Hosted by Orange Mountain Bike Club at Back Yamma State Forest near Eugowra, 110 riders raced across three distances – 25, 50 and 100 kilometres. 

Wolfson – who also competes with the Piranhas in triathlons – finished first in the women’s 25km race, 13 minutes ahead of Orange’s Anna Moodie and Kathleen O’Connor, while Parkes rider Caleb Hill took out the overall 25km ride for the men.

However, Hill qualified for the junior event, so despite having the best overall time in the men’s competition, Richard Shead was first in the open age division, less than a minute behind Hill. 

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Hill’s sister Chloe won the junior women’s 25km race. 

Three of the top five riders in the 50km men’s race were from Orange, with Dave Hansen, Paul Spencer and Matt Fiedlus finishing in second, third, and fifth respectively behind Lachlan Paton.

Meanwhile Alison Campbell in sixth was the highest-finishing local rider in the women’s 50km race. 

Canberra’s James Downing won the 100km race, coming in 15 minutes ahead of second-placed Jarrod Bell and nearly half an hour ahead of his brother Liam in third, with Orange Mountain Biking stalwart Mark Chapman finished in fourth. 

The 100km teams event was fought out by two Orange teams, and incredibly after three hours of racing only three seconds separated the teams, with Joel Broadford and Al Giumelli just edging out Pete Willis and Leo Presslaber to clinch the coveted crown.  

Orange Mountain Bike Club committee member Matt Corboy said the whole-day event was a testament to the club for having it go off without a hitch. 

He said the clubs’ success on the bike could be attributed to a spike in membership over the past two years, which was now starting to pay off as riders became more and more familiar with mountain biking. 

“A lot of them have come across from other clubs and its helping make things more competitive,” she said. 

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