Riders from around Western Australia visited the region for the Collie River Valley 50 on Sunday, June 16.
The course was one of the fastest 50-kilometre circuits ever raced in the state, with the fastest rider on the day (Brian Sing) completing it in 1:44:05 (an average of over 28-km/h).
Sing recently took out the toughest gravel race in Australia - The 130-km 'Seven' event in Nannup.
Sunday's race also had one of the strongest women's fields seen in MTB racing in WA - and, as expected, it was a hard-fought battle for the win.
At the finish line, it was Simone McCallum who smashed the women's field apart on the day, with a leading margin of two-and-a-half minutes over her competitors.
John Gregory, 61, put in a strong performance before cruising to victory in the Local Rider division.
Collie MTB Club president, and Crank'n Cycles Collie owner, Erik Mellegers thanked all of the riders, volunteers, and organisations involved in this year's event.
"It was exciting to host another state-level mountain bike event in Collie for another year - and even more exciting to be able to host it from the Collie CBD," he said.
"There was a real buzz among the riders after the completion of the event.
"We also received a lot of positive feedback about the great event course, and being able to start and finish in town.
"We look forward to an even bigger event in 2020, and the Collie MTB Club is looking at ways to improve on this year's inaugural event."
Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray said the event further established Collie as a "premier mountain biking destination".
"The extra visitors that came into town over the weekend provided a significant boost to the local economy, as they opened their wallets to enjoy our hospitality," he said.
"It was great to see businesses staying open in order to cash-in on the large number of tourists that were in town last weekend.
"This is exactly the attitude we need if Collie is to be successful in growing its tourism industry."
