh Phillips, who was also heavily involved in the trail building.

It is set to be a tricky technical course for riders with the comp assigning it an intermediate rating.

“The whole course probably totals about 12km, so it’s relatively short but there’s a lot of rocky terrain to negotiate,” Janiec said.

“But riders will be spoilt for panoramic views when they get to the top of the hill and there’s also plenty of spectator opportunities and spots out there as well so we welcome spectators, free entry to come and check out WA’s best mountain bikers and cheer them on.

“It’s right in the heart of WA, so it’s really attractive for a different variety of competitors to come from all over WA and compete right in the heart of the Mid West.”

Practice takes place on Saturday, while competitive rounds start Sunday before the series heads to Karratha next weekend.

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