Cannonball Festival Day 2 – Flow Cup, Downhill Seeding & Whipoff
Day 2 was another busy day of events beginning with the Maxxis Flow Motion Cup, one run down the 8min Koziosko Flow Trail, this was one for the enduro bikes to come out and play.A�The course over the weekend had become dry, rough and dusty with the pounding of practice.
Rough and dry!The crowd was enthusiastic as always!
That background!Or that one!
Tom Crimmins took the pro men win and Tegan Molloy once again won the pro woman.
It was Giant Australia’s Tom Crimmins who took the win.Tegan Molloy took the win in the female class.Tandem fun!So much going on in this pic!
The next event on the cards what the ODI Whip Wars, with riders throwing down the biggest, most stylish whips and any different tricks being awarded $50 notes if the crowd approved. Connor Fearon was the one judged to have the best whips on the day taking them past 90 on all occasions but really closely followed by Mayhem Dave McMillan. Also throwing down some of the biggest whips on the day.
Whips!!!!!Well it wasn’t all whips…The ‘import’ rider of the weekend was Luca Shaw and he put in a good showing!Remy Morton with a classic T-bar!Train it in…Connor Fearon took the win, not hard to see…One legger from David ‘Mayhem’ McMillan.The crowd loved it!Whoops!
Never too young!
Stay tuned for Day A�3 action with the Toyota Australian open downhill to come.
Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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Back in Thredbo for one the biggest mountain bike events on the Australian calendar!
Day 1 of the biggest downhill orientated mountain bike festival in Australia certainly lived up to its name. Kicking off the events for the weekend was the SRAM Dual Compressor, a 4X style knockout competition.A�Not to be confused with dual slalom, riders don’t have to stay in lanes they are free to go where ever they want, and of course rubbing is sometimes racing.A�The course offered up a variety of features from flat cut grass corners to berms, inside lines and kickers everywhere for the riders to scrub.A�Racing was close with many close battles witnessed.A�Taking out the pro men was none other than Blake Nielsen and taking out the Pro Woman was Tegan Molloy.
There was some great racing during the dual compressor.
The riders really got into the racing.
Tegan Molloy took the win in the women’s class.Blake Nielsen took the win in the men’s class.Subsequently everyone wanted a piece of the action!
As the sunset and the lights came on to host the Rockshox Pumptrack Challenge.A�A freshly built course modeled after the courses seen in Rotorua and Whistler, made by the guys at Dirt Art.A�The course performed brilliantly allowing riders to tip into the corners at max angle and gain huge speed out. The riders raced against the clock with the top 5 progressing to a shootout to decide the winner. Again it was close racing with Remy Morton taking out the winA�and once again Tegan Molloy took out the pro woman.
Work was done to get the pump track dialed!
As the sun went down the riding heated up…. (sorry that was a shocker!)The head to head format is always fun!
Thomas Crimmins having fun!
The crowd was kept entertained whether there were riders on track or not!David McMillan stylish as always.Timmy Eaton going through the whoops!
Remy Morton took the win.
Never too young!To the victor go the spoils!
For full results see Thredbo MTB
Stay tuned for Day 2 & 3 action with the Maxxis Flow Motion Cup, ODI Whip Wars and Toyota Australian open downhill to come.
Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
Get more content onA�FacebookA�orA�follow us on Instagram: @downhill247
Last weekend saw the first round of the 2015/16 National Series, held at Mt Taylor in Eastern Victoria. As the official beginning of the season, this round would set the precedent for the growing Nationals campaign by Mountain Bike Australia. With the annual Cannonball festival the following weekend at nearby Thredbo, this round was a good chance for everyone to dust off their bikes and their skills, simultaneously getting covered in a lot of dust.
Jackson Davis, once again riding for Specialized Australia styles it up over one of the floaty doubles that had riders cranking throughout the lower end of the course.
Though there had been much upset regarding a severe lack of rider transport on Friday, a last minute dash by organisers, and a heavy helping hand from support crew and family members would see 7 buses and 5 trailers manned for the rest of the weekend. A 50-60 minute shuttle turnaround left plenty of time to ponder lines and rest the legs for the draining descent through rocky chutes, loose switchbacks and flat pedal sections.
Cabbage patch kept riders on their toes; a high-speed, high-commitment section featuring a double drop – littered with cabbage sized rocks as the name suggests
Jake Newell tearing up a berm mid-course, his Summum having no trouble with the rough and loose course.Rhys Atkinson, taking time from trail building to get into the new race season. Rhys would take 12th place in racing, 1 second behind his seeding time with a 4.14:61.Flat tire, flat corner styles.
In the Female category there were several hot picks for the win, and though Tegan Molloy had had a big crash during Saturday’s practice, much of the crowd held faith that she might just pull it all together for the race run. With Mondraker riders Sarah Booth and Kellie Weinert, along with Pivot rider Danni Beecroft back from injury, and Norco rider Michelle crisp a�� things were sure to get interesting.
