Australian Defence Force (ADF) cyclists braved cracking downhill tracks in perfect conditions at the Fox Superflow mountain biking races at Mogo, NSW, from June 20 to 21.
Eight riders from the ADF Cycling Association, ranked from officer cadet to lieutenant colonel, competed at the national competition, bagging two podium finishes.
Never having raced these tracks, Army Captain Emma Milner took first place in the women's Expert 19+ Superflow, with a total time across three tracks of 11min 59.9sec.
"They picked some really great tracks, really fun. One was a full-blown jump track, one was more of an XC style - a bit longer - and the middle one was a nice combination of both," she said.
"I was pretty happy with my times. These Superflows are great because they're not super competitive. They're lots of fun."
Captain Milner grew up riding mountain bikes and joined the ADF Cycling Association while she was at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
"They do a good job with advertising and getting new riders in, and even riders from different disciplines trying new things - mountain bikers trying road events and vice versa," Captain Milner said.
Another first timer at Mogo, Flight Lieutenant Anita Webb, took silver in the women's Electroflow Masters, with a total time of 9min 56.9sec across three tracks.
'I've only recently got an e-bike. Prior to that, I did a lot of normal gravity enduro racing and switched over for something different.'
Flight Lieutenant Webb said Electroflow uses e-bikes in a gravity enduro race, which lets riders concentrate more on technique.
"You have a bit more energy to focus and hone in on your skills, navigate through the course with a fresher mind and somewhat fresher legs," she said.
"I've only recently got an e-bike. Prior to that, I did a lot of normal gravity enduro racing and switched over for something different."
Riding each of the tracks for the first time, Flight Lieutenant Webb took note of different track features to improve her times for subsequent runs.
"I look for rock gardens and slopes to assess my ability to navigate through them, or if I'm actually able to, because sometimes the courses are a bit beyond what you're able to do," she said.
"My best run was the track called Flying Mullet. It was a fast, flow-type track and I managed 15 seconds quicker in my second run compared to my first, which is pretty good."
Flight Lieutenant Webb said the second-place score gave her confidence in the coaching and skills she had learned through the ADF development sessions at the ADF National Cycling Carnival.
Sometimes helping fellow competitors is more important than finishing the race. Officer Cadet Evan Hookway demonstrated this when he responded to a serious accident on the track, assisting the medical team through to evacuation of the casualty.
ADF Cycling members usually come together once a year during the national carnival held at Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra. This year the carnival will be held from September 8 to 17.
In between annual carnivals, ADF cyclists depend on local events for competition in their disciplines, with the association able to fund entry.
