THE weekend of March 4 and 5 saw the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club host the 2023 Mansfield Hotel Tour.
Two hundred and thirty–six entrants plus family and friends travelled to Mansfield from all over Victoria and interstate for the race and it ran like clockwork all weekend.
Feedback from entrants has been terrific, with many commenting on how well organised the race was and how welcomed they felt visiting Mansfield.
In particular, the new individual time trial course around Merinda Park was a real winner.
For the last few years the club has used Graves Road which necessitated a road closure
The club wanted to be less disruptive to residents this year and changed to Merinda Park so a road close wasn't needed.
I'd really like to give a special thanks to the Tour organising committee who made the weekend so easy to organise: Chief Volunteer Rangler Melanie Green, MC J–Rod Jarrod Appleton, Grand Logistics Poobah Dave Jagger, Purveyor of Permits Alex Green and General Dog's Body Cam Dobson as well as a big thanks to the MMBCC Minister of Finance, Janine Appleton.
The highlight of the weekend for the MMBCC was seeing a local member win on general classification for the first time ever.
Talia Appleton dominated Women's A–grade, winning two stages and finishing second in the other, to take a commanding win.
Congratulations Talia.
Congratulations also to Chris Miller, Steve Duke and Jeremy Wah as well as to 'adopted' locals Andy Garrett, Jake Lay, Chris McKnight and prodigal son Dan Purcell.
A huge thank you needs to go to all the MMBCC members and The Third Hand who volunteered to help out over the weekend: sweeping gravel off corners, helping riders with registration, setting up and packing down starts and finishes, holding riders at the time trial start, driving lead cars, marshalling corners, officiating, collecting transponders... there's a lot of work involved and it was all done brilliantly.
Finally, I'd like to thank local motorists for being patient on the roads over the weekend.
The club realises a road tour can be an inconvenience but we really try to minimise any disruptions – and Mansfield motorists are renowned for their patience, which helps us attract such a large number of visitors.
Those 236 entrants and friends last week brought with them an estimated $100,000 in economic activity.
So while delays are unavoidable and unfortunate, the club believes any inconvenience is far outweighed by the financial benefit to local tourism.
