One flat tyre in a race is costly but having four can be disastrous.
Canberra's Bec Henderson was left trying to work out why so much bad luck struck her in her cross country race at Mt Stromlo on Saturday, all but finishing her chances to claim overall victory in the three-day All Mountain Cup event.
The most disappointing part for the 20-year-old was that she was clearly leading the race when the first of her flat tyres struck.
Henderson won two races out of the three available in the Australian Mountain Bike Series event but could not defeat Jenni King overall after her tyre problems.
''It was quite a disaster of a race [especially as] I was leading the race in the first two laps by nearly a minute before the mechanical issues happened,'' Henderson said.
The reigning Australian female mountain bike cyclist of the year blamed the wrong tyre choice for the rocky conditions at Mt Stromlo for her problems.
''It was just wrong tyre choice, at the end of the day they were just too lightweight.
''It was a bit of everything but that is mountain bike racing, you have ups and downs and the conditions do take their toll.''
But it wasn't all bad news for Henderson. Her partner Daniel McConnell, an Olympian in 2008, won the men's event after claiming victories in two of the three legs.
The event also provides an excellent preparation for the national championships in Adelaide from February22.
''It is nice to put a race together ... and at least I know that I am going well [heading into nationals],'' McConnell said.
Canberra's Andrew Blair remains the leader of the elite men's series despite finishing fourth overall on the weekend.
Blair finished fourth in yesterday's race and fifth on both Friday and Saturday, but was happy with his form and with retaining his series lead with one leg remaining.
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