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Cyclists Jason English and Liz Smith win 24 Solo in Australia

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

24 Hour Solo at Stromlo. Eventual race winner Jason English.
Image: Hawkeye7.
24 Hour Solo at Stromlo. Solo riders.
Image: Hawkeye7.
24 Hour Solo at Stromlo. In mountain bike riding, three riders is practically a peloton.
Image: Hawkeye7.
24 Hour Solo at Stromlo. Support crews for the riders provide food, liquids and mechanical assistance to the riders.
Image: Hawkeye7.

Mount Stromlo, Canberra — This Easter weekend, elite mountain bike riders competed in the Australian 24-hour solo championships at Canberra's Stromlo Forest Park. Jason English from Port MacQuarie rode 33 laps and won the men's race. Liz Smith from Wollongong rode 25 laps and won the women's race.

Races are won by riding the most laps. If two riders complete the same number of laps in 24-hours, the winner is the one who has ridden them in the shortest time.

Riders wear lights on their helmets and bicycles during night laps. Due to the time of year, there is roughly twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness each day.

The event is a curtain raiser for the WEMBO World Solo 24 hour Mountain Bike Championships, which will be held at Stromlo Forest Park on 12 and 13 October 2013. The race was for solo riders only.

Mont24 at Kowen. Riders go past on the first lap
Image: Hawkeye7.
Mont24 at Kowen. Riders with cramps receive a massage
Image: Hawkeye7.
Mont24 at Kowen. General announcements are made, including a review of the race rules
Image: Hawkeye7.
Mont24 at Kowen. A typical team tent layout
Image: Hawkeye7.

The weekend before, the teams of riders took to the track at the Mont 24 hour race at Canberra's Kowen forest. With over 3,000 riders participating, it is now Australia's largest cycling race.

The team version of the race was favoured by the weekend warriors, but also attracted more than a few elite athletes. Laps were ridden in relay fashion: each rider handed over the baton (which looked like a credit card) to another member of the team after riding one or more laps.

The track was in excellent condition, running through the trees. Without steep climbs or overly difficult technical sections, it permitted fast lap times.

No injuries were reported.


Sources

 
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  This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
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