Source: Chris Panozzo
Newcastle, NSW October 27th, 2014 - Ponozzo has shown his pace over the 2 stage round of the VIC Alpine Gravity Series to take the win in Elite Men.
Words by: Chris Panozzo
"Sunny Barjarg played host to 3 days of camping and racing for Round 2 of the Alpine Gravity Series. 2 race tracks with a mix of high speed rock gardens, blown out sweeping turns and the odd pedal provided something for everyone.
Saturday morning practice was a mix of learning the 2 tracks and sitting back making tasty camp coffee. With freshly cut sections of the course needing riders to bed it in, I chose to take a back seat and caffeine load while others punched out run after run. Under bluebird skies the afternoon practice went really well, feeling just as comfortable on the fast open sections as I was on rock gardens gave me confidence heading into Sunday's racing.
No practice Sunday morning meant it was straight into racing, I started off cautiously and put in a smooth run, trying to keep mistakes to a minimum, although I couldn't help but hold it wide open on a few loose sections trying to roost the odd spectator standing too close to a turn.
After hearing a few riders coming unstuck pushing too hard on stage 1, and knowing I had a clean run, I decided to keep it smooth for stage 2, pedalling as hard as I could, but holding a little back on the turns to ensure I kept risk to a minimum, everything went to plan (which felt very strange) and I had a clean run, and with it the win in Elite Men. Overall a great weekend and fun times racing and camping with mates, I can't wait till the next race!"