DEFENDING Thunder Point 180 champion Harrison Ernst is preparing for a busy 12 months.
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The Warrnambool rider is eyeing 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup selection.
Ernst, who will ride in the three-hour TP180 enduro on Sunday, said earning a spot for the Cairns-based world cup was a long-term ambition.
“My main goals are the national series and national championships over the summer and then I aim to get selected for the world champs in Cairns,” he said.
“It will be very tough. You have to do really well, top five at nationals and go overseas and get UCI points, so I will head overseas as well.”
Ernst, 20, trains 15 hours a week in between full-time work at the Pavilion cafe.
“It’s about being as consistent as you can with training and eating as well as you can,” he said.
“I get on the mountain bike at least once a week but most of the time I train on the road bike, both longer rides and interval stuff.”
Ernst, who took up the sport after travelling to a competition in Forest with his uncle Matt five years ago, is excited to compete at the TP180 – the biggest event on Warrnambool Mountain Bike Club’s calendar.
“Hopefully I win it again – that would be nice,” he said.
Riders will have three hours to complete as many laps of the Thunder Point track as they can.
“It is riding pretty well at the moment, grippy and fast,” Ernst said.
“The rain has helped it a lot.
“You’ve got to train and maintain a steady pace – it is all about endurance.”
Simon ‘Spud’ and Karen Crispe are among the mixed entrants.
The Bushfield husband and wife combination said supporting Warrnambool Mountain Bike Club was important to them.
“As much as it might be cold and wet, you have to support the little clubs otherwise they won’t exist,” Karen said.
“We both love mountain bike riding and we even take our kids mountain bike riding.”
The mother-of-two said she was excited to compete alongside her husband, a long-time road racer.
“Last year we did it as solos and did OK but this year we entered as a team to compete for a bit of fun,” she said.