We had so many images from the weekend we just had to share them so here is part 2 of our Oceania’s coverage from Glenorchy, Tasmania.
Starting off witha video… Here we have Ben Power getting sent wild over the jumps near the bottom of the course, this is not for the faint hearted! (Ben’s okay though!)
Images: Andrew Palmer & Jason Stevens
The Final chapter of the 2012/13 Australian National Series was Oceaniaa��s, a standalone event but an important one for many riders trying to chalk up a big result. So off we headed to one of Australiaa��s most southerly points. This year the Oceaniaa��s were held in Glenorchy Tasmania, just a short drive from Hobart but one of Australiaa��s best downhill tracks.
Friday practice brought with it some awesome looking weather, from inside a car at least but when you stepped out you realised it was super cold, and very windy in some of the open sections of track. This wind caught many riders off guard through the lower jump section. The most notable off was Ben Power, not suffering any weekend ruining injuries, but a spectacular off all the same!
Riders continued to roll through the course and it began to get very dusty, ruts formed and some sections became super loose, many having rocks torn out of the ground due to the solid braking. By the end of Friday the track was beginning to change, this meant Saturdaya��s practice was almost like starting over again.
Saturday practice saw riders pushing that little bit too hard, which resulted in a lot more riders appearing into the open jump section at the bottom a little worse for wear. Many were covered in dust from little offs and mistakes through some of the looser sections back up the track. Due to the rather small turn out and the completely relaxed attitude of the event, many riders were having plenty of fun on the bottom set of jumps! Two riders of note to turn up the style were David McMillan and Ben Hill who were throwing sizable whips all day.
As seeding came around the track had grown some teeth and rocks had started appearing in some of the high speed sections, Troy Brosnan found out the hard way flatting in his seeding run. This sent him to the bottom of the pack, meaning he would have to do a run early Sunday, would this potentially be an advantage due to the ever changing track conditions? Troy wasn’t focused on that, he was clearly disappointed in flatting but looked forward to his race run Sunday. At the end of Saturdaya��s seeding Kovarik Racing had stolen the show, with top qualifying honours going to both Chris and Claire.
Sunday brought some excellent racing, even with the very minimal field. Danielle Beecroft claimed the win for Under 19 females, disappointingly being the only female rider in her age group and only one of two females racing downhill the entire weekend.
Thomas Crimmins also had an early start due to a fall in his seeding run, this didn’t faze him though as he crossed the line to take honours in the Under 19s mena��s class, could this be a prelude to a potential advantage for Troy Brosnan?
Claire Buchar claimed the win in the Elite females, again being the only female in her class. Ironically though, she was not actually able to claim the Oceania title as she is not from the Oceania region.
As the Elite men started rolling down the hill we Saw Troy Brosnan come through early and set a blistering pace topping Chris Kovarika��s qualifying time from the day before. Troy assumed the hot seat all the way through to the top 5 riders.
As the top 5 began descending the times became increasingly tight, Jack Moir came through less than half a second behind Troy. It was now essentially Troy vs. Chris, Chris is renowned for taking enormous chunks of time out race tracks the world over. Could he do it in this circumstance? He would have to top his qualifying time by a sizable margin to claim the win. As Chris appeared over the first jump in the open section he appeared to have the clock under control. He pedalled hard over the line to stop the clocks 3 seconds in the green and claim the win at Oceaniaa��s.
For many of Australiaa��s top racers this was the final race in their Australian Campaign, we here at Downhill247.com would like to wish all of them the best of luck at the upcoming Sea Otter and for the rest of their International Seasons!
We have a bumper set of photos from this race so watch out for part 2 up soon!