Sian Ahern; new recruit to the Bilt Bikes team was in form all weekend. Having previously flown under the radar at state and national events, Sian will be one to watch this year since joining a team. To match her seeding run time would have seen her grab 4th place in Elite.Vic Armstrong taking on the Cabbage Patch garden with no trouble. A rough bout of health stole the weekend from Vic, we might see her true form at Stromlo in a couple of weeks.
Flagged by the commissaires for wearing his USA jersey during practice and seeding, Deano Machino opted to source local Melbourne apparel for the sake of racing.
In a typical Aussie gum forest, catching a clear angle of the track was tough at times. We are lucky that the series this year will take us to 4 unique venues, each with their own atmosphere and colour palette. Who says racing can’t be pretty?
Tegan Molloy giving it some during racing a�� despite a solid run she took 3rd, one fifth of a second behind Danni Beecroft. Mondraker’s Sarah Booth took the Elite Womens’ title – 8 seconds ahead of Danni & Tegan.Matt Dinham is a machine. Balancing his final years of school, whilst competing in road, XC and Downhill events, each with stellar results. This round Matt took 2nd in his XCO race and 1st place in the Downhill.
Kellie Weinert, consistent and strong in her approach to all riding placed 4th this weekend. Kellie will give the Elite girls a reason to push hard this series to keep their ground on the podium.Troy Weinert, sister of Kellie has a great role model to be riding with, and it shows in his early speed as a youngster. Troy took his U15 title with a time that would’ve landed him 2nd against the Elite Womens podium.There were plenty of ways to go down in Cabbage Patch, and so many close calls during racing.The man of the hour, Jack Moir grinning after a false start and re-run wouldn’t wreck his mindset for racing. A super-fast run would see him elude Muddy by 4 seconds and take the win, while setting a course record at Mt Taylor. Just a few days after jumping on his new Intense M16, Jack must be feeling pretty good about the new bike.
Elite Men:
Jack Moir
Graeme ‘Muddy’ Mudd
Josh Button
Liam Panozzo
David McMillan
Elite Women:
Sarah Booth
Danni Beecroft
Tegan Molloy
Kellie Weinert
Michelle Crisp
Check out the full results from Sunday’s racing by clicking here.
Thanks for reading our coverage of the 2015/16 Nationals opening round. On December 11-13 we visit Mt Stromlo, home of the 2009 Worlds, and a familiar spot to many of our favourite riders. Let’s see what goes down there!
The USA jersey didn’t last long on race day, the airways were almost in a state of panic over Dean’s anti-patriotic move. For everyone else though, it was a bit of fun.
It all started with Saturday practice – Sam Fraser was one of the first on track and looked pinned from the start.
The 2015 Queensland State Championships were run by the Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club
along with the support of key sponsor Zelvy Carbon. Racers from all over South-East Queensland
congregated at Toowoomba on the 27th of September to put it all on the line for one chance at
becoming the State Champion for 2015. The track was different to anything the racers had faced
all year however the biggest obstacle wasna��t found on the trail. The hardest thing for the racers to
wrap their head around was how they were going to get enough practice laps in to gain a good
feeling for the track with shuttles taking up to and over thirty minutes to reach the top of the
mountain. Most riders took advantage of slightly faster self-shuttles on the Saturday before race
day in order to gain a better grasp of what they were up against. The culmination of good weather,
a decent-sized crowd, and the willingness of riders to hang it all out for the last race of the year led
to a fantastic event to finish off the 2015 Downhill Season.
There were plenty of U/15s shuttling endless mega-trains all Saturday: Caleb Rees sends it off a rock kicker with an endless landing.Warrick McNab about to duck into an endless section of switchbacks.The mid-section of the track cuts a loose path of berms and jumps through the dry scrub.
Riders couldna��t let their concentration slip as they rode through a wide range of different surfaces: from loose shaley turns to hard-packed berms.SEQDH Overall Series Champion Ben Power squeezed in plenty of runs on Saturday and was looking comfortable all day.Harry Bush fresh off some World Cup and World Champs experience.Loose dust littered with rocks. Whata��s not to love?Ben Powera��s usual tactics of hitting lines that no other riders even know are there didna��t go unnoticed.Scoping the next turn through the dust.Kylie Jackson was looking quick throughout Saturday practice.Alex Schoonder gapping over a few transitions near the top of the track.Jake Mitchell ended Saturday practice with a trip to the hospital and came back on Sunday to make his way up the track in crutches to cheer on (heckle) those who made it through the day in one piece.Jack Wright keeping low near the bottom of the track as he caps off Saturday practice.Sam Fraser making a few bike setup changes prior to hitting the track for a few more practice runs on Sunday before the racing started.Luke Butcher styling it out on the final jump.Michael Dopson didna��t end the day as planned – a big crash on the final jump has set him off the bike for quite some time.Remy a�?Rem Dawga�� Morton nosing her in post-scrub.Ben Power seamlessly carried his pace from Saturday practice over to Sunday practice and ultimately into race runs as well.Harrison Reibelt aboard his Glory Advanced.Tracey Knight ended up with 3rd on the day.Graeme Reid had an extremely unusual race run. He caught the rider in front of him in the worst place possible and they both ended up on the ground at the bottom of possibly the most technical part of the track.Max Warshawsky scanned the a�?rock gardena�� for at least 15 minutes on Sunday after a full day of practice on Saturday and it payed off with an extremely pinned exit on this practice run.With practice nearly over it was quicker to walk up to some of the more technical spots to find some last minute lines than to catch the long shuttle to the top.Jacob Reeves – full concentration.Daniel Neumann drifting towards the trees.Max Warshawsky taking off in his seeding run.Lisa Mathison was crowned 2015 State Champion for Elite Women/.Callum Hession hanging it out.Tom Searle keeping it tight and low through a section of loose berms.The rock garden was where the majority of spectators chose to watch race runs.Off-camber and high speed – with tonnes of different lines available racers were able to tailor the track to meet their strengths.Daniel Hallam swinging it out and scoping a spot to land.Jacob Reeves on his a�?loosest run evera�?.Sam Fraser ended up with 4th in Elite Men when it all counted.Max Warshawsky sending it big in his final run of the day!Ben Power claimed his plate number with a 2nd in Elite Men.Almost as soon as the final rider crossed the line it started to rain and eventually hail prior to presentations.2015 Zelvy Carbon Elite Men State Champ – Max Warshawksy.
