AvantiPlus Hellfire Cup 2015 – Race Wrap

The AvantiPlus Hellfire Cup saw 4 days of mountain bike stage racing in Kellevie, South East Tasmania.

Named after nearby Hellfire Bluff, the race showcases some of the best organic trails mountain biking and scenery Tasmania has to offer.

In it’s third year, the race now attracts a regular roster of riders including elite cyclists from all over the country and the rest of the world.

More than half of the participants this year came from outside of the state, all spending valuable money in the South East area, which is still recovering from the 2013 bushfires.

The event offers a rich prize pool to encourage and develop professional cycling, race director Duncan Giblin said that “We’re here to support the development of the sport so that the elites have a real chance of making a go of this as a career”.

Under 23 Australian National Champion Scott Bowden his racing partner Tom Goddard, both hotly tipped hometown heroes, came in third place after taking the top step on the podium last year.

Mark Tupalski and Kyle Ward, put in a very strong effort that had them a close second to Team Torq’s Tasman Nankervis and Chris Hamilton who took out overall line honours as well as the elite Male category.

The elite Female category was taken out by team Canyon Rocky Mountain, riders Jenni King and Karen hill being too strong for team Willie Locke (Naomi Williams and Bec Locke).

The elite Mixed teams category was also taken out by a Torq Nutrition sponsored team consisting of Tristan Ward and Holly Harris. Swiss cyclist, Renata Bucher teamed with New Zealander to Olly Shaw came in second, less than 3 minutes slower over the 4 days of racing for a very tight final result.
Nathanael Jeanneret