WC2 - Australia - Finals -

What a backdrop for the race, the rain forest that surrounds Cairns provided many unique challenges.

A successful return to Cairns for the world mountain bike circuit and what a return it was. No denying it was hard, riders were saying it was definitely one of the most challenging races they have done. As per usual there was practice session to allow the riders who had qualified one last chance to sort their lines. It was mainly a chance to see how the track had developed after the inclement weather we had been experiencing all week.

Practice saw many riders crash despite the fact they were supposed to have their lines dial to race on shortly! — Practice saw many riders crash despite the fact they were supposed to have their lines dialed to race on shortly!

Local Chris Kovarik was looking for a good result at his home town race, he was throwing some big whips during practice to the delight of the crowd.

The track was running faster than previous days but the mud was gloopy and was causing riders to crawl along at walking pace on some sections of the track.

The fans were flooding the hill from early in the morning and they were cheering so loudly in some sections such as the rock garden it was surprising the riders.

There was no denying who they were cheering for though.... — There was no denying who they were cheering for though….

As you can imagine some of the biggest cheers were for riders who unfortunately didn't quite conquer the conditions. — As you can imagine some of the biggest cheers were for riders who unfortunately didn’t quite conquer the conditions.

26, 27.5, taco'ed, where will wheel trends head next? This one was courtesy of the rock garden up top. — 26, 27.5, taco’ed, where will wheel trends head next? This one was courtesy of the rock garden up top.

Greg Minnaar watches on as a competitor negotiates the course.

You can see the gloop on bikes, kits and the course!

Racing, if you’re not first your last as some would say! On that note it was the junior men who got things underway, due to the UCI rules that allow the host nation to enter a larger than usual quota of riders there were plenty of Aussies to watch.

In true Australian (and World Cup) style, all the die-hard fans were out cheering home the best of the best.

As many of the juniors we spoke to said, it was hard, next level in fact. Many struggled to make the transition from Australian national races to the world stage but experience is invaluable at this level which for many of the guys is what this event is about. The two stand outs for the juniors were Ben Hill and Aiden Varley, both races with overseas experience. Ben took 7th and Aiden Varley was in the hot seat until the last rider unfortunately getting knocked out by French rider Loris Vergier but grabbing 2nd at his home race was an amazing achievement!

What a ripper result for Aiden Varley, second in finals and now sitting in third in the overall!

Not everything went to plan for round 1 winner Luca Shaw who crashed and ended 10th, relinquishing the overall leaders jersey in the process.

Moving onto women and there was only one rider in the eyes of the crowd that should win, local Tracey Hannah! Before we got to see Tracey the junior girls were on course, Australia’s Tegan Molloy won the class. After her Danielle Beecroft came down in the Senior class finishing 14th. Eventually Tracey was on course, she came down and took the hot seat so it looked like it may be a fairy tale win. There were still some big names to come though…

Tegan Molloy took the win in juniors and keeps the overall leaders jersey.

This shot of Danielle Beecroft shows just how taxing the race was, riders slumping over their bars as they came into the finish arena.

Storming across the line and taking the hot seat Tracey got the crowd to erupt.

With a quality field it wasn’t too long before Tracey got displaced off the hot seat, the question was where would she finish in the overall scheme of things. Emmeline Ragot was looking good but a crash undid her chance of a win, round 1 winner Manon Carpenter gave everything to take the win but finished second. It was the most dominant female rider of these times, Rachel Atherton, who claimed the win, Tracey ended up with a podium in 5th!

A colourful podium with Tracey Hannah taking 5th.

Moving onto the senior men and by now the crowd was ready and raring to go! Unfortunately one member of the crowd was a little too keen and used an injured competitors bike to attempt to navigate the whoops on the course. Next thing he was bucked wild, crashed and in a bad way, this caused a course hold for some time. It favoured Steve Peat who was red flagged in his run who got a re run after admittedly being on a less than impressive first run, in the end he finished 7th so was quite happy! Steve thought there had been a punch on in the crowd when he saw the gentleman laid out cold on the track as he came past.

Hamming it up for the crowd Steve Peat crosses the line for his first run before going up and eventually claiming 7th.

Andrew Needling does the same after having a flat during his run.

