You Yangs Yowie – Victorian Marathon Championships (99km)

The Yowie is regarded as one of the toughest enduros on the calendar, due mainly to its technical challenges (rock gardens, huge boulders and steep wooden berms in places). This is a race where roadies can’t bluff, and it had me spooked.

I train a bit in the You Yangs and there were a couple of features that I hadn’t been able to `ride’ until the day before the race. One of those was `the clam shell’ – a steep wall of rock that you have to hit at speed to clear the rock below. Unfortunately if you overcook it there’s a 50 foot drop over the back of it… I hoped that the ego would conquer my anxiety and thankfully race pressure and a deep breath got me through it on all three laps.

The race started fast with the Specialised and Torq teams taking control. By the 15km mark we were down to 10 riders and a big gap back to the next group, with the long climbs and technical single track sorting out the riders. The pressure was particularly on up `Vomit Hill’ and `Rockwell’, with gaps starting to open up.

I was off the top guys on the technical uphills but holding my own on the twisty singletrack. Halfway through lap 2 (about 45kms in) I still had the leaders in sight but I was struggling to hold that pace. Sections that were easily rideable on the first lap required immense concentration by the third, with the legs struggling to push the gears required to get over the boulders. I managed to ride everything – just – but may need new handlebars as there will be bite marks in them…

The last 15kms I could see a rider 2 minutes up on the open sections but couldn’t close the gap. I didn’t know how far back it was to the next rider so kept the concentration and heart rate up til the finish.

Given it was my first race in The Freedom Machine colours I was keen to put in a good effort. In the end I managed the 99kms in 4 hours 45 minutes – finishing in 8^th place. I was only 15 minutes behind the winner which is usually a good yardstick, and was happy. As a former roadie conquering the Yowie (which doubled as the Victorian Marathon Championships) was particularly satisfying.

Fellow TFM rider Paul Cubbin started the race but, from the results sheet, appeared to have mechanical trouble on the first lap and pulled the pin. I’m sure Paul and I will race together a bit over the next few months as the enduro season builds towards the Kona 24 Hour.

Event info: http://www.gmbc.com.au/