Images and report: Cooper Messery Photography (FacebookA�hereA�or Instagram @cooper_messery)
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The 2015 South Australian state series wrapped up over the weekend with the state championships at Willunga. Initially slated to be held at Fox on a new track it looks like we will have to wait until season 2016 for that!
Plenty of serious set ups were spotted around the pits.Some more thought provoking than others…It was the action on the track we were really interested in!
Initially conditions looked good, as usual though the wind was the real issue. In fact over the weekend it was probably a major player in many of the crashes of which, unfortunately, there were a few! Healing vibes to everyone that had a dirt nap.
Never what you want to see at a downhill race (or anywhere for that matter)!
Back to racing and whilst there were delays due to the need to ensure injured riders were cared for, everybody was understanding – if you were in the same situation you would appreciate it! The track had a few minor alterations, most noticeably the ‘whoops’ jumps section (after a few crashes it was obvious they were definitely causing a few ‘whoops’ moments).
The whoops caught out plenty of riders, including Shelly Flood, who flew past us only to go down in a heap as she got to the whoops section.The corners just prior to that section were fun for riders….. and photographers alike!There were plenty of riders roosting the corner, Matt Taylor providing one of the best examples!
As always the results from the weekend can be found on the Inside Line website, we have a huge pool of images to show you thanks to RFPhotographics and Kaneophoto (their details are at the end of the article) so enjoy!
Kit on point!There were a range of bikes being ridden, from enduro bikes to full blown downhill rigs.Riding was hot across all the categories.It was great to see all the women tackling the track!Connor Fearon was giving out free lessons to anyone that watched him ride through the whoops.Jackson Davis is in Adelaide at the moment and came out to race, party shirt and all!Henry Blake hasn’t been doing as much riding lately as he would like but a 5th in elite shows he still has it!In some sections it was faster to tuck and cruise than pedal into the wind.Wide open.Practice was all about riding with your mates and having a good time.Line choice was something that had many riders redoing sections to find seconds.There wasn’t much shade on the hill it must be said!
Railing!There was a crowd on hand to watch riders as they took on the course and they were rewarded with some great riding.
Dropping into the finish arena!Wooosshhh!
Low and fast!
The views from the course were fabulous darling!A massive thanks to these two! Kaneophoto and RFPhotographics for their wizardry behind the glass!The rocks caused more than a few punctures!Ouch! Jackson Davis sent the final step down (on his little bike) and didn’t quite hold it, he was okay though!Connor Fearon was always going to be the rider to beat and comfortably took the 2015 state championship!
That wraps up the 2015 season and what a great one it was! Thanks to the club and everyone that helped out, roll on 2016.
Images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics) and Kaneophoto www.kaneophoto.com.auA�or on Instagram @kaneophoto and stock Downhill247.com images.
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The final round of the South Australian Graviy Enduro series was held at the new location of Mount Torrens aka Dazzleland. The land owners Darren and Carol are no strangers to the scene having raced mountain bikes for years. The location would be one many downhillers would remember as it has held numerous Inside Line state races.
Plenty of cool transport was on show.Style!Style plus 2!
The weather for the day was superb and that definitely helps the good vibes flow. As for the trails they were different from other races in the series, they were more single track and a little tighter in some spots. Overall the response was positive from the riders.
There were some tight corners on the hill.
There were lots of eyes focusing on the Elite Men’s race as a shootout between Cam Ryan and Simon Buzacott, there was plenty of good racing across the categories. Head to the Gravity Enduro SA (GESA) Facebook page to see the results in full.
Cam Ryan was on fire, taking the win.Simon Buzacott took second.Alex Waddicor always has a smile on his face, he smiled into 3rd place.
A great year of racing, we are keen to do it all again next time!
Images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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