Whilst Greg came down the track with a reasonable time because he ran off the course and entered back down further along the course he was disqualified. Greg was gutted finding this news out later in the day.

Peaty and Minnaar sit back and discuss as the finals unfold. Scenes like this show the camaraderie of Downhill racing.

Another disappointing result for Brook MacDonald who is use to being at the pointy end of the field but finished 27th.

Just like the juniors and women prior it was the Aussies the crowd were rooting for, it was Dean Lucas who was the first local to hold the hot seat for a considerable period of time. He was there only to be displaced by Graeme Mudd! The crowd loved it as Graeme Mudd was flanked by Dean Lucas and David ‘Mayhem’ McMillan!

Dean Lucas didn't have his dream run, but did pull off a sweet footplant to drop in the final chute. Lets hope Dean can get the results he's working for as the series progresses. — Dean Lucas didn’t have his dream run, but did pull off a sweet footplant to drop in the final chute. Lets hope Dean can get the results he’s working for as the series progresses.

Dean Lucas with sweat beading off him showing just how taxing the track was before Graeme Mudd pushed him out of the hot seat.

Some serious contemplation going on?! Dean didn't have the weekend he dreamed of but in the grand scheme of things is still young and has plenty of time on his side. — Some serious contemplation going on?! Dean didn’t have the weekend he dreamed of but in the grand scheme of things is still young and has plenty of time on his side.

Josh Button said hello tot he ground during his run, here he congratulates the lads.

Big time! The locals were more like rockstars.

David 'Mayhem' McMillan throwing horns. — David ‘Mayhem’ McMillan throwing horns.

Rider after rider came down, some had ‘what could have been runs’ with crashes others beat the conditions and took the results they wanted. Jack Moir was the next local to hold onto the hot seat for a long time, during the course hold he got to keep it warm too. In the end he finished 11th a sterling result. A�The big threats to take the won for the locals early on in the piece were Sam Hill and Mic Hannah who had average qualifying runs. Sam came through and took the hot seat much to everyone’s delight.

Hill had the home crowd roaring, as he pumped out a fast run which got him 5th on the Podium. A great result despite the pressures of racing at home and a very recent comeback from injury.

Not only did Sam have home crowd support but he had family on hand too.

Next was Mic Hannah, the man with the most pressure of anyone in the field, cruelly he crashed, it just wasn’t his day. At this stage Sam still had the hot seat. One of the most impressive rides we have seen for some time was Neko Mulally who with a crash claimed third, by this stage Josh Bryceland had pushed Hill out of the hot seat and was looking good for his maiden win. Gee Atherton came through on flat pedals, a rarity for him and pushed Josh out of the top spot.

Gee, finally able to rest after a gruelling (and super fast) 4 minute flat run, securing first place. With talk of the Mountain Bike ashes, the UK has won this round. Australia will be back to put up a fight again next year!

By this stage Peaty was off the podium and spectating.

The last Aussies on course were Troy Brosnan and Connor Fearon, two of the youngest riders. Unfortunately neither had the runs they had hoped and finished off the podium.

Brosnan comes in, emptying the tank on the 700m finish pedal to claim 9th.

There was a lot of support for the Aussies.

Nor did Connor have the run he planned, we know how bad he wanted it... — Nor did Connor have the run he planned, we know how bad he wanted it…

Aaron Gwin couldn’t do it leaving Gee in the hot seat, by this stage it was a question of who would win. It wasn’t to be an Aussie, at best we could expect a top 5 for Sam Hill.

Gwin, 4th congratulates fellow USA rider Neko Mulally in the 3rd place on the hot seat podium.

What could have been... Aaron still holds the overall leaders jersey though. — What could have been… Aaron still holds the overall leaders jersey though.

Loic Bruni, another rider on a 'what could have been' run, the fastest to split one he crashed further down and ended up down the field. — Loic Bruni, another rider on a ‘what could have been’ run, the fastest to split one he crashed further down and ended up down the field.

In the end it was the last rider on the hill, Sam Blenkinsop who could knock Gee off from the top spot but he didn’t leaving the day as an Atherton double.

Winner winner! Gee Atherton did what it took, stayed upright and claimed the number one prize.

We still have some images to show you all from what was an incredible race!

Images: Jason Stevens Photography, JB Photomedia & in house images.

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