The more dedicated of the Highlands mountain bikers travelled to Waterfall, on the outskirts of Sydney during the weekend to contest the final round of the NSW state series. As the riders were to find out, the course was extremely rocky and consisted of some highly technical sections, pushing both rider and machine to the extreme! Young Highlands star Johann Esterhuzen was first to race and seemed unfazed by the course taking out first place once more and proving his ability and potential. Lynn Robinson was next and rode well for third place in sport women, thankfully without any serious crashes. A broken rear axle hampered Richard Vollebregt after hitting one too many rocks. Despite this he still managed to race and win his event and secure his trophy as series winner in the veteran category. Richard has travelled all over the state for the honour and is most deserving of his victory. Johann Esterhuzen senior had a great race in the masters 3+ category proving his skills and power are still developing strongly The sharp rocks proved too much for James Williamson in the elite category as he managed to crash and gain a puncture at the same time. It wasn't a particularly good race for James or Shaun, the Highlands' two elite riders, neither felt very fresh on the day and it showed in their performances not matching their ability. Too many sily crashes on the day didn't help either. The final race of the day was the sport men event and was once again won by the Highlands own Chad Balding! It was a strong race by Chad who will not be looking for his hatrick of wins in the series. Matt and Mark Feeney also raced in this event. Matt put in a solid ride but Mark was unfortunately struck by the dreaded flat tyre and without a spare was forced to withdraw from the event. Despite the technical nature of the course a great day was had by all of the Highlands riders, especially the winners. Mountain biking returns to Penrose this Sunday at 2pm. For details contact Richard on 4868 2475.