An ecstatic Andrew Blair bagged his first Real Insurance XCM Series win when he crossed the finish line first, smashing the Convict100 course record.

A better day for a race on the Convict100 course could not have been dreamed up! A fresh misty morning turned into a beautiful dry sunny day in St Albans for the third event in as many weeks in the Real Insurance XCM Series.

Slick event organisation by Maximum Adventure saw around 3,000 riders and spectators seamlessly fit into the tiny town, creating a buzzing and exciting atmosphere.

A heavily loaded Elite field once again lined up with Series leaders Shaun Lewis and Jenny Fay surrounded by riders like Adrian Jackson, Andrew Blair, Jason English, Matt Fleming, Andy Fellows, Ben Mather and Trenton Day to name but a few. The previous 2 weeks of back to back racing unfortunately knocked 2011 Series champion Dylan Cooper off his best form rendering him unfit to start due to a cold.

It was a fast start as usual with Matt Fleming looking eager to attack as he put his foot down from the word go. However it was Ben Mather who lead Trenton Day and Adrian Jackson over the KOM climb. With 3rd over KOM Jackson earned a vital point and took lead in the KOM competition over Shaun Lewis. Andrew Blair, Andy Fellows, Jason English and Anthony Shippard were not far behind. Series leader Shaun Lewis was still in the mix but was in visible difficulty, also nursing a cold. It was not meant to be for Lewis who sat up soon after the KOM and returned to the start line to see who would take the leader's jersey off of his back, going into the 4th leg of the Series.

In the final few kilometres it was Blair and promising youngster Trenton Day fighting it out, but Blair proved too strong crossing the finish and breaking the course record by over 9 minutes. This also places Blair in the overall Series lead going into the 4th leg of the Series - the Stevens Bikes Husky100. Day came in second, also breaking the course record and establishing himself as one to watch should he be able to juggle his road calendar to do more XCM Series events. Third place was taken by defending Convict100 champion Ben Mather, who we will undoubtedly see more of as he regains his form before the end of the Series. Adrian Jackson and Anthony Shippard rounded off the top 5.

The ladies race was once again dominated by Jenny Fay who seems to be in a class of her own this year. Fay was first over the top of the QOM ahead of Becky Mates and Janet Martin and went on to finish a very impressive 20th overall, almost 20 minutes ahead of Mates. Mates will wear the Queen of the Mountain jersey at the Husky in 6 weeks time.

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A star studded Elite Field lined up on the start line for the start of Round 2 of the XCM Series in Kowan Forest on Saturday. Series leaders Shaun Lewis and Jenny Fay in the purple leaders were flanked by their team mates of the Rockstar Racing team. King of the Mountain Adrian Jackson, Andrew Blair, Peter Hatton and Australian XCM champion Jason English were some of the riders out to take the jersey off Lewis' back.

Lewis showed early on that he was not planning on relinquishing his lead by taking the maximum points for King of The Mountain ahead of Peter Hatton, Adrian Jackson, Dylan Cooper and Andrew Blair. This places Lewis in equal first in the KOM competition with Jackson who both have 5 points. Cooper is in equal 2nd with Hatton, both on 2 points. Jason English unfortunately flatted just before the KOM which put him out of contention for top honors.

The KOM competition was also the start of the 20km un-timed section which saw a group of 15 riders come together. The un-timed section in this event makes for complexity in tactics. After the un-timed section the riders are uncertain of exactly where they place overall on the second part of the course, and have to wait for their overall time to be calculated after the finish.

Start of Round 2 of the Real Insurance XCM Series...

As the riders reached Stromlo a group containing Lewis, Cooper, Jackson, Blair and Hatton formed. With every millisecond counting in the very close battle the riders had to take their chances navigating through the slower 50km field on the Stromlo singletrack. This caused a few crashes with Hatton losing the most time.

Series leader Shaun Lewis beat Cooper and Blair in a close sprint, increasing his hold on the Series lead, with Jackson and Hatton following closely.

The women's race was once again dominated by Jenny Fay. Fay convincingly won the maximum QOM points and the overall race. Becky Mates made her Series debut for 2012 scoring 2 points in the QOM competition and finishing 2nd overall.

The 50km Half Marathon event was hotly contested by a few very strong riders. The Half Marathon competition is promising to become a specialist 2 hour smashfest, perfect for cross country specialists, ex 100km participants or beginner riders.

The podium at Round 2 of the XCM Series...

The next event takes the riders to St. Albans for the Convict100. The Convict100 is the 3rd event in 3 weeks in the Series and will truly test the riders in a completely different level on the rough course.

The Real Insurance XCM Series is the biggest mountain bike Series in Australia's history with over 7,000 riders expected to participate. Riders 3 best results out of 6 count towards their Series ranking, allowing for mechanicals, bad days or busy schedules. The next events in the Series is the Convict100 in St Albans, Stevens Bikes Husky100 in Callala Beach, Wollombi Wild Ride in Wollombi and the Briars Highland Fling in Bundanoon.