The classic Bright shot from the top of the downhill track.
Day 3 here in Bright and it was much drier today, however, with the rain from yesterday it meant the track conditions were good. There was an early morning practice session before seeding in the afternoon, this allowed everyone to get a feel for their speed before race day. With there being a few apparent issues with getting the results up we can’speculate too much but we do believe for the Senior men it was Connor Fearon fastest followed by Troy Brosnan and then Sam Hill.
Plenty of riders were more comfortable on the track today after the change in weather.There were still a few spills though…You can bet Troy Brosnan wants to keep that number 1 plate!Sam Hill wouldn’t mind getting tit though… his bike looking fast even when standing still!As usual Junior Men is another tightly contested category.There were plenty of spectators for seeding today.Provisionally Connor Fearon was the fastest in seeding.
Check back tomorrow after finals for more action and images!
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Back in beautiful Bright for the Australian MTB National Champs.
Thursday saw sunny sky’s and warm weather for Track walk. With the weather turning the complete opposite for day 1 of practice on Friday. Rain fell for all morning and early afternoon leaving the track wet and slippery especially on the roots in the forrest.
The sun was shining for track walk.
The view from the top of Bright can’t be beaten.
Specialized Mechanic Lachlan McKillop prepping tyre’s for the week.The specialized tent has all the activities sortedFinishing off the day with a swim at this place can’t be beaten.
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Day 2 was the complete opposite to Thursday. With Rain forecast all morning.The riders set off into fog at the top of the hill.Jordan Prochyra after punching some runs in the rain.The Specialized team dog.With not much going on track kaneophoto took photos from the comfort of the tents.
Dropping into the darkness of the forrest.Dave McMillan Throwing mud.Angus Maddern pushing the limits a little too far.Just here for a good oneShelly flood feet up sliding.Josh Clark Slaming into berms, just baller.
Wet roots causing trouble for the riders.Conor pops over the wet roots.Sam Hill smashing out runs in the arvo, and looking fast by the end of the day.#panshotfridayDean Lucas on his new rig.Rem Dog back from his summer in NZ and looking fast.Thomas Crimmins two wheel drifting
What happens when you combine one of the world’s fastest downhill riders and one of the best photographers? Well this…. Connor Fearon and Kaneo Photo headed out to a dry, dusty Adelaide trail on a hot day to take these photos. We will sit back and let the images do the talking…
We headed to Thredbo over the weekend in the picturesque Snowy Mountains for the third round of the MTBA national series. The track is one of the longest, roughest and gnarliest going around, for this round a few changes had been made – the corners and berms were built up which allowed extra speed to be carried across the track. Of course this meant new ‘pseudo’ doubles were being found by riders with their new found speed. This didn’t come without consequences – talk to Curtis Keene who couldn’t race after smashing countless wheels over the weekend. Even more worryingly was Troy Brosnan who crashed and dislocated his shoulder, with the World Cup season getting closer this was an unneeded set back, we know TB though, he will bounce back! Continue reading “Thredbo – Australian National Round 3”→
Luca Shaw has been spending part of hos off season in Australia – The perfect time for us to catch up with him and ask him a few questions!
If you have been following the world cups over the past few seasons you will have seen some of the new, young, up and coming riders who are moving up through the ranks. One of these riders is Luca Shaw, who has steadily been notching up some impressive results. Luca hails from the United States of America but spent a few months in Australia training during the off season, we caught up with him Adelaide just before he boarded a plane home to a snowy North Carolina. This is what he had to say;
Luca just finished his first elite year and was hanging out in Adelaide over the off season.
Hey Luca, thanks for chatting to us, you’ve been in Australia for a couple of months now, how did that come about:
I kind of just wanted to change it up a little bit, A�I graduated in the spring so it is my first year without school and it gets a bit cold at home, I wanted to to do a lot of riding over winter or I guess the summer, off season, whatever you call it! Connor (Fearon) had mentioned coming and staying over in Adelaide for a little while so I decided to give it a go and yeah it has been awesome! Definitely had a lot of fun and appreciate Connor and his family for putting me up for a couple of months, it has been great.
You did some racing over here, in Thredbo for the Cannonball Festival, what was that like, I guess for you guys it is not the most serious race of the year:
Yeah it was good, it was kind of a last minute thing, we realised just as I was getting here that the race was on so we drove up there, it was cool. I hadn’t been riding much downhill so it was the first time I had ridden (downhill) since world championships so it was good to get on the downhill bike. Didn’t take it too serious but there were some fast dudes there and I was stoked to get 4th and not too far off the pace, it was an awesome weekend on a good track.
Luca has another year left with Santa Cruz Bikes at least, we know that his 2016 bikes will be black.He knows how to rail it regardless of colour!
