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 ATIAMURI CLASSIC 2019 ride report by Andrew Robertson

On 12 May, deep in the forested bowels of Atiamuri, 67 riders attended the final round of the NZ 2018/2019 Vinduro Series. The riders were welcomed to a pretty indifferent weather forecast with rain being promised later the day. Those who bothered to do the calculations figured out though that with a 10 am start and 73 kms to travel it was likely that we would be done and dusted by the time the rain arrived. It’s a shame that nobody told the weatherman that!
As the riders headed out for the first short section of 9kms the conditions were pretty good with the loam surface providing plenty of traction. The time was set reasonably loose at 18 kph which meant that all riders, barring mechanical issues, would be able to clean the section and have some spare time up their sleeve for a refuel and a check over of the bikes.  Contained within this section was TT1 which was a pretty much restricted to rapid through the ‘trees riding’ on a well-marked track. While not technically difficult it meant that riders had to stay on the ball, staying on your toes and keep working the single tracks while missing the trees! As the riders emerged from the first section, the weather took a turn for the worse as a gentle rain made its presence felt making it necessary for riders to don their wet weather gear and ponder what would lay ahead for the rest of the day.
Section two was an extension of section one but was considerably longer at 32 kms. With this came both a more challenging average speed of 27 kph plus terrain which offered more difficulty including some whooped out trails, gnarly root sections, plus a few challenging descents and climbs.  Set amongst this was TT2 which began in the woods but which opened up into neat bulldozed track through some clear-fell. In dry conditions, this would have been a real blast however the rain reduced visibility and made surface conditions a little more trying but was still a lot fun. Notwithstanding the difficult conditions most riders were able to bring their bikes in to the end of the section with a few minutes up their sleeves to allow a refuel and a quick snack.
Section three was a repeat of section two but with one key difference, the average speed had been ratcheted up to 32kph.  By this stage too most riders were drenched to the bone and were probably anticipating that parts of the section would begin to deteriorate with the rain.  The track however held up pretty well under the trees and in some places was actually better albeit the last terrain test through the clear-fell had become quite sloppy in places and sapped bike speed if the rider failed to keep up their momentum.
As riders entered into the final check point having now completed 73 kms of riding in challenging conditions, the top riders as usual demonstrated their mastery and were able to clear the section within a reasonable margin while mortals who were not able to keep up the momentum lost just a few minutes at the end of the day.  And this is exactly how it should be – an excellent test of riders and machines.
Overall, ex NZ Champion Dene Humphrey (PE 175 T) took out the overall win followed closely by Peter Scherer (IT 250) and Kian Scherer (WR 500). For the full results for the event and the series The results for the event and series checkout Silver Bullet Events website.
A huge thanks as always to John Nicholson (Vinduro NZ), Forest Trail Events (Sean and Adelle Clarke), Silver Bullet (John and Jane Rushworth) and Power Adventures (Trophies for the series).

Roll on the next season!

For detailed results go to the Silver Bullet website.

http://silverbullet.co.nz/news.php?id=5346

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