About 25 bikers got their first taste of the new mountain bike trail on Fort Benning, near the intersection of First Division and Dixie Road, which hosted its first race Saturday.

Joanne Haven, fitness facility manager for the Department of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, said turnout in the event was better than expected, since it had to be rescheduled from the spring to the middle of summer.

“For (the event) being after the Fourth of July weekend, and with it being so hot, I’m pleased with it,” she said. The race, originally scheduled for April 9, was postponed because of the possibility of a government furlough, Haven said.

Haven said nothing had changed about the course and bikers were just anxious to ride it.

Derek Telleson won first place in the race’s sports division, which was designed to challenge the more elite-level bikers. The racers in the sports division had to do an extra lap on the five-mile course.

“The course was great and very well-marked,” Telleson said. “It was smooth and fast. There were a couple of sections with a one- or two-foot drop and you can either speed up and catch air or slow down and be cautious. If you don’t hold your speed on the corners, you’re going to lose ground to the guy behind you. You have to be as technically sound as physically sound.”

After completing his first lap in about 24 minutes, Telleson nearly matched that time his second lap around and finished the course in about 50 minutes — no small feat given the humidity as well as the fatigue of climbing hills in the second lap.

“I knew the course a little bit better and where to push,” Telleson said. “I tried to take advantage of the technical sections and focus on the climbs. I didn’t know how close the guy was behind me so I hammered down.”

Randy Brown and Paul Hein finished second and third, respectively, in the sports division. The race also featured a beginners division in which riders only had to bike one lap around the course. Scott Cheney finished first in the beginners division.

Haven said she hopes the race will promote more awareness of the course and introduce its challenges to Fort Benning bikers who would otherwise have to drive to Flat Rock Park, about 20 miles from post.

“It’s like the Flat Rock course, only condensed,” Haven said. “It’s very technical — there are some pretty significant climbs and fast down hills.”