Competitors from far and wide gathered at the local showground to race in three events - short course 28km, medium course 65km and a long course of 102km.

All three races were not for the faint hearted, taking riders west into the rugged granite countryside of the Mole River Valley.

READ MORE:

The long course riders were counted down to a 7am start with a cow bell exit from the showground.

The showground was transformed into a race village by our event stylists Inspired by You and included local craft breweries Two Mates Brewing, New England Brewery, and Brass Monkey Brewery, wines were provided by Ballandean Estate and gourmet food providers H&H Catering, Marks Gourmet Pies, Carlos Mexican and The Place to Meet ice creamery ensured participants and spectators had plenty to choose from.

Aunty Helen Duroux gave us all the welcome to Country and the Mayor Bronwyn Petrie provided the countdown to each race.

By 8.30am, all the riders were out on course with lead and follow vehicles, roadside marshals, moto-marshals, feed station volunteers, course managers and AusCycling officials.

AusCycling recorded all the times from the showground.

There were 19 locals who entered the competition. On the week of International Women's Day, it was fantastic to see nine local women competing in the races. Of note were four of our own young ladies, Sahri Clarke, Grace Butler, Kathleen MacDonald, and Ashleigh Cotterall who all won medals in their age category.

Tenterfield is poised to become known as an inclusive and adaptive destination and two adaptive cyclists, Hank Duchateau and Glen Clarke competed in the short course with their purpose-built bikes.

Adaptive cycling has been around for 15 years and is becoming very popular in the cycling world. Simply put, adaptive cycles are bikes that are modified to fit the needs of an individual rider, ensuring people of all abilities can experience the sport of cycling.

Hank and Glen were exceptional in their completion of the 28km short course. Hank is gold and silver medalist in mountain biking and state champion in adaptive riding and was overwhelmingly supportive of the course, giving it the thumbs up.

The president of the Saddlers Mountain Bike Club, Mick Lieberman described it as awesome to see all the riders head off in the early morning against the backdrop of the rising sun.

"We had over 250 registered for the long course, 200 for the medium and 100 for the short course," he said.

"The whole day was resounding success.

"Importantly, the feedback from participants was how welcoming and supportive the local community was with many residents cheering riders as they passed farm gates along the course. We are greatly appreciative of the community support.

"We thank the organising committee and numerous volunteers for a job well done.

"There was no way we were going to successfully pull together such a well-planned organised event without you all and the Tenterfield business community.

"The feedback from the riders and their supporters has been overwhelmingly positive.

"Riders loved the course, the spectacular scenery, and the race village hospitality. The food and refreshments on offer certainly helped in the rider's recovery. Everything about this event exceeded what we expected as an organising committee. Thank you to everyone!"

Mick said they would also like to thank their local sponsors. The event was mostly funded by a post-bushfire recovery grant through Tenterfield Shire Council and the funds from local business certainly helped along the way.

"A special mention to Mitre 10, BJS Constructions, Tenterfield Golf Club and Humph 4 Tyres. We also had other businesses provide a range of products to hand out which was appreciated.

"The event was not only a huge success in the eyes of riders, but many family and friends who accompanied them made comment on our beautiful town.

"A recent business case funded by Tenterfield Shire Council and completed by Regional Development Australia for the Angry Bull Trails project, estimated that for every rider, they bring on average 2.3 family or friends.

"This means that over the weekend Tenterfield hosted over 1000 visitors from out of town, with visitors needing accommodation and places to eat and drink."

He said the Angry Bull Trails business case also revealed that on average each person will spend $183 dollars per day with an estimated $300,000 dollars spent in Tenterfield over the weekend, which is great for businesses.

"The feedback from local businesses indicates most of the town's accommodation was fully booked and many of the local restaurants enjoyed increased numbers of patrons throughout the weekend. Retailers along Rouse Street also enjoyed increased patronage and sales.

"What an effective way to stimulate our local economy with the tourist dollar and all driven by an industry built on cycling.

"The economic and social benefits of Tenterfield becoming an adventure tourism and cycling destination has been demonstrated by the success of this event and based on all the feedback, Gravel N Granite is here is stay!

"The Saddler's Mtb Club is already planning to make it bigger and better next year," he said.