Cannonball Festival

Foot out flat out! With the precipitation about it meant some parts of the track were a bit slippery.

Last weekend Thredbo Resort, situated in the breathtaking Snowy Mountains, recently held the second ever Cannonball Festival. There was some big money up for grabs and a variety of events over the three day weekend to cater for not only the big names in attendance but also the recreational rider. In preparation for the event, the Thredbo MTB team had made a few alterations to some of the tracks and had the legendary Cannonball DH race track in form to offer some great racing. However, there was nothing they could do to keep the wet and wild weather at bay. But that certainly didn’t put a dampener on things.

Thomas Crimmins was on fire on Thredbo's twisty trails and took the win in the Flowmotion Cup, second in the Australian Open DH and was ultimately crowned King of the Cannonball 2014. Keeping it in the family, it was brother Andrew Crimmins that won the Australian Open DH. — Thomas Crimmins was on fire on Thredbo’s twisty trails and took the win in the Flowmotion Cup, second in the Australian Open DH and was ultimately crowned King of the Cannonball 2014. Keeping it in the family, it was brother Andrew Crimmins that won the Australian Open DH.

Local rider and current DH world champion Tegan Molloy had an unlucky weekend. She crashed during practice on Sunday morning which put her out of the Australian Open DH. This made it easier for Queenslander and world class racer Tracey Hannah to take the win in the pro female category.

The dual between current junior world champ Tegan Molloy and Tracey Hannah never eventuated but we at least got to see Tegan riding for the a reasonable part of the weekend. Here Tracey shows a corner what's up! — The dual between current junior world champ Tegan Molloy and Tracey Hannah never eventuated but we at least got to see Tegan riding for the a reasonable part of the weekend. Here Tracey shows a corner what’s up!

After the race we caught up with Andrew Crimmins to have a chat about the race.

Downhill 24/7 – Hey Andrew! Congratulations for the win!

AC – That was crazy. I definitely thought Sam was gonna be faster than what he did but … I’m on top spot!

DownhillA�24/7 – We didn’t see you much on the mountain… were you hiding your lines!?

AC – I wasn’t really hiding lines. Sunday morning I wanted to see what the track was like so I let other people ride first to see if it was gonna chop up or gonna stay dry. I definitely knew the track so that was a bit of an advantage I guess. I didn’t really have to do so many runs considering it was pretty wet.

DownhillA�24/7 – And mate, what about the Flowmotion Cup? You didn’t race it?

AC – I planned on racing if Flowmotion Cup was on Saturday but just because I didn’t really want to do two races in a day. I wanted to save my energy for the downhill.

Andrew Crimmins prepping and getting his ride sorted, it appears he had his lines sorted as well taking the win in the traditional downhill race.

Chris Panozzo, 2nd place in the Flow Motion Cup.

Kelly Weinart was crowned Queen of the Cannonball with consistent results over all events.

Sarah Booth won the Flow Motion Cup in the female pro Category.

Blake Nielsen won the RockShox Pumptrack Challange by putting his 4X expertise to good use!

What a shame that due to a massive storm the Whip Wars event was cancelled, it was one of the most anticipated events. Anyway we did have a bit of fun... — What a shame that due to a massive storm the Whip Wars event was cancelled, it was one of the most anticipated events. Anyway we did have a bit of fun…

Sam Hill gets asked to sign all sorts of things... — Sam Hill gets asked to sign all sorts of things…

This didn't faze him though and he kept the situation under control! — This didn’t faze him though and he kept the situation under control!

And by about now the nerves are kicking in if they haven't already! — And by about now the nerves are kicking in if they haven’t already!

The rain didn't dampen the spirits that's for sure! David McMillan at the pump track. — The rain didn’t dampen the spirits that’s for sure! David McMillan at the pump track.

All in all, a good weekend with a multitude of different types of racing!

Images and report: Ronnie Fabrizio Grammatica (www.ronniegrammatica.com) follow on facebook.com/ronniegrammaticaphotogrpahyA�or Instagram @ronniegrammatica

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