Our man on the ground hit up Thredbo for the Flow Rollercoaster NSW State Enduro Championships, which was being held on the same weekend as the Red Ass NSW State downhill Series (check out our report for that hereA�). Check out what he had to say about a fun event;
This past weekend the Flow Rollercoaster NSW championships was held in Thredbo. With the recently built flow trail at Thredbo playing host to the race, it was sure to be an exciting weekend. Rocky Trail Entertainment are the event organisers in NSW for the rapidly growing enduro/all mountain format and have already run two Flow Rollercoaster races this year at Ourimbah and Del Rio. However this race was a standalone event, as it had a championship status there were no series points. Arriving late Friday afternoon it was off to the registration area, there I met Juliane and Martin who run Rocky Trail.
The next morning it was an early start as practice and racing was all in one day. Whilst waiting for the lift to start I was given a rundown of the track from a rider who had been practicing the previous day and it only add to the excitement when he told me the speeds he had been reaching. Heading up on the lift it was a cold day but there was no rain. After doing numerous practice runs and having an awesome time, it was off for lunch before race runs. In this time the weather changed for the worst and heading up of the lift for the races saw rain and even hail. Arriving at the top riders were reluctant to head down to the start, as it was the only cover from the weather. Arriving at the start gate saw sleet and rain which would affect the track drastically.
Alpine areas are partial to weather conditions that can change almost instantly and they did!.
With the format riders were able to head down as they pleased, with top riders such as Dan MacMunn and Ryan De La Rue being some of the first to head down. Their runs would be in extremely muddy conditions, along with most of the field. Heading down the track it was extremely slippery compared to practice. After the first runs were completed it was Dan MacMunn who had the fastest time. There were numerous riders opting out of a second run due to the weather. Heading up for aA�second run it would be a gamble as to whether the track would be worse or not. Getting to the bottom after theA�second runA�it was evident that the track was in a lot better condition, drying out a great deal, after having some many riders over it.
Sunny skies and a clean bike/kit but not for long!
At presentations it was clear that the riders that headed up for a second run were rewarded, local Tomas Crimmins took the win from Victoriana��s Dan MacMunn and Ryan De La Rue in 2nd and 3rd. Whilst in the women’s it was Sarah Booth taking the win from Tegan Molloy in 2nd and Vanessa Thompson in 3rd. With the event being run alongside the first round of the Red Ass NSW State downhill numerous downhill riders choose to do both events, in total there were 141 competitors. After presentations riders and spectators headed to the pump track for a fun contest. It was evident that this had been a successful event which Rocky Trail had put on and I would strongly recommend it to riders.
Thredbo, an old favourite, a classic shot of Ryan Olinn jumping the top rock garden.
The Red Ass NSW State series kicked off over the weekend on Thredboa��s famous Cannonball run. With around 250 riders making their way down, to get some early season points in, it was going to be a wicked weekend of racing. Saturday would also play host to the Flow Rollercoaster NSW State Champs, on Thredboa��s new 5.6km beginner downhill, followed by a Pump Track Challenge in the evening!
Good conditions but in Alpine areas this can change almost instantly.
Saturday saw practice get underway under bluebird skies but these were set to change quickly. Riders started getting some good practice runs in early in the day to try and beat that famous Thredbo arm pump come race day.
Currently in hot form, Jack Moir was one of the favourites but unfortunately a crash ruled him out of contention.
Jack Moir unfortunately had a crash in Saturday practice and ended up with quite a large cut on his ankle which ruled him out for the DH on Sunday.
The sun rose over Thredbo on the Sunday and we knew we were in for some fast racing. Saturdaya��s rain had left the track in near perfect condition on Sunday morning and riders were punching out laps like there was no tomorrow with grins to be seen everywhere. As a few sneaky race lines started to form on the hill, the talk in the pits was about who your money was on for Elite Men, now that hot favourite Jack Moir was out. The Crimminsa�� brothers were on everyonea��s minds as they had the home track advantage. As was Ben Cory, who is always one to watch at Thredbo and not forgetting the likes of McMillan, Vejvoda, Ellison and Eaton who was returning to racing from an injury.
