Leon Hystek and Rebecca Sams are two driven young mountain bikers quickly making a name for themselves in the sport.
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As they build towards the upcoming opening round of the AusCycling NSW Gravity Enduro State Series and a nationals tilt later in the year, the teenagers both rode their way to the top of the podium in their respective under 17s division in the latest round of the Rocky Trail Entertainment Fox Superflow Series.
Held at Mt Stromlo in Canberra on the weekend, the pair claimed gold by recording the fastest accumulative time over the required three different downhill trails.
For Hystek that meant being the quickest of more than 100 riders in his division.
It was a great performance from the 15-year-old, who of around 640 competitors overall, including the elites, finished 16th.
The first race of the series the Tamworth local has competed in this year, he said it felt "pretty good" to take out the win.
Judging by the live timing, he was in front virtually the whole race, although his lead varied from only point-one-of-a-second at some points, to by the end three seconds.
It's his third year doing Superflow, which is a format of enduro racing.
As opposed to the more common cross-country (XC) discipline, enduro events feature bigger drop and jump sections and are timed only on the downhill component, which are Hystek explained "a lot more technical, steep, [and] rough".
It can make for a tougher challenge and also a bigger adrenaline rush; hurtling full speed "down a rock garden down a hill".
It is one of the things Hystek most enjoys about enduro racing.
For Sams the win on the weekend continued what has been a rapid progression since taking up the sport.
The Gunnedah native has only been riding competitively for about 18 months after getting into mountain biking when she wasn't able to continue with her first love - gymnastics.
A four time state champion and high level gymnast, she has taken her skills from that and hasn't looked back.
Last she made the Northern Inland Academy of Sport mountain bike squad, won the under 15s division of the New England Mountain Bikers (NEMTB) winter series and finished third overall in the Superflow series.
Stepping up to the under 17s this year, the 14-year-old was the youngest in the field in Canberra.
But it didn't hold her back, with the Calrossy student 12 seconds faster than the second-placed rider, who was the winner from the first round. It was a big turnaround from Sams, being eight seconds behind her at Awaba, and "very satisfying".
Initially starting out doing XC, she did her first enduro race about 12 months ago and loved it.
"It's just so much more fun, you have so many more opportunities and new skills to learn," she said.
Whereas XC is more of a "long distance up and down sprint", in enduro you get to "pelt it down the mountain and do massive jumps".
She is this year looking to focus more on the enduro races, but will still do some XC races. They are good for building her fitness, she said.
The state series round will be held in Orange on March 11 and 12.
