Welcome to sunny Rotorua! It did get sunny we promise!
Day 1 here in Rotorua for Crankworx and the morning started with a track walk, this was held under dark cloud and with light rain falling. We have put our track walk up on both Instagram and Facebook, it is a track walk in 15 seconds! To go into some detail though, the top part of the track was very similar to the 2006 World Championships track, in a wide open field with some big jumps. Riders then came into the top forest section, here there are a range of drops, chutes and off cambers turns they have to deal with (not to mention changing light and track conditions). The bottom section of the track has some man made rock gardens and some rather large jumps! All before a gnarly off camber finish onto a big step up an table top combo. Enjoy a few images from the day.
Make sure you check out our 15 second track walk on either Instagram or Facebook!Track walks are always a busy time for the riders, finding lines and then putting them on social media!The ground here is so soft, it will wear all week and the track riders practiced on will be very different to what they race on.Connor Fearon sails over the top.Sam Blenkinsop blurs past, the Kiwis were all looking fast immediately!The New Zealand National Championships were recently held on this track, no wonder the Kiwis looked miles ahead of everyone else today! George Brannigan takes a very moto like corner, he was the victor here a few weeks ago.Casey Brown looked like she was getting up to speed quickly, it must help having team mates from New Zealand!Silver ferns are an iconic part of New Zealand.Sam HIll won the 2006 World Championships here so is no doubt keen to do well here again.Remy Morton navigating through the woods.Loic Bruni flying through the trees, the Lapierre team has been in New Zealand doing some pre season testing so expect them to be on point come race day.The dirt here is beautiful… hopefully it stays around all week!The jumps here are BIG, Remy Morton having no trouble with this double.
More practice tomorrow fro the downhill and the whip off world championships as well!
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Maybe they are talking about whether they made it in to our Pick of the Pics report…. maybe not!
Okay let’s keep the good times from Bright rolling! Photographers really enjoy shooting at Bright, a combination of plenty of features and some amazing light means everyone is happy, especially as the riders love the track. We will let the images say the rest, enjoy!
Connor Fearon exiting the rock garden which had seen some work from last year.The YVC Team were there in full strength and looked good!Chris Kovarik wasn’t afraid of the rocks.
Dean Lucas working his way through the trees.Graeme Mudd had a cracker of a National Series and scored a strong top 10 result in Bright.Joel Willis one of the young downhillers in the circuit chasing the opportunity tor represent his country at the World Championships.Chris Pannozzo didn’t have an ideal final run but was still positive!Andrew Crimmins tipping it in!This corner saw plenty of action all week!Troy Brosnan negotiating one of the most technical parts of the track.Leaving dust trails like Wile E Coyote!Dropping in.
Jack Moir coming into the chute.
More pics to come….
Images: Downhill247/RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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The morning of finals always has a different feel… and we don’t just mean it is because the alarms go off a few hours earlier than practice days!
Wow, another National Championships done and dusted (literally!), the record books look very similar to 2014 but more on that later. Rain actually fell over night Saturday but it was so minimal there was no real evidence of it come morning, it certainly didn’t alter the state of the track.
Nice place for a race, the town of Bright is great and very welcoming.Off into the final part of the course.
A final couple of practice sessions on Sunday allowed riders to see what state the course was in, really if you didn’t have your lines sorted by now you were in trouble!
There were plenty of crashes on race day before and during finals.Matt Taylor was one of the unfortunate riders to succumb to crashing, get well soon!
Of course healing vibes to those riders that did crash, there were a few that were more severe than others but from what we have heard most people have been checked out of hospital and are just looking at a few days on the couch!
This crash initially looked harmless but was one over the weekend that had the rider missing the event, get well soon!There was plenty of good riding exhibited though, not just crashes!One comment from riders with the early practice session was the sun beaming into their eyes!This did make for some nice photos though! Joel Willis navigates the sun and the rocks!Another comment from riders was how much lines were changing as each run the track seemed to change.Team Brosnan arriving for finals, we would like to show you more of Troy’s bike but can’t as it is featuring a few sneaky changes Specialized don’t want released yet!
