How good is this?! Awesome news for Australian mountain biking.
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.
The most talked about bike at the Australian National Championships was Connor Fearon’s new Kona.
Rumours had been flying for some time before the race and most people were expectingA�Kona to bring out their new toy. Under Connor Fearon Kona debuted their new bike right here in Australia, with Connor flying the flag for the company this year at World Cups the new Operator is going to help Connor to progress. Now we would love to do a full blown interview with Kona and Connor but unfortunately their instructions are to remain tight lips until April, Connor has opened up with some valuable information regarding the bike including that and we quote; “the head angle will be between 60 and 70 degrees” and that it weighs the same amount as a few bags of potatoes” (non cooked still in the bag in case you are wondering!) It was good to see Connor taking a fun approach when being asked about the bike at the race!
“No comment” was the official response regarding questions about the bike but Connor and co did have a bit of fun with it all.
There are a few things we do know though;
– The frame will have 200mm ofA�travel and is made up of a carbon front triangle with aluminium rear stays.
– The head angle between “60 -70 degrees” is likely to be 64!
– A few nice little detailsA�that a lot ofA�bikes are nowA�featuring include the integrated bump stops and internal cable routing (with the option of being able to run them externally).
– Interestingly the bike will have a 104mm press fit bottom bracket as well as the standard ISCG05 chain guide mounts and a 12x157mm rear axle spacing.
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The bike almost didn’t get a race debut after Connor snapped the only derailleur hanger in the Southern Hemisphere! A quick trip to a CNC shop fixed all that fortunately.Integrated bump stops and internal cable guides are nice touches.Rock Shox came to the party with a custom sticker kit for the front rear and shocks, will the next step for Connor be the Black Box program?!Connor has gotten use to the bike very quickly, as this user submitted photo from Gibbo show us!
Connor heads off to Sea Otter in just over a month it will be interesting to see what else gets revealed there.
The fastest Aussie mountain bike family and their new Polygon bikes!
The most succesful team at the 2013 Australian National Champs was the Hutchison UR team, which just happened to be a family affair, we are of course talking about the Hannah family! With Tracey returning from injury and both riders having to get use to their new bikes itA�made it all the moreA�impressive feat. With that saidA�we thought we would give you guys a bit more info about the setup;
You may not be familiar with Polygon bikes, they are an Indonesian company that started back in 1989, they make a variety of bikes, not just downhill bikes.What is quite remarkable is that Mic Hannah has almost exclusively ridden single pivot bikes throughout his career… However early reports suggest he likes the multi pivot system for its lack of harsh feedback.After a serious crash in 2012 where she broke her femur, Tracey returned to hold onto the title she claimed in Adelaide in 2012 at her first race back!.Mount Stromlo is a track Mic has done well on in the past, he was the fastest Aussie at the 2009 World Champs finishing third, just 0.69 behind the winner…It wasn’t just the Hannahs representing for the team with Fabien Cousinie and Guillaume Cauvin racing in Elite Men,the only rider missing from the results was current Female Junior World Champ Holly Feniak. So why is this bike being carried through the pits you ask?! There was definitely nothing wrong with it but how else are you going to keep the tyres clean for a photo shoot, thanks Mic! They’re a professional out fit at Hutchinson UR that’s for sure!
We will be following the Hannah family keenly this year, Tracey won her return World Cup race in South Africa and the track suits Mic too, an Aussie family affair on the top step this year?! Lets hope so!
A big thanks to Mic and Tracey (along with the rest of the team) for taking the time to chat with us and pose for photos. Images: Jason Stevens.
Mitch Delfs at the last World Cup of 2012 in Norway and as we now know, his last World Cup onboard a Kona, for 2013 expect to see Mitch and team mate Luke Strobel on Evil Bikes as their factory team.
After our initial Team Talk article (here), weA�heard a range of other newsA�for 2013 fromA�the industryA�butA�something thatA�we thought was worthy of a seperate post is where Mitch Delfs is heading for 2013.A�For 2013 Evil Bikes will have a factory team, with Mitch Delfs (and Luke Strobel)A�as theirA�World Cups riders. It makes sense to us as Luke has been linked to that move for months (The ‘Team Rumours’ twitter account was correct) and Mitch has always got on well with Luke so their would be good team dynamics. The new Evil bikes look awesome and should ride well, a World Cup factory team should signal a strong return to the scene for the company, after being a little quiet over the past few years for various reasons. Once more information is available we will let you know.A�It is awesome to see Mitch with a strong team for 2013, he is capable of good results, as his 11th place at the Windham World Cup showed and weA�are allA�keen to see him do well this year!
