Ahh what a day… Sunny, beautiful Cairns became wet, beautiful Cairns! Practice kicked off early in the morning with the Group B practice which comprised of junior, female and elite men’s riders that were ranked out of the top 100. Conditions were good and riders were enjoying the track, however, just before midday the skies opened up and down came the rain!
Walking up to the start line and about to start the day!A couple of Aussies watch on, Tracey Hannah, Will Rischbieth and Josh Button.Straight out of the gate and it is into a set of tight corners.Ben Power hits the corners, being a QLD local he knows the drill.If anyone knows the track inside and out it is this man, Rhys Atkinson, the track builder!Once the rain started coming down people were getting creative with ways to cover their electrical goods! Ty from Captyvate media remained patriotic with his covering! Check out his raw edit from today; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnCxSSkozzYThere were other ways the action was being captured too!The wet rock garden didn’t seem to faze Sam Hill, everyone watched on in awe.Sam’s former team mate Troy Brosnan was out on his small bike from South Africa, the whole Specialized team were today!Troy’s team mate Aaron Gwin didn’t look exceptional today but then again no-one did!Brendan Fairclough boosted the jumps down the track something chronic! He did alright in the rocks too….Ben Hill, still no gloves! It didn’t seem to affect him none the less.Team Green To Gold going ejecto!Boost! Some riders were not afraid to go massive despite the conditions.
There was a timed practice session today but many riders didn’t ride in it, Connor Fearon did get the second fastest time behind Gee Atherton. We saw lots of media whose cameras succumbed to the conditions but qualifying tomorrow will tell the real story….