For those who survived practice there was racing, group B raced first and they were just after lunch, it was group A (the premier classes) who kicked off racing at about 3 O’clock. By now there were spectators lining many parts of the course, some mountain bike fanatics and some were locals who came to support the event!
The finale to the whole event was the downhill finals and it was one fantastic show!
Starting off with the Junior Women there were two finalists and much of that could be put down tot he track, it was very intimidating but it is national championships and it should test the skills of the riders. In the end Ellie Wale who has been riding well all season prevailed over Sian A’hern.
Next up was Junior Men and at the risk of sounding mellow dramatic as each rider came down the times dropped, this just kept happening, no rider was really holding the hot seat for too long before their time was beaten. Put this down to seeding that sorted out the majority of the pack, to be fair as well the riders that were in their last year as a junior rider and who have spent time overseas (hence have more high pressure racing experience) fared better but this was to be expected! Some notable exemptions were Jackson Frew and first year Junior rider Remy Morton (who admittedly has had plenty of overseas experience!). In the end it was Andrew Crimmins who took first ahead of Remy and then Max Warshawsky who had a slight bobble in third.
First place; Andrew Crimmins.Second place for Remy Morton in his first Junior (Under 19 year).Jackson Frew came in third.
Keeping with our theme of results as per seeding Elite Women was much the same with rider after rider beating the previous time, with such a dominating performance last year it was going to be difficult for anyone to beat Tracey Hannah and she prevailed just (even with a crash on the first corner of the track) showing she is currently Australia’s fastest female on a bike!
Wearing the evidence of a crash Tracey takes the win by 3 seconds. The flannelette on her left arm is to hide the Australian flag sleeve she won last year, an interesting rule means she wasn’t allowed to display it or could have been fined $2000.Tegan Molloy grabbed third in her first senior year!
Elite Men racing and there was much debate around the pits about who would make the podium, there was any number of riders who could make the top 10, it was going to be tight. Would it be A�one of the locals such as the Pannozzos or would it be an experienced world cup rider like Chris Kovarik or one of the new age of talent like Lucas, Moir, Fearon or Brosnan claiming the win?
As we saw all day times dropped as riders kept coming, despite the deteriorating track, riders would inch further ahead by a couple of hundreds of a second before a new group would come through and drop the time by a few seconds. This went on all race. The top five was Mick Hannah who had sustained an injury during practice, Jack Moir on his new bike in fourth, a confident Dean Lucas who excels on this type of track, a fast looking Connor Fearon in second and none other than reigning champion A�Troy Brosnan in first place. It was late in the day when champagne was sprayed and riders headed home after a great weekend.
2015 National Champion Troy Brosnan.Connor Fearon was looking fast all week, second on the day!Third place for Dean Lucas.Fourth for Jack Moir aboard his new bike.Not quite the result Chris Kovarik was looking for but 10th in a stacked field is a strong effort.Jackson Davis was pinned, top 5 pinned before he crashed!Slideways!There is a lot of time to fill when it comes to racing sometimes, David McMillan makes friends while Tim Eaton captures the proof!
See results below;
Results from MTBA (http://mtb.subaru.com.au/):
Junior Women:
Junior Men:
Elite Women:
Elite Men:
Man and machine!The coveted winners jersey.Plenty of laughs once racing had finished.Great to see some international experience at the Australian races.At this point he knew he had mucked up!
Plenty more pictures to come so check back soon.
Images: Downhill247/RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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Seeding had its ups and downs for different people!
Today riding started getting heated as seeding was upon us, this would be the day that saw riders have their first official runs against the clock. A practice session earlier in the day allowed riders to sort out any last minute line choices. Unfortunately there were a few crashes throughout the day so best wishes to those involved! We are going to let you know that Troy Brosnan and Tracey Hannah were fastest in Men and Women’s seeding respectively and leave you with some pictures, enjoy!
