Mt Hutt mudder

Kate Hastings and Oli Clark take top spots at round one of the UCI Oceania Continental Series

Words and images | Riley McLay

Three things are certain: death, taxes, and it will probably rain on race day. Mt Hutt said “hold my beer” and also chucked in 130mm of rain in the days leading up to the first round of the Oceania Downhill Series.

The sodden Mt Hutt track could’ve gone well on toast with a little jam. While the rain eased off for race day, the mud just got thicker. The hardpack was thickly spread with it, and rolling fog added to the absolute chaos. The roughly 150 riders lining up to race quickly broke into two groups—those who were loving the conditions and those who were hating it.

The team from Bike Methven was on hand to deliver a dialled race, no matter what the weather. Mud-filled vans smashed laps all weekend and smiles were had all around. Huge shoutout to all the volunteers for braving the conditions so that the race could go ahead. The unseasonal conditions also didn’t put off the large Australian contingent who made the trip across the ditch to chase the Oceania overall and a chance to collect UCI points for World Cup qualification.

The tightly contested Under 19 Male category saw a tight finish with Cole Hulsebosch taking the win, followed closely by Kalani Henderson and Ryder Wilson. In the Under 19 Female category, Kiera Vlaar claimed victory in 5:04.37, edging out Indy Deavoll by just 0.31 seconds, with Ursula Summers in third. A shoutout to Lucy Jenkins, who got the fastest time of the day in the female field while only being in the Under 17 category with a 5:02.21. Elite Male honours went to Oli Clark on his first hit out on his Mondraker Factory setup, claiming the fastest time of the day at 3:50.31 ahead of Joe Millington and Zac Bradley-Hudson. In the Elite Female category, Kate Hastings secured the win in 5:16.8, with Sacha Mills and Bellah Birchall rounding out the podium.