Joel Willis took the number one spot in qualifying early in the day.
Qualifying got underway in the Under 19a��s and it was Joel Willis who would take the top spot ahead of Ryan Oa��linn & Jackson Frew. In the Elite Female, Tegan Molloy showed her dominance in Thredbo to qualify first by over 25 seconds ahead of Danielle Beecroft & Kellie Weinert. In the mena��s it was Andrew Crimmins in 3rd, Vejvoda 2nd & Thomas Crimmins 1st. We were in for a family showdown!
After heading off early and setting a blistering time Ben Dengate had a long wait in the hot seat to see if anyone could better his time. In the end he finished third.
Finals got underway with Under 19a��s off first. Ben Dengate set a blistering time early in the field and held the hot seat for the majority of Under 19a��s race, up until the final 2 riders. Ryan Oa��Linn then crossed the line nearly 6 seconds up on Dengate to take the hot seat. It was only Joel Willis who could now snatch the win from Oa��Linn and thata��s just what he did. Joel Willis crossing with a 5:50.73 to get the Under 19a��s win.
Sarah Booth put an early claim in for the fastest Elite Female time.
Next up were Elite Female riders. Sarah Booth set the early pace putting down a 6:44.47. Young Kellie Weinert was next and was just short of Booths time crossing 0.13 shy.
Danielle Beecroft sending it on her way to second place.
Danielle Beecroft then smashed Booths time by 10 seconds to go into the hot seat but was still 13 seconds back on Molloya��s qualifying time.
Tegan Molloy showed her dominance at Thredbo by taking another win by a huge margin.
Tegan boosted from the final trees way up on Beecrofta��s time to cross in a 6:16.03. It is so good to see such close and competitive racing in the female classes. 3 of the top 4 girls are all 18 & under and putting down sub 7 minute times at Thredbo. WOW!
It was now time for the main event, the Elite Mena��s field were about to put damage into the Thredbo downhill. Phil Piazza set the early pace putting down a 5:38 to go into the hot seat. Thredbo local Tim Windshuttle was on for a good run but had a crash and fell just short of Piazza.
Timmy Eaton used this race to return to racing,we will be having a chat with Timmy regarding this soon, watch this space!
Tim Eaton then had a crack in his return to racing after an elbow injury but also fell short of Piazza. Jake Newell then came down to put nearly 5 seconds into Piazzas time and claim the hot seat. This didna��t last for long though as Ben Cory set a blistering time crossing the line slightly faster than Crimmina��s qualifying time of 5:31. Luke Ellison then sprinted to the line to slip in just behind Cory.
David McMillan was looking good on the bike as usual and put in a solid final run.
Dave McMillan whipped his way through the final jumps to nudge Cory to 2nd by only half a second.
Well done Andrew Crimins! His first Elite race and what a result watch out for him and his brother as they continue to progress.
Andrew Crimmins racing his first ever Elite race came flying into the finish arena on the run of his life. The crowd erupted as the 15 year old smashed McMillana��s time by 3 seconds. The machine that is Joey Vejvoda had some work to do and he came so close to knocking off junior Crimmins but fell just short with a 5:28. The look on Andrews face was indescribable, knowing in his first ever Elite race, that the only one that could take the title from him was his older brother. It was now confirmed that it could be the Crimmins brothers on the 2 top steps today!
All eyes were now on the final trees to see what Thomas a�?The Guna�? Crimmins could pull off. He launched from the final trees and it was going to be close, real close. He sprinted to the line to cross 0.59 of a second in front of his younger brother. Too see two brothers aged 15 & 17 taking out 1st & 2nd respectively in an Elite field is just unbelievable! The last 10 minutes had just been the most exciting racing I think we had ever seen in Thredbo.
Thredbo was a family affair, the Crimmins family claimed positions one and two.
Times were getting faster and faster and in the end a family showdown which nearly brought mum & dad to tears!
Joey Vejvoda rounded out the top 3 making it a Bredbo trifecta!
T. Crimmins 1st, A. Crimmins 2nd, Vejvoda 3rd, McMillan 4th, Cory 5th. Ironically the top 3 riders are all from the tiny town of Bredbo located between Thredbo & Canberra. Whata��s in the water in Bredbo you ask? Not sure as I dona��t think its drinkable!