The pits for both the Australian domestic and the international season, are going to look substantially different for 2013.
Without doubt this has been one of the most intriguing off seasons to date, there has been some big changes, as well as some unexpected ones. With that in mind lets have a look at whereA�you can expect to see theA�Australians racing and on what.
Ben Hill – In his first season on the Clint White Racing program, Ben has started off with solid results in both the Tassie and Vic series, look as he pushes for Worlds selection later in the year.
Ben Power – Ben has been dealing with a injured hand but hopes to get to overseas later in the year to hit up some races in North America.
Bryn Atkinson – No real big changes for Bryn (and fiancee Jill Kintner) for 2013A�they are;A�”still riding for Norco, and running our own team. We’re both staying in the US this off season, so I’m not going to be at any Aussie races unfortunately”.
Caroline Buchannan – It was a nice surprise to see Caroline return to downhill for 2013, riding an Airborne bike Caroline has said she would like to race both downhill as well as 4X, not to mention her busy BMX program leading up to the 2016 Olympics, hectic indeed!
Chris Kovarik – Chris (and partner Claire) are still running the Kovarik Racing program which will see them attend selected races (such as Australian National Series races’) whilst continuing their successful ride clinics. A change for 2013 sees them on Fox suspension.
Connor Fearon – After a hugely successful 2012A�season Connor steps up from the junior ranks forA�his first season as a senior, still on Kona and unable to comment too muchA�on team commitments, with Mitch DelfsA�no longer on KonaA�don’t be surprised to see Connor as the soleA�team rider for 2013.
Crimmins Brothers – We thought we would cover both Andrew and Thomas together as a unit, both are racing for Giant Australia, expect their speed to continue to grow and watch as they make a push for Worlds’ selection.
Danielle Beecroft – After third at Junior Worlds in 2012, Danielle will continue riding Pivot Bikes for 2013A�and is “currently in talks with a major sponsor, that will help her in her quest to improve on her third place at the World Championships last year ” so expect more news soon.
David McMillan-A�David has continued with the Specialized Australia program for 2013, look out for David as he tries to head overseas later in the year to some international races. Currently the team has the 2013 alloy Demo with the carbon models landing in February.
We are super keen to see Dave have a good season this year, an off season scare with a crash at the dirt jumps hasn’t appeared to slow him down. He looks happy in this photo with his alloy Specialized, the carbon models are on their way (or maybe it is because he has got his hands on one of the super limited adition downhill247.com t-shirts?!) Photo: Ronnie Grammatica/toptobottom.it
Dean Lucas – Since returning form overseas Dean has been in good form at home on board his Kona, expect much the same in 2013.
Mitch Delfs – Mitch moves off Kona on to his new team, when we talked to him about he was coy other than saying he was “pretty stoked on the new gig” and he claims he will be on one “good looking bike”, more news as soon as we get it!
Jackson Davis – After success racing in Indonesia recently, Jackson will be racing for Specialized Australia this year at all the National races,A� when Sam Hill says Jackson has one of the best cornering techniques he has seen you definitely have to pay attention.
Jack Moir – After 5th at the 2012 World Champs inA�juniorA�Jack is in fine form and will be hitting up all the Nationals and as many World Cup races as possible. This year Jack is on the Yeti Australia team butA�our hot tip is that he will be picked up by the Yeti World Cup Team, watch this space…
Jack took his new Yeti to Thredbo to get some time on it before the Nationals start, from this photo it looks like he is pretty comfortable on it already! Photo: Ronnie Grammatica/toptobottom.itJack is pretty happy with his new set up and why wouldn’t you be! Photo: Ronnie Grammatica/toptobottom.it
Jared Graves – A strong start to 2012 in South Africa was the highlight for Jared’s World Cup season, in 2013 Jared is still aboard Yeti but focusing on the enduro downhill scene, something he should do well in considering his ability to train at the highest level physically combined with his bike handling skills. Expect Jared to help mentor Aussie Jack Moir wherever possible.
