THE Mountain Bike Orienteering State Championships were held near Margaret River on October 10 and 11.
There were three races held over the two days, with the long distance event in the Baudin plantation east of Margaret River and the sprint distance in the south of the town.
The middle distance event was held in the trails off Carters Rd, north of the township.
This event also doubled as round three of the National Mountain Bike Orienteering Series, with riders from all over the country travelling to the town for the event to finalise series standings.
The event requires riders to not only possess the requisite riding skills but also the ability to decipher and follow a course around a specially designed map in the fastest time possible, visiting checkpoints in a specific order.
Courses are usually set in areas of complex track networks and riders choose their own route to get between checkpoints.
Riders start at timed intervals to reduce the incidence of following although you will quite frequently come across other riders out on course.
Winners from the middle distance event hailed from all over the country, with World Masters triple gold medallist Carolyn Jackson and national team representatives Ricky Thackray and Timothy Jackson contesting titles.
Jackson took out the women open title with Carolyn Matthews from New South Wales won the women 40+ event and Heather Leslie won the women 50+ title.
Lois West and Peter Hill won their women and men 60+ events and Duncan Sullivan took out the men 50+ race.
Craig Steffens won the men 40+, Ricky Thackray won the men open, Timothy Jackson won the men under 20 and Iyke Martin-Gordon took out the men under 14 event.
For more information on MTBO and upcoming events, visit the website at www.wa.orienteering.asn.au
Photos by Sophia Clements.
