Melbourne visitor wins 2019 Thunder Point 180 race in Warrnambool

His indiscretion forced him to find another way to commute so he jumped on a bike and hasn't looked back.

The Melbourne-based competitor found he had the cycling bug and now travels to events.

He won Warrnambool Mountain Bike Club's Thunder Point 180, a three-hour endurance race, in his first attempt on Sunday.

Dixon said his drink-driving charge was "a bit of a blessing in disguise" and he now only drives "to get to destinations to ride".

He conceded he was "really out of shape" before the life-changing moment.

"I lost my licence for drink-driving (five years ago) so I bought a mountain bike," he said after completing seven laps of the tricky Thunder Point seaside circuit.

"I had to ride everywhere and it was really hard but I just kept going and going."

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Dixon, who lives in Kingsbury, said he enjoyed Warrnambool debut.

"It is good when you come to races like this and you've never ridden it before," he said.

"The first lap is a bit hairy as you don't know what's coming up on the next corner.

"It was fantastic. I've never ridden down here before and had a ball the whole time.

"It was just non-stop, the corners, up, down, left, right. It didn't really give you much of a chance (to catch your breath) but then you've got the race track where you got to open the legs up a bit.

"It was a good time to get some nutrition in and then get going again."

Dixon praised organisers for the event's smooth running.

"This is one of the best races I think I have ever been to, just (plenty of) food and water (on offer), and there's a lot of happy people," he said.

Ballarat's Jess Egan, who played Australian Rules football for 15 years, made it back-to-back wins in the women's individual section.

"I think I found it easier on the technical sections (this time around) so it was probably a bit easier but I am still feeling a bit underdone at this time of year," she said.

Egan, who completed six laps, was full of praise for the the Thunder Point 180.

"The Warrnambool Mountain Bike Club is wonderful, really inclusive and fun," she said.

The course, which overlooks the ocean, encouraged Egan to "have a quick sneak" as she navigated the twists and turns.

"It was pretty cool. I'm from Ballarat so we don't have anything up that way, just a few downs here and there," she said.

Warrnambool pair Shaun King, 31, and Matt Burchell, 34, teamed up to make it back-to-back wins in the teams section.

"It's nice to represent the local guys at the main event of the year," Burchell said.

"It's a pretty tough circuit, it's full gas or on the brakes as fast as you can so it does take it out of your body."

Burchell and King said their skill-sets complemented one another.

The Thunder Point 180 junior winner was Charlie Trace.

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