Qualifying took place under blue skies and at the end of the day times were tight across all categories! It can be hard to read into each result but one thing is for sure, racing is going to be close! Graeme Mudd took the fastest qualifier by just 0.25 seconds from Jack Moir, third was Tom Crimmins, fourth Chris Kovarik and fifth was Timmy Eaton. For the women Danni Beecroft was the fastest, Sarah Booth was just 0.46 arrears, Tegan Molloy was third, fourth was Kellie Weinert and rounding out the top five was Michelle Crisp.
Fastest qualifier, Graeme Mudd.Jack Moir was second fastest qualifier.Solid action in the female racing as well with qualifying tight before finals.Tegan Molloy bursting out of the sunlight.
In the juniors recent GT Bicycles factory signing Jackson Frew edged out Remy Morton. Looking at the junior women it was Sian A’Hern who was the fastest qualifier with Jessica Sergo second.
The junior racing was as tight as ever.Jaime Black getting some welcome relief courtesy of a tasty snack!Sending it.
Chasing your mates down the trail.David McMillan aka Mayhem Dave doing his thing.Scrubbed….
The infamous rock garden!Remy Morton wasn’t fazed!
Check back soon for more action.
Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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For round 2 of the Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) national series we head to the nation’s capital, Canberra and Mount Stromlo. This park has held world championships, world cups, countless national and state races so it is a well known beast. A lot of riders have commented that it is fun to ride but hard to race, especially with the large sprint at the end. With the first days of practice done we have RF Photographics giving us a run down on the event so far.
We have love for all the media crew that bring you images and videos of the section, shout outs to you all!There was plenty of line choice/discussion near the top of the track as riders could gain valuable seconds here.Jackson Frew nailing his unique line.Signature Tim Eaton style.
The competition in the women’s class is going to be tight.
Chris Kovarik was smashing out runs all day, definitely a force to be reckoned with this weekend!Guess who’s bike….Maybe there was an unofficial whip competition?Going down…
It seems fitting to fly the flag in the nation’s capital for a national round!
Check back soon for more action.
Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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Cannonball Festival Day 3 – Australian Open Downhill!
Day 3a��the grand finale to wrap up an outstanding weekend of riding and it certainly didn’t disappoint! A legendary track, one that will beat you and your bike up if you don’t pay it respect! That said it is a blast if you get it all right…
Angus Maddern can handle the track, make no mistake of that!
Troy Brosnan had qualified first the day before so he was the man to beatA� but with such a stacked field of talented riders from Australia and overseas it was anyone’s race to win. In the woman’s Tegan Molloy had qualified first and was set to take the win in all the events she had entered.
Troy Brosnan qualified first but there was no shortage of riders that could win it! Including the one in front of him here, Sam Hill!Tegan Molloy was on track to take a clean sweep of all the events after qualifying first.
With the final practice done and dusted it was time to race! There were a large number of contestants and the majoirty had a great time (there were a few crashes but overall it is a fair bet they still enjoyed themselves in the grand scheme of things).
Dare we say a few old hands of the game?!Whoops a daisy!It was great to see Jack Moir back riding fast!
As the times dropped and the speeds got faster it was both Tegan and Troy who both took the win. Conor Fearon came in second after a gnarly crash in practice up on one of the big senders. Sam Hill Rounded out the podium. Tegan was joined on the podium by Sian Ahern and Lisa Mathison.
Troy Brosnan won and took home the cheque for 5K.Connor Fearon had a huge dig in the last practice of the day, he walked away with a huge graze. He overcame that and finished 2nd.Sam Hill rounded out the top 3.It was good to see a strong field of women, in the end Tegan Molloy took the win but there was some competition for her!
Well this rounds out the coverage from the 2015 Canonball festival, its been a superb weekend organised by Thredbo MTB team with non stop action all weekend long. If you haven’t made it out to this event definitely put it on your hit list.
Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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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).
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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.