You’ve been doing a lot of trail riding by the looks, how do trails here in Australia and Adelaide compare to back home and across the world:
The trails here are sweet, we’ve been riding trails every single day and there are definitely enough to not get bored, we keep going new places every time, there is a lot of variety. They’re not the biggest hills in the world but you do a good job with what you have.
Maybe we will see Luca entering the freeride/dirt jump arena with these moves?!
You have been keeping up the training sessions while your over here no doubt:
Haha yeah between the parmy (this is a schnitzel topped with cheese and tomato, sometimes ham – often called by other names around the world) and bakery sessions we have been getting a little sweat out! Nah we have been riding everyday and hitting the gym with Connor so we have been putting in the hard yards whilst on holidays for sure.
There has been plenty of hard work put in during the sweltering summer so expect to see the results of that this year.
Looking forward to the rest of the year you will be back in Australia for the Cairns world cup as well as racing the rest of the world cup series. What goals have you set for the series:
It will be going into my second elite series so feeling a bit more comfortable, last year it was one of those things I didn’t really know what to expect from myself. This year I really want to stay consistent in the top 20 and hopefully top 10s, I think if everything lines up I could get a podium if I have a good race and have a good season going. I am just excited to see how well I can do, I am pumped for it, I am not as nervous as I was last year I am more excited, last year I was a bit nervous going into the elite. With that and another year on Santa Cruz, last year I was my first year on the new bike so everything was a bit different. I think it is going to be a good year, I can’t wait for it!
We would love to see Luca up on the podium during 2016.
Moving on to something a bit more ‘lifestyle’ Connor bought a van recently and it looks like you guys have beenA�doing a lot of activities with it, are you all about the #vanlife:
We have been going pretty steady on the van life the past couple of months and I don’t have a van at the moment but I’ve had a van for a while and I think when I am back home I am going to be in the market looking for a van!
I guess the next question that arises if you go down the van route is ‘are you going to buy a trangia’:
It goes hand in hand, it will be rude not to, it kind of comes with it – at least that is what I expect!
#vanlife – it is all about hanging out with good mates, in good places! It sounds great to us…
Have you been watching American sports whilst you’re over here:
Not as much as I would like to, A�that’s probably the worst thing about my trip, it is in the midst of NFL football season, you can’t really help it when you grow up from where I am from (North Carolina) you have no choice! I woke up at 6.30am to watch the Carolina Panthers play and they took the ‘W’ so they’re moving on. Next weekend NFL play offs are going strong so that is what I am going to do when I am crying about not being in the warmth!
What Australian food are you going to miss, for example have you had Tim Tams, are they all they are cracked up to be:
No they’re good, definitely but the number 1 and 2 things I am going to miss the most are meat pies from the bakery, had way too many of those! And chicken parmys, from any good pub in Adelaide, to be specific the Ed!
You haven’t been paid to say that:
No!
On that note, let’s finish up the interview, we still have a few more pics below but for now we wish Luca all the best for the up coming season!
Luca has been training with Connor Fearon – no doubt they have been pushing each other!Railing turns, there is a great little Instagram edit on Luca/Connor’s account of them railing this day.
Look out for Luca in 2016!
Images:A�KaneophotoA�www.kaneophoto.com.auA�or on Instagram @kaneophoto and stock Downhill247.com images.
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Sunday morning for round 2 of the MTBA national series and everyone was keen to see what the riders could produce after seeding was tightly packed the day before. Race day is generally the day lines are sorted and everyone is just keen to get on with it, a few practice runs, some fuel and up top for finals!
Prepping before race day.That means you can’t have a bit of fun though!Once practice was finished it was time for the riders to compose themselves before finals.
The under 19s was always going to produce tight racing and it didn’t disappoint! For all the results see the MTBA website.A�In the end Jackson Frew just edged out Remy Morton, watch out for these two as they continue the battle into the world cups next year.
Jackson Frew took the V…Remy Morton was just behind Jackson.
Moving onto Elite and the women’s competition was just as tight, in the end Danielle Beecroft took the win after spending some time off her bike due to injury.
Danielle Beecroft took the win for the elite women.Watch out for an ongoing battle between the top women all season.
In the elite men’s class the battle between Jack Moir and Graeme Mudd continued, in the end of the day Jack made it 2 from 2.
Jack Moir is on fire with his second win in a row.Jackson Davis injured himself, he will be be back though!This left David McMillan and Rhys Atkinson to hold the fort for team Specialized.
We have a few more images of the day for you all to enjoy!
Scrubbing for days.
Dry and dusty conditions meant this was a common occurrence!
Making shapes.
That wraps up this round!
See you at round 3!
Images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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