Sport
23 August, 2022
Riders claim podiums at Reef to Reef finish
FIRST-TIME winners and defending champions stood on the top step of the podium as Reef to Reef finished off four-days of action packed racing on the iconic Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas on Sunday.
The 170km gruelling mountain biking competition took riders across the Tablelands while they ripped through the region’s many mountains, trails and tracks, including the mountain biking trails at Davies Creek and further afield in Mount Molloy.
Riders started their last day at Mount Molloy, making their way through the stunning before hitting the famous Bump Track for a fast and furious descent to the beach, the 46km stage finished with a blast up Four Mile Beach to the finish line.
Tasman Nankervis and Alex Lack claimed the overall men’s title, ahead of Brendan Johnston and Jon Odams, with Nathan Mummery and Alex Diorietes third.
Johnston and Odams were first across the line in Sunday’s final stage, just over a minute clear of Nankervis and Lack, with Nankervis and Lack taking the overall title by almost nine minutes.
“It was good, we were in control in the first half and then it got quite gnarly, big holes and things like that so we were a bit cautious in there – we got a gap in the middle of the race but then they came back to us,” Nankervis said.
“This is one of the premier events of the year and it is so hard to win with the pairs as well, you’ve got to get someone that’s compatible with you, the same level of fitness, but also someone you can work well together with.”
Nankervis won the Reef to Reef solo men’s title in 2019, backing it up to win as a pair with Lack this year. Emma Viotto and Karl Michelin-Beard were victorious in the mixed pairs, claiming the title by almost four minutes from Peta Mullens and Jarrod Moroni, with Holly Harris and Mitch Docker Third.
In a similar finish to the men’s pairs race, Mullens and Moroni won the final stage by less than a minute from overall champions Viotto and Michelin-Beard.
“It was good to have the top three mixed pairs riding together for most of the race, it was fun, it was fast, and that last section is amazing, it sort of rewards you,” Viotto said.
“It’s a different dynamic racing in pairs and I really like it and I think it’s good to see more and more people doing it, couples, partners, girls.”
This year’s event was Viotto and Michelin- Beard’s third trip to Reef to Reef, with the pair finally standing on the top step of the podium after finishing second in both previous visits.
Anna Beck and Karen Hill finished the event as they started it, by taking victory in the women’s pairs.
The duo were the team to beat all week, taking the title by more than two hours ahead of Sharon Dean and Monique Ralph, with Morna Nielsen and Kathryn Drew third.
“We really did a good effort before the bump track to get ahead of some roadies and other riders and had a bit of a gap, finishing on the beach is just so refreshing, it’s so nice,” Beck said.
This year’s victory made it back-to-back Reef to Reef titles for Beck, with Hill winning for the first time.
The final day of Reef to Reef also featured the 30th anniversary of the famous Triple-R, with hundreds of riders taking on either the 48km or 35km events.
Stephen Knott won the 48km Triple-R event, crossing the finish line on Four Mile Beach in 1:47:01, two minutes clear of Rinaldo Lookene, with Lennon Colclough third.
Chris Cochrane was first over the line in the 35km event, finishing in 1:19:41, almost a minute ahead of Joshua Rayner, with Maxwell Foley third.