Josh Button – Unfortunately Josh won’t be heading overseas for 2013, a real loss for Australian downhill, Josh has the skills to become a real consistent top 20 prospect but has been hampered by bad luck. His constant knee injuries (which were often not his fault) have been what has really slowed him down, for 2013 Josh is trying to make it to the Thredbo and Canberra rounds of the National Series.
Rhys Atkinson – Rhys is back on board with Specialized and will look to regain the overall National Series title he claimed in theA�2010/11 season before heading overseas to race some World Cups.
Sam Hill – Big news saw Sam leaving not only his Specialized team but also long time team manager Sean Heimdal as he heads to Chain Reaction Cycles/Nukeproof, he willA�take over a raft ofA�existing sponsors, including SRAM so expect to see him on the Blackbox program for 2013 which means he won’t be riding Marzocchi as previously suggested.
Timmy Eaton – After a successful 2011/12 season Tim has changed it up slightly for 2013, getting on board the Giant Australia team, which could easily dominate this season with the depth of field it has signed.
Tracey Hannah – Tracey will be riding with brother Mic on Polygon Bikes, after a promising start to 2012 a big injury put a temporary hold on her return, Tracey is now back on her cross country bike, expect to see her fighting it out at the first World Cup in a few months.
Troy Brosnan – 2012 was a year Troy would rather forget, so much promise but cut short by injury, Troy is now back on his cross country rig and training hard for 2013, with new team mates expect Troy to be even hungrier after a ‘lost’ international season last year.
Will Rischbieth – Will has been recovering from an injury sustained last year but he will be back riding for Giant Australia in 2013 at Nationals across the country.
2013 is going to be an interesting year to say the least! There are plenty more riders who could have made this list, expect coverage of a huge range of races in 2013.
Connor Fearon was having fun on some of the big jumps in Norway, the added style was a bonus for everyone watching!
We finish our wrap up of the 2012 World Cup series with Connor Fearon’s Inside Info from Hafjell, Norway. This is what he had to say;
Norway was the final round for the season and I was hoping to finish it off on a high note. The team got to Hafjell a few days prior to the race. Turns out there nothing to do there when ita��s freezing cold and raining. Despite being labelled a�?Europea��s #1 bike parka�? it turned out to be below average and we couldna��t ride the race track until official practice. The exchange rate there is through the roof as well it felt like I spent more coin in the last week in Norway than the other 4 months of the tripa��
So the start of the week wasna��t all that exciting I was hoping I would cheer up after walking the race track on day 1. The track has a few different sections. Some jumps and corners in the open sections I really liked. Once the track weaved into the wooded sections it became my nemesis, it got pretty slow, technical and awkward. Definitely far from my preferred type of course.
Connor hitting the main rock garden (or jungle as it was being referred to!) on the course, not sure if that is optimum foot/pedal position this time round!
During practice I tried my hardest to pick lines that would open up the track a little bit even if it meant going over rocks and taking wider corners. The coolest obstacle on the track was the massive natural gap halfway down the track. I dona��t think the course builders meant for this to be jumped but it happened anyway. I hit the gap in practice and race run for the fans even though I cased it every time and might have been slower it was still the most fun I had on the track!
My race run was pretty solid until the last sections of the track where the wind picked up a lot and it felt like I was going backwards. I got blown badly by the wind on the last jump and almost crashed, doing this I stomped the ground pretty hard with my leg and hurt my knee which stopped me from pedalling to the finish. I got 38th position in the end which was disappointing because I moved back in the overall (Although beating Peaty still who had a problem in his run).
So my first full world cup series is done and dusted and Ia��m just about ready to head home now! Ia��ve learnt a lot in this season that will help me improve myself for the next world cup season. For now ita��s time to go back to Australia just in time for summer, have a good off season and come out swinging next year!
So Connor’s last race of the season might not have quite gone to plan but he still finished up 34th in the overall, combined with his 3rd place at World Championships, that’s a very impressive season! What will happen next year, downhill247.com will keep you in the loop!
