Here we go, hard to believe it is World Champs time again! A dry, dusty South African track will determine who gets the stripes.
The biggest race on the calendar, the World Championships, is upon us, this year we travel to Pietermaritzburg (there is a mouthful for you!) in South Africa. A track that has been used for World Cups previously and just happens to be Greg Minnaar’s home track…
There’s no denying big jumps and pedaling are two of the defining features of this track. Here Danielle Beecroft sends it during the first day of practice.
There isA�a different schedule for the World Champs compared to a regular World Cup, the Juniors will race on Friday, a full two days before the Elite riders on Sunday. What’s more is there are some practice sessions which are only half an hour long, that means riders will have to be on it to make the most of their time, get a mechanical or have a crash and you will have to wait until the next practice session (if there is one).
Throwing down the horns! It was good to see the Aussie contingent relaxed as they sorted out the track during practice.We spotted a lot of interesting things trackside today…It was good to see Tracey Hannah back amongst it, a horror run of injuries lately has meant her preparation for this race has been less than ideal but remember this is where she won her comeback World Cup!Another one of our Aussie girls in the mix, Caroline Buchanan who just won gold over in New Zealand at the BMX World Champs. She, along with a few others was settling into South Africa with a safari, why not?!Talking about settling, that is something that the dust has to do on the course, it hangs in the air making it quite difficult for riders to breath, especially on this lung busting track!Railing! Check out the look in Peter Knott’s eyes, pin it to win it son!
So with that we start our coverage of the 2013 World Championships, join us as we cheer on the Aussies every step of the way, it is going to be a good week!
On a warm, sunny weekend 128 riders made it to Ourimbah to continue the RedAss DH series 2013. After some recent changes which cut out the infamous flat section, a fast, dusty trail was going to be a test of stamina for everyone. Many riders chose to ride shorter-travel bikes, including Elite Men’s fastest (by nearly 10 seconds) Brad Kelly. After a nasty crash, David Sharp was tended to and airlifted from the trail. After a welcome delay, and with Sharpy in mind racing continued smoothly; read on…
Ben Staggs (u19) warming up with some practice runs Sunday morning. Dry weather leading up to the race meant dust. Lots of dust.Harry Parsons holding speed into the lower berm sections. During racing racers were getting pretty tired by this stage; breathing heavy through the dust. Harry took the U15s title with a nice 5 second margin.
The dry, dusty trail held surprises for a few riders. Combine this with race speed, and well, here’s a likely fate.An annual visit on the State calendar, and the home of Rocky Trail Entertainment, Ourimbah is well known for its superb trail construction and varying features. All we need is the numbers of riders to make these events truly shine.Andrew Crimmins (1) soaring through the lower rock garden, and looking fast through a section that had riders divided for line choice. Crimmins finished 3rd, following Josh Button and Brad Kelly.
Ourimbah legend Brad Kelly went rough on the XC / Trail bike, but it paid off with a time of 3:15:31 – 9.93 ahead of 2nd Place Josh Button.This time of year brings warmer weather, cool breezes and good sunny days. Perfect weather for mountain biking, so make the most of it and get out there! Here Wayne Froggatt sends his way to first place in Masters.The hecklers were out in force in the spirit of Crankworx. ‘Hecklers Corner’ grew infamous as the crowd got rowdy, but it was all with good intention, adding to the hype of racing. Or maybe it’s just time to start practicing for World’s in Cairns next year? We’ll let you decide.
September 28 & 29 will be the NSW State Downhill Championships, held at Lithgow and run by Rocky Trail Entertainment. We’ll see you there.
Ever read a downhill related poem? Nope we struggle to think of one too, so here is something a bit different for you! While it is definitely not going to win the Montreal International Poetry Award (that is the most valuable poetry prize in monetary value going around, 50,000 Canadian dollars valuableA�to be exact!) but if you are a racer we think you will relate to this and it will give you a grin! Enjoy.
We have had a lot of interest in our T-Shirts, previously they have only been available to select riders and media type but that’s not fun so now they are available for all! Just head over to the store by clicking on ‘Store’ on the top menu bar orA�here; http://www.downhill247.com/store/A�Shirts are $25 and postage and handling is $6.95 (if you buy multiple shirts the postage and handling is cheaper!)
Thanks for supporting Australian Mountain Biking!
Buying this shirt doesn’t mean you automatically get the style but it can’t hurt!
Ah yes, good old Bennetts, push ups all around! This is a race that favors the fit both up and on the way down.
