THE narrow tracks, logs and tree roots of the Kinross State Forest mountain bike track were enough to lure Peter Fisher from Newtown to the first round of the Fairfax Media Evocities MTB Series yesterday.
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Fisher and his partner in the teams section Mike Cameron ride for Giant Over Yonder Cycle Club of Sydney.
It was Cameron’s first time in the forest but Fisher knows the challenging course well.
“Five years ago there was lots of racing on fire roads but this sort of racing is what elite racers love doing,” Fisher said as he sipped on a bottle of electrolytes and waited to tag Cameron .
Almost two hours into the 250-minute race Fisher is lapping at just under 25 minutes - and loving it.
“There are people here who are faster than me but skills is what differentiates the racers here,” he said.
The tight 8.6 kilometre track has many single-lane sections, and many A and B lines where the elite and the amateur racers part company briefly.
The less challenging B lines accommodate riders like Derek Williamson from Orange who bought his first mountain bike three months ago.
Williamson confessed he had not done nearly enough mountain bike training but was still looking at the Bathurst leg of the series in May.
Fisher is looking at several other races and favours tracks like Orange where local clubs have built tight , “well-worked” circuits.