Fastest seeding rider, Troy Brosnan showing us some hot, nasty speed!Fastest female seeder, Tracey Hannah.Spotted in his natural habitat Chris Kovarik.Remy Morton getting close but not too close to the tree on his right.Dean Lucas obviously felt better than a one armed watch salesman today to take 3rd in seeding.Looking sharp.Just pull the trigger and go!Patchy light was another challenge for riders.Whoops!Chris Pannozzo has been looking fast all week, a dark horse for the finals no doubt!Getting wild in the dust.The view for photographers just before a cloud of dust and dirt and rocks engulf you!Connor Fearon wrenching for himself with his regular World Cup mechanic MIA.He held it!Tegan Molloy had a few issues in her seeding but didn’t crash!Finals tomorrow!
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It isn’t all fun and games in Bright! Well okay there was a lot of fun and Timmy Eaton and David McMillan did find some games…
Day 2 in Bright and more practice before seeding tomorrow, the track is really starting to get blown out now. Riders were saying it is in the same condition now as when finals was last year and there is still 2 more days of riding to go! In other news Mic Hannah shouldered a tree, at a pace as well, whether he bounces back for tomorrow is yet to be seen because there was talk of broken bones and he was looking very ginger when we saw him. In fact we saw countless riders crash today, with the back of corners being washed out and big holes opening up on the track it was inevitable, staying up come finals will move you a whole lot of places up the result sheet that’s for sure!
Mic Hannah wasn’t the only rider who crashed!Riders were going between bright sun and dark forest, something that took some adjusting to.Jackson Davis has been looking fast all weekend!The new road gap near the to of the course isn’t an issue for most riders as they carry plenty of speed coming into it. Connor Clancy showing us how it is done.The Patrol FJC Mountain Bike Team is here with two of their riders and they are looking fast! Good to see them making the journey from their overseas base.Jackson Frew is one of the younger riders going for gold, he will no doubt be in the mix come Sunday.Aiden Varley is a local around these parts and will be a threat.Shelly Flood is quick and when we say that we don’t say quick for a girl because she is fast in anyone’s language.Tegan Molloy is another one of the fast women on track here in Bright, she will be looking to making a mark in her first Elite Championships.The reigning female champ is Tracey Hannah and she isn’t going to give up her title without a fight!Josh Button is a bit of a unknown not having raced many races lately but never rule him out!Claire Buchar is another fast lady, this weeks race could be anyones and the same rings true across all the categories!Andrew Crimmins would like to launch his international season with a National Champs win.Remy Morton is on a new bike here this week (we would really like to show you but you just have to wait a little while….)Jack Moir is loving his new bike saying it felt super comfortable and that was only after three runs!David McMillan, super stylish but hampered this weekend by an injury.Dean Lucas, another rider who will be on a new bike soon! Looking fast, a good result here for Deanos Machinos is quite possible!Timmy Eaton had a crash last run of the day but he is tough so it was no issue!There is some greenery amongst the dust here!The golden hour comes late in the day when everything looks good!
Seeding tomorrow check back then!
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The track at Bright is very similar to last year, there are a few additions, such as these corners at the bottom which Graeme Mudd is investigating.
For the second year in a row we are at Bright in the Victorian Alps for the MTBA National Championships. With the track being very similar to last year riders were up to speed early, the general consensus was that the track is already rougher than last year. The three most noticeable differences to the track this year are the new road gap at the top, the new rock garden half way down and a new finishing straight. We will leave you with a few pictures as we battle internet speed issues!
Connor Fearon up to speed early sending the higher line through the chute.Dean Lucas checking the lines but looking fast when he was coming down.David ‘Mayhem’ McMillan getting wild! The hashtag #mayhemdave celebrates it’s one year anniversary at this event.Tracey Hannah will be looking to retain her national championships winners sleeve.Older brother ‘Sik Mik’ Hannah looked fast on track.
Check back soon as we get some photos loaded for you all!
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