Images: Andrew Palmer & Jason Stevens
Report: Jason Stevens
It is not all bunnies and Easter eggs this weekend with Oceania’s being held at Glenorchy, Tasmania. Seeding today showed the main contenders were those who have been competing all season in the National Series, bar Sam Hill. Results as follows;A�
Elite Male
1. Chris Kovarik 3:13.24
2. Jack Moir 3:16.30A�+ 3.06
3. Kaine Cannan 3:17.53 + 4.29
4. David McMillan 3:21.03 + 7.79
5. Joey Vejvoda 3:22.29 + 9.05
Elite Female
1. Claire Buchar 3:57.57
Under 19 Male
1. Luke Ellison 3:21.98
2. Brent Smith 3:25.69A�+ 3.71
3. Brent Capel 3:27.80 + 5.82
4. Matthew McCorkell 3:31.13 +A�9.15
5. Thomas Crimmins 3:31.23 +A�9.25
Under 19 Female
1. Danielle Beecroft 4:46.94
Check back for the full report for the weekend up on the site after the race.
This weekend Glenorchy mountain bike park hosted the 6th and final round of the Tasmanian 2012/2013 gravity series. All the riders were keen to do as well as possible to gain maximum points in an effort to improve their overall result for the series. When Sunday morning rolled around a heavy fog and rain blanketed most of the city leaving riders nervous the race would turn into a mud bath. Surprisingly though, the rain didna��t make its way to Glenorchy and the track stayed relatively dry for the entire day.
Riders punched out heaps of practice runs in the morning in an effort to familiarise themselves with the course and their lines once again. Seeding runs went well for all with everyone making their way down the course safely. Riders also treated the event as a practice for the Oceania Championships, which are being held at Glenorchy from the 29th of March. As usual downhill247.com will be covering the event so be sure to check back then.
The final round wrapped up with Dan Booker taking the win in Under 17a��s, with Connor Greatbatch and Ewan Favretto following behind. Ben Hill and Brent Capel tied for first place in Under 19a��s! Simon Palmer finished in second with Ben Chopping in third. Kaine Cannan took his 6th consecutive win for the series showing his dominance over the Elite field. Remy Adderton took second place on his brand new bike, riding it for the second time that day. Aaron Oates took third place in elite. The Women’s category was again won by Christina Sergeant with Jill Brady in second place.
The overall series podiums were also held. Under 17a��s was won by Dan Booker with Tyler Wickham and Ewan Favretto following him. Under 19a��s was taken out by Ben Hill with Brent Capel and Simon Palmer trailing him. Elite Mena��s was again won by Kaine Cannan, Aaron Oates in second and Andrew Weatherhead in third.
The organisers would like to thank the sponsors; Ride Bellerive, Hill St Gourmet Meats, St Johns, Moo Brew and Track X as well as all the event organizers for another fantastic Tasmanian downhill series. We head back to the Apple Isle soon for Oceanias, stay tuned!
Last weekend the 4th round of the Tasmanian gravity series was held in the small town of Wilmot, about 30 minutes out of Devonport in the statea��s North. The track consisted of many flowy corners, with a couple of technical rock gardens and some big gaps thrown in to mix things up. Saturdaya��s conditions saw a sunny, dry day which allowed riders easy conditions to work out their lines and how to maintain their speed. Also held on Saturday was a super D race, although downhill bike numbers were low at this event, it attracted many cross country and all mountain riders.
By the time Sunday morning had come around the track had worn out a fair bit and become a bit more rutted. During practice many riders picked up speed and got their lines dialed for race runs and were trying to gap the rather large finish line table top.
The Womana��s category was again won by Christina Sergeant, with Jill Brady coming in second. New Track X team rider Dan Booker took first in the under 17a��s, Jarvis wall in second and Connor Greatbatch in third. Ben Hill again took the win, showing impressive speed and style, on his way down the course Brent Capel and Jack Lynch followed in Under 19a��s. The hotly contested Elite category was again one by Kaine Cannon with Aaron Oates in second and Josh Fuller in third.
That wraps up Tassie for another round!
Article credit and photos to: Andrew Palmer
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.
