Australian mountain biking has always stood apart from the rest of the world. As one of the flattest continents on Earth, we don’t have the luxury of 15 minute Garbonzo runs that you’d find in the US, Canada and Europe. Our trails are short, steep and gnarly – what we lack in distance and elevation we make up for with rough, technical trails that trained talent like Sam Hill (5x UCI World Champ), Rick Boyer, and Bryn Atkinson, as well as young guns like Troy Brosnan. In recent years Australia has consistently been a source of strong competition for the rest of the world, and now we get to challenge the world’s best on home soil.
2014 brings a new UCI world cup. Another series of amazing trails all around the world, each testing racers in different ways, to show who is truly the best in the world. In 2009, the nations’ capital held the UCI World Championships at Mt Stromlo for mountain biking and trials. The event was a success, though Canberra is one flat area. Cairns however, is situated in the temperate zone, surrounded by rainforest and tropical weather. North Queensland is also a mountainous area, brimming with keen local (and travelled) racers, who are over the moon after the QLD Premier’s announcement on the 18th of May that Cairns will host two future rounds of the World Cup circuit. We believe there is definitely a chance that Cairns may hold the 2017 World Championships, which they last held back in 1996. What does this mean for Australian Mountain Biking? It means the world. This event will not only spur a drastic increase in local support for mountain biking, it will attract mountain biking heroes and companies from around the world, to discover the true beauty of the Australian landscape and see what makes the Aussie riders such good contenders in the racing circuit. At this stage Cairns will hold the first round of the 2014 season, the track itself should be ready to go by September this year, we would love to see a National race or something along those lines held there first. All there is to do now, is mark your calendars, get a crew together and get to Cairns, to cheer our riders on and see the world’s best throwing down for the rainbow jersey. Downhill247.com will be there and let’s hope there are thousands of Aussies there supporting the race.
What’s not to get excited about?
Article: Jaime Black.