Cousins race to mixed success at Drak Descent
At some point they lost their slender lead and had to work hard, chasing down the leaders. They only passed them in the last kilometre of the race.
Darryn Purtell and Hayley Smith, riding for Bell Equipment, shook off some festive season ‘down time’ to win the mixed section of the Euro Steel Drak Descent MTB race last weekend.
The cousins, who are from Southbroom and Uvongo respectively, have formed a very good mixed team in past events and were among the favourites to clinch a victory.
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It was Darryn’s first time doing the event and although he wasn’t really sure what to expect, he was pleasantly surprised.
The first day was different to anything else he has raced, with about 80 percent of the day cycled on a single track.
Plus, it was a very challenging and technical route.
“From a racing aspect we rode the first half with another mixed team but thereafter we opened up a pretty big lead and came in with what felt like a significant gap over them,” he said.
“However, there was a team that started in a later batch and they finished the stage closer to us than we thought.”
On the whole, Darryn said it had been a good day, with the weather playing the game, too.
Well, for most of the day.
“When we finished it was still fine, but the stragglers, like my dad Gary, had to ride the last 10km in torrential rain and some icy chill,” he laughed.
Going in to Day 2 the duo were slightly concerned about conditions after the all the rain the previous afternoon.
Despite a cool morning and some slippery muddy sections, the race developed into something special for them as they enjoyed some more open sections.
At some point they lost their slender lead and had to work hard, chasing down the leaders. They only passed them in the last kilometre of the race.
“I’ll definitely be back next year for this one. It was a lot of fun and the race had something to offer riders of all skill levels,” said Darryn.
Hayley said she had enjoyed the competitive nature of the race, and was happy with where she was in her training thus far.
“The Drak is always a great event filled with some fantastic technical single track. It’s by no means a easy race but it’s always a great challenge to start off the year,” she said.
And Gary? “I found the ride extremely taxing… but at least I finished!”
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