IT was a hot and steamy night on Tuesday 11 March but luckily there was only ‘some’ uphill in the downhill track, a new track was devised to inflict maximum pain and suffering and some really go-fast sections.

It was Ant Bateup who prevailed but only just.

He and Archie Smith having equal combined times; however, it was Ant who had the fastest lap time of the night pipping Archie by two seconds.

Archie must be commended because he had two identical lap times.

Rounding out the top five were Luke Vivash, Ben Ross and Tom Logan-Williams.

These three were all close together but still 30 seconds behind the dynamic duo of Bateup and Smith.

Cam Dobson’s recent good form eluded him as he became geographically embarrassed on his first lap which put him a long way off the pace however, he did have a nice ride through the mountain bike park.

Stu Clark also had one of those nights with a flat on the ride up and being MIA on the second lap.

It might have been a guy that looked like Stu but I’m not sure. He was eventually sighted at the finish line.

Good luck to all the club members that will be racing national champs this weekend at Mt Buller.

A special ‘sucks to be you’ moment goes to Ryder Chadd.

Unfortunately for Ryder he had a ‘hugey’ on the pump track at Buller last weekend and took a big hit so wasn’t able to race this weekend.

This is a shame because he has been riding exceptionally well lately with several excellent results.

Heal up Ryder, there are many more nationals to come for you!