Garth Thomson wrapped up the men?s open title of the winter mountain bike racing series on Sunday but he could hardly celebrate the victory as in the battle for honours his closest rival, Neil de ste. Croix, suffered a nasty accident.

De ste. Croix was forced out after an encounter with a tree branch that left three inches of its sharpened end deeply embedded in his right thigh.

Going into Sunday?s race at Fort Scaur, Thomson had held a slim lead over de ste. Croix in the points standings and the race looked to be going de ste. Croix?s way as he led for the first four laps.

But on a tight switch back in the trees he crashed out leaving him with injuries which could also rule him out of this weekend?s national championships at Ferry Reach Park.

Thomson, having seen that de ste. Croix was being quickly attended to, carried on and was able hold on for victory by 40 seconds over hard-charging Dave Padega.

Padega had everything to race for as he was trailing Geoff Wing in the series by just two points going into Sunday?s race and by taking third, in 70:27, is now tied with Wing on 162 points with just one race remaining.

Wing finished in third with a time of 73:49 ahead of Rolf Runkel, who had his best placing of the season, taking fourth in 78:18.

Grant Gouge, likewise, enjoyed his best result, finishing fifth in 83:09. Chris Conway, Peter Matcham and de ste. Croix all recorded DNFs, Matcham having abandoned the race to take de ste. Croix to hospital.

De ste. Croix will decide later this week whether he will be able to compete in the championship race. While he holds a sizeable lead in the standings over Padega and Wing on points he can still be overhauled by either or both if he can?t make the start line on Sunday.

Veterans points leader Paulo Madeiros missed Sunday?s race due to injury and now leads Tim Palmer by just one point going into the season finale as Palmer rode to a comfortable victory in a time of 43:21. Mannard Packwood has moved clear of Fox in the standings by virtue of his second place finish in a time of 47:21 and could still pass Madeiros or Palmer in the standings with a victory this weekend combined with a poor result or DNF by the two leaders.

The other heartbreak of the day occurred in the veterans? category as Ian Fox suffered a nasty tumble on the fast downhill section of the course that put an abrupt halt to his season. Fox discovered at the hospital that he had broken his collar bone in the fall and will be out of action for several weeks. He had been in a close tussle with Packwood for third spot in the series but will now have to put his mountain biking ambitions on hold until next season.

In the novices category Rickai Lightbourne wrapped up the series title with a hard earned second place finish. Lightbourne edged out Craig Selley by three seconds at the finish line in a time of 51:11 but both played second fiddle to newcomer Paul Hawco.

Hawco, riding a heavy full suspension downhill bike, smoked the course and his fellow competitors, covering nine laps in a very fast 43:41, almost eight minutes ahead of Lightbourne and Selley.

Matthew Godfrey took victory in the boys? 15-16 category and in the process secured overall series victory. Godfrey covered six laps of the long course in 41:53 with Conner Burns taking second in 44:36 which assured him of second place in the series. Aaron Fenn was unable to complete Sunday?s race but still secured third spot overall in the series.

Ricky Sousa jr. had another win in a time of 40:58 and wrapped up boys? 13-14 title in the process.

His main rival, Tim Fox, finished several minutes behind in 47:26 and confirmed his second place position overall. Geoffrey Burns, by virtue of his third place finish, also won a podium spot. Thomas Godfrey placed fourth in 51:11 ahead of Curt Selley (53:03) and Marc Smith (57:21). In the boys? 11-12 category Alex Godfrey wrapped up the title with another victory in a time of 16:18.

Nathan Amaral was confirmed as the winner of the series title in the boys? ten and under, even though he missed Sunday?s race. Ben Green took the victory on Sunday in 27:03 and is assured second place overall in the series. Ben?s sister Amy Green, grabbed another win in the girls? 10 and under category and in the process took the series title too.

The next, and final race of the season, is the Winners Edge National Championships at Ferry Reach Park this Sunday. While the championships count towards the series points title, the race is also a stand alone event with three trophies awarded in each category. Entry forms are available at the Winners Edge Bicycle Shop on Front Street and must be submitted at the shop by 5 p.m. on Saturday.