THE second In Search of Stoke female gravity enduro event will be held at Red Hill on 23 and 24 April.
Last year’s mountain bike race attracted more than 100 entrants and was the first event of its kind in Victoria.
Gravity enduro mountain biking – where the downhill segment is timed, and participants have to ride back up the hill each time in between downhill segments – and downhill mountain biking, are historically heavily male-dominated sports.
Organiser Kathryn Visser said the event seeks to address these barriers by creating an all-female, super welcoming and inclusive environment to demystify the race scene for women and help them to build friendships, networks, community and experience.
She hopes this year’s event will be a bigger and better than in 2021, with Saturday featuring a race for the “fellas and kids” so the whole family can join in, and Sunday featuring the women’s race.
“The atmosphere of last year’s race was fantastic, with many partners, kids, families and friends coming along to cheer and support the participants,” she said.
The event is put on in conjunction with Red Hill Riders (the Red Hill MTB club).
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 1 March 2022
