Mount Stromlo, Canberra, has held World Cups, in the lead up to the 2009 World Champs as well as numerous Australian races, this year it played host to the Australian National Championships. Located in the foothills around Canberra has a reputation worldwide for being on the pedally side.A� Who would this suit? Most people had their money on the fitness machine, Jared Graves, who was also competing in the XC this weekend.
As practice started, the person of note missing was in fact Jared, as he was racing and qualifying for his XC race. The weather had come to the party for Friday practice, the sun was out and the temperature was perfect, it made for excellent conditions all round. While the riders were out on track, the real buzz was in the pits on Friday with so many things happening, Kona were unveiling the new Carbon Operator, Hutchison United where showing of their recently released Polygon bikes and Troy Brosnan was racing for the first time since his injury. Stay tuned to Downhill247 for extra info on all this news!
As Saturday came around there was talk of rain throughout the day. Though there were a few showers they didn’t affect riders to any notable amount. By the time seeding came around for the ‘A’ group, riders hit the track as if there had never been any rain. Troy opened up the Elite mena��s seeding flying through the top rock sections, when the seeding was all said and done, Jared Graves had come out on top, with Caroline Buchanan seeding first in the womena��s. The most notable achievement wasn’t that Jared was on top, it was the fact earlier that day he had placed 7th in the Cross Country, a huge effort! While talking with Jared post qualifying, he credited the first seeding to the fact he was so used to pedalling in the XC earlier that day that the final pedal to the line didn’t feel all that bad! I would be worried if I was one of Jareda��s competitors at the upcoming Enduro World Seriesa��
As people walked away Saturday night there was chatter galore, was Jared so fit the others just couldn’t catch him on the final pedal? Were others holding back? How come the qualifying results were so strange and not what everyone expected, there was plenty of speculation that night, along with plenty of meteorology. The word was out, Sunday was going to be wet, but no one expected the amount of wet that was about to come!
As Sunday morning rolled through, the rains came down and the crowds gathered, by midday the pits looked more like a rapids course, many tents were under over an inch of water. As the rain set in many wondered how the track would cope, but as ‘A’ practice began plenty of riders were coming back saying that the wet track was their preference over the intense wind that was blowing during Saturday practice.
As practice finished and race prep began the rain came down harder and harder, and then all of a sudden it stopped and a break in the weather opened up, the Under 19 men and women headed up the hill and began their descent. The womena��s field was plagued with mechanicals, as the top section claimed the tubes of some of the girls. The men seemed to avoid the troubles though and the racing was tight! Dean Lucas walked away with the win for Under 19 males and Kellie Weinert came away with victory for the women.
As the Elite women started to charge down the hill the clouds parted and track conditions became sticky and humid. Tracey Hannah appeared over the final jump and pedalled through the rough and the puddles as the rain started to come down again, she stopped the clock at 2:46.53. Now all eyes turned to the hill, could Caroline Buchanan top that time? As she appeared further up the hill the times looked tight, when she appeared over the final jump the clock was ticking down, in what seemed a much longer timing sequence. As Caroline pedalled hard for the line she stopped the clock on a 2:46.96, Tracey had taken the win by 0.41 seconds.
With Tracey defending her title, all eyes now turned to the hill, who would come out on top? Did Hill or Brosnan hold back yesterday in seeding? Will Jareda��s fitness become the edge that no one else can quite get around? As the lower seeded men came down the hill the clouds gathered, and gathered, and all of a sudden the light had all but disappeared. Almost on cue as we entered the top ridersa�� the rain came down, in moments the finish line was more like a river crossing than a finish. As the big names started to come across the line the hot seat kept swapping Jack Moir, then Sam Hill, then Mick Hannah. As Jared Graves left the top gate you could feel the anticipation, Mick Hannah crosses the line mid-way through Jareda��s run and claims the hot seat. Chris Kovarik crosses the line, not quite fast enough! All eyes are now on Gravey, can he pull through and pedal his way over the line to claim the win? As the clock ticks over Mica��s time creeps slowly closer, Jared appears over the final jump, as the clock ticks down Jared pedals hard, but he can’t stop the clock in time, Mick Hannah takes the win, making it a family affair at the 2013 Australian National Championships!
Congratulations to Mick and Tracey Hannah on their wins! We wish Claire Buchar all the best with her broken hand and Rhys Atkinson all the best with his knee, along with all the others who injured themselves over the weekend!
Stay tuned for Downhill247s meet and greet with the Hannahs and their new bikes, and also a look at Connor Fearons carbon Kona!
Until next year, thata��s national champs all done!
Article and images credited to Jason Stevens.