Race 5 of the South Australian StateA�Series saw riders return to Bennetts, famous for itsA�two ride gaps, pine trees and push ups! The weather was a bit hit and miss leading into the event but for the weekend it was mainly fine. It seemed like half of the club was in Whistler, as half of the Australian riding community seems to do at this time of the eyar, so numbers were down on the average but that didn’t matter everyone was still keen!
Those road gaps! A staple of Bennetts and the area where the crowd generally gathers to watch.
Seeding for Under 19’s showed that Matt Taylor was the rider to beat, some 6.5 seconds clear of second place. In Elite Men Cam Ryan was fastest by 2.5 seconds but there were some new names in the top five so it was going to be interesting come race time.
Benetts rarely sees riders out of the pine forest, which is great for camera types to sniper shots between the branches such as this!
The track hasn’t really changed, it rarely does, so riders knew what they were in for. Realistically it is generally a one line run but there were a few areas riders could make up some time.
Where to pick up those critical seconds?Jumping both road gaps, successfully, does help carry speed, critical on this track where being slowed down in one section will carry on for the sections after it.
Finals came and once all the riders had done their 2 and a bit minute run it was Matt Taylor who took the Under 19 victory, his time of 2.14.01 would haveA�got him second placeA�in Elite! Conor Clancy was second and James Chambers third. Elite Women and Simone Cameron took the win ahead of Natarlie Hobby. Elite Men saw a slight reshuffle of the seeding results, Will Rischbieth took the win ahead of Cam Ryan, Luke Reynolds, Sullivan Fleming and Steve Gebert.
Kieran Jenkins on the gas for 11th.There’s a good reason the tree is in focus here, for some riders it was a full moon during their run…Braaappp! Bit of slide action was spotted on the weekend! Luke Reynolds charges for third.
The next race heads to Fox, for another classic race no doubt.
The 2013 World Cup Season seems to have clicked up a notch every round. With an ever-growing intensity of crowds, weather, hype and action, Mont Saint Anne was no exception. Wild weather seemed to hang eerily over the Canadian resort throughout the four day event, only adding to the drama come race day. Here Stevie Smith has the finish in sight, powering in for the win.
For many Australian fans this was one early Monday morning to look forward to; a 5am start with the Top 10 Women’s DHI streamed on Red Bull TV. While Rachel Atherton has dominated the series so far, and qualified first, an error at the top of the course and a crash in the lower wooded section cost her vital time, and landed her in 12th place. Emmiline Ragot came away with the win by 4 seconds with a fast, clean run ahead of Manon Carpenter and Floriane Pugin.
Emmiline Ragot took the win with style, and with Junior Men’s teammate Loris Vergier taking 1st too, it was a great day for the Lapierre Gravity Republic team on the mountain.
As the Men’s race runs got underway, mechanicals and punctures littered the field, and even an unlucky broken wheel for ‘not Peaty’ Josh Bryceland. South African Andrew Neethling still held the hot seat with a time of 4:02:984, which held well into the Top 30, until Gee Atherton stormed through for the final dry run of the day with a 3:59:389. Then the sky opened up to make things interesting. It wasn’t long before the open areas were getting slick, slowing riders down in the top section and seemingly securing the win for Gee.
After proving his worth in previous years as a Junior, Troy Brosnan has his foot firmly in the door, placing pressure on the world’s fastest and doing Australia proud. After qualifying 7th, Troy laid down a solid performance in his race run, but the change in conditions slowed the whole group down.After a solid weekend of practice, and confidence coming into the event, Dean Lucas took a close second in Junior Mens, three hundredths of a second behind Loris Vergier. It’s easy to believe the future of Australian World Cup downhill is in safe hands watching these young guns ride!There’s no doubt that there were hearts in mouths when Sam Hill stepped up to the start. After his mythical performance at Champery in 2007, and his building performance throughout his first season back from injury, it was very plausible that he could steal the win from under Gee’s nose. Once again the wet weather stood its ground, but Sam put up a good fight to claim 3rd. And the words on Australia’s lips are “one of these days…”As Stevie Smith hit the track the home crowd roared; they roared as if they’d been silent all day. As he made his way down the mountain, with obvious speed and endless style, commentator Rob Warner took us back to Champery 2011, and got the Downhill world’s hearts pumping as Stevie came in with a time of 3:58:485 and the win.The grin of a well deserved winner, Steve Smith hasn’t got long to celebrate before heading to Whistler for Crankworx. It’s on with the job and onto the next race, but this win won’t be forgotten quickly.
The whole field is hungry for the top of the podium, and as the season progresses each rider gets even more determined. What will happen in Norway?
