![Filos MTB members enjoyed a ride day with Jerich and Nino at Bright, Victoria. | PHOTO: [Supplied]](https://cdn-0.philtimes.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/News04_FilosMTB-1-1068x563.jpg "News04_FilosMTB (1)")
By Harold Vidal
It is innate in every Filipino to have a warrior mentality and affinity for the extreme. Two Filipinos took this a notch further by competing in an international mountain bike downhill extreme sport competition in Cairns, Queensland, last 7 October 2022. Jerich Farr and Nino Martin Eday, both Philippine National Downhill MTB Team members, raced against the best in the world in a world-class extreme downhill track and managed a respectable finish at the finals.
Downhill Mountain Biking is a type of mountain biking gravity sport involving steep and rough terrain and huge jumps. A downhill MTB race consists of each participant going down the downhill track in the shortest time possible. The participant with the fastest time wins the competition.
The Crankworx Cairns race featured 46 international downhill racers from the USA, Canada, Europe, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Jerich Farr finished 33rd, while Nino Martin Eday finished 38th.
Crankworx Cairns is the first Australian stop of the Crankworx World Tour, a multi-stop series of MTB festivals. The Tour brings together the best mountain bike athletes to compete in elite-level competitions in various MTB disciplines.
Despite being unable to conduct a track read due to a flight delay to Cairns, Jerich and Nino still managed to get rid of their first-time jitters and make it to the finals. Jerich Farr qualified 7th during the qualifying round. It was their first time experiencing an extremely high level of competition. It was also their first time to ride an extremely difficult world-class downhill track filled with steep rock gardens, steep and tight switchbacks, and huge 25-30ft gap jumps.
Jerich Farr said, “the Crankworx Cairns downhill race is the highest level of downhill competition he has participated in and also the toughest.” Farr is a SEA Games Gold medalist in downhill MTB men’s elite in 2019 and a SEA Games Bronze Medalist in 2022. He is also a Philippine Nationals Champion in MTB Downhill and a consistent winner at local races back in the Philippines.
Jerich and Nino are thankful to the people and organisations who helped them on this trip. The project was sponsored by MLV Accounting, Tambayan, Talyer Auto Group, Zugbu.com.au, Harvey’s Restobar, V12 Radgear, Filos MTB Inc., Siklistang Pinoy sa Cairns (SPC), Townsville Pinoy Bikers (TPB), and Filos MTB Adelaide.
Jerich and Nino traveled to Melbourne following the Cairns competition for a Meet and Greet with sports enthusiast and proponent Michael Venezuela and Filos MTB members at Tambayan Restaurant. They also went around Victoria to train and experience the gravity mountain bike trails at Red Hill Mornington, Black Hill Ballarat, Mt. Beauty, and Bright. The athletes also took a mountain bike ride with Filos MTB Inc. members at Bright.
Jerich and Nino are excited about more training and racing projects in Australia. They can’t wait to be back to make the Filipino community proud. They are eyeing future state-wide MTB races in Victoria to sharpen their skillset. To support their future endeavours, you may get in touch with Harold Vidal at info.filosmtb@gmail.com.
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