Andrew Davis enjoyed a confidence-building boost with a comfortable men's Open victory at Great Head Park last Sunday in what was the final mountain biking cross-country race before this weekend's national championships.

The Winner's Edge-sponsored championships at Ferry Reach Park tomorrow morning (9.00) will decide the outcome of the series points standings in several categories.

Davis' win, in a time of 42 minutes and 40 seconds, came with some help as series points leader Garth Thomson suffered a puncture midway through the race and was forced to run his bike for half a lap to the staging area where he replaced his tube. Remounting his bike, he went on to finish fourth in 48.41.

Neil de St Croix crossed the line second in 45.10 and managed to close the gap on the leader by four points to put him on 178, guaranteeing second place in the series and giving him an outside chance of catching Thomson who has 187 points.

Davis, on 163, has all but secured third place as it would take a small miracle for Peter Matcham (155) to overhaul him after finishing seventh last Sunday in 49.10.

Alan Reid, 11th in the standings, produced his best ride of the season to finish third, just six seconds adrift of de St Croix in 45.16 and novice category rider Dave Padega also gave the Open contenders a scare, finishing only 37 seconds behind Reid in 45.53.

Having already secured the series title in the novices category, Padega has opted to race in the Open division for tomorrow's championships and so used last Sunday's race as a no-points warm-up for the big event.

In the veterans' category, Paulo Maderios ensured the series title with another win in 37.12 but was followed across the line closely by arch rival Ian Fox who finished in 38.32.

Vacationing Fred Swan missed Sunday's race and while still holding onto second place in the series, he can be caught by Fox if he fails to make the start line tomorrow as he is arriving home late tonight. Owen Burgess can still overhaul Fox and steal second if Fox should suffer a slip-up in the final race.

Craig Eckman guaranteed himself second place in the novices standings with his victory in 39.24, and with Padega moving up to the Open category, is the clear favourite to take the title this weekend.

Third spot in the series is still up for grabs, however, as Nigel Godfrey closed the gap on Craig Pinney to just seven points as a result of his strong second place in 41.52 and should Eckman falter in the championship race, both Godfrey and Pinney will be ready to pounce.

In the boys' 15-16 category Geoffrey Smith has already wrapped up the series crown and is the clear choice for victory in the class. Conner Burns, second in the series, needs to have a spectacular race or hope for a fault by Smith to have a realistic shot at the national title as does third-placed Matthew Godfrey.

Boys' 13-14 series champion Tim Fox will be expected to continue his domination of the class but will have to keep a lookout for Ricky Sousa who has endured an up and down season thus far and could give Fox some trouble if he has a good day. Sousa will also be trying to overtake Aaron Fenn in the series as he currently sits in fourth, just two points behind Fenn with Geoffrey Burns having already secured second spot in the standings.

In the boys' 11-12 category, series winner Marc Smith should take the national title if things go according to form. Michael Coles, second in the series, might have a different take on the situation, however, as he has been closing the gap on Smith's winning times late in the season and Dominic White is also on tap for a podium finish.

Caitlin Conyers in the girls' 13-14 and Nathan Amaral in the boys' 10 and under, should both be shoe-ins for victory unless there are some surprise late entrants for tomorrow's championships.

Tomorrow's event starts at 9.00. Entry Forms are available at Winner's Edge on Church Street and must be submitted by 5 p.m. today.