Images and Story: A� RonnieGrammatica.com (http://www.ronniegrammatica.com)
Thredbo has the highest lift point above sea level in Australia at 2037m AHD. Photo: Ronnie Grammatica
Thredbo is one of the oldest mountain bike racing destinations in Australia and we thought we would hit you up with some Fun Facts;
1 – Your wheels turn just over 1800 times to cover the whole distance of the track (providing you don’t ET every jump!).
2 – Assuming they hit the jump and cleaned it riders would only need to hit the new jump in the middle of the track 345 times to cover the whole distance of theA�track.
3 – The average rider would burn over 500 calories on race weekend from just riding their bike alone!
4 – Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in AustraliaA�at 2,228m above sea level and is named after a Polish freedom fighter.
5 -A�The airA�pressure in your tyreA�at the top of the track wouldA�read 1 psiA�higher on a guageA�than if you were reading itA�at the beach.
The Elite Men’s podium at Thredbo required around 300 runs to determine the final outcome! Photo: Ronnie Grammatica
Just like round one Thredbo is a classic stop on the downhill racing calendar in Australia. Here Caroline Buchannan hits the top of the course.
Fast and dry conditions set the stage for the second round of the 2013 Subaru Gravity Cup series at Thredbo, similar to what we experienced last round at Mt Buller. The weather was good, just a little windy, and the atmosphere was great, with a good number of spectators turning up to cheer the riders on.
The Thredbo crew did a good job getting the track ready for the race with the course nice and smooth all the way down to the bottom. It was good to see that they also made a few changes on the track to make it faster.
Ask many a rider an they will stay this course isA�the hardest in the series. By the time the riders get to the bottom of the track their energy is spent and they dig deep to muster up enough energy to pedal to the finish line, trying to get the win.
Sam Hill gave us a glimpse of what he had in store for the weekend in the seeding on Saturday by securing the fastest time, a clear 5.65 seconds over Connor Fearon and 7.16 seconds in front of Jack Moir. The weekend ended with Sam in 1st with a time of 5’21”95, Jack in 2nd and Connor in 3rd. It was well earned first podium finish for he Yeti OZ team rider, Jack, just a couple of days after his 19th birthday.Jack Moir getting super wild! Second on your birthday is a nice little present to yourself…Third place for the second race in a row, consistent if nothing else!Three times BMX world champion Caroline Buchanan won in the elite female category with 6’13”78, the Canadian rider Clare Buchar claimed second place, and the 2004 XC Olympian Lisa Mathison took third.
Round 2 hasn’t changed the overall rankings, with Sam Hill and Caroline Buchanan continuing to lead in the Gravity Cup rankings for their respective categories.
The Thredbo local and a Giant team rider, Thomas Crimmins, took first place in Under 19 on the dusty and tough course at Thredbo with a time of 5’32”69. Here he shows us he isn’t just fast on a downhill bike!Luke Ellison posted a time of 5’34”97 to claim second spot in Under 19, followed by Dean Lucas in third.Over to the final junior women results, Tegan Molloy took first place with Danielle Beecroft caming into second. In third place was Kellie Weinert.With the 201 plate Danielle Beecroft finished second.Andrew Crimmins, with a time of 5’28”14, took the win in the U17. This super quick guy had the third quickest time overall, just 6 seconds behind the legendary Sam Hill. Could this 15 year old local boy from Bredbo be the future of our sport?Chris Kovarik riding the tight wood section just after the big sender.Ben Hill on Zerode riding through the new section that bends around the True Blue rock garden. This section is pretty rough and blown out!Jared Rando – the Giant Australia ambassador and junior coach – riding the Bunny Walk section.Dean Lucas brought it home in third place.Troy Brosnan was happy to be back on his bike, even if it wasn’t to race.David McMillan seeded in 5th but came 8th at the end of the weekend, you know he is capable of that podium spot though.Caution downhill247.com supporters on road! Thanks everyone for the support across the country!
With a short seriesA�we are rapidly drawing to the end!
Article and images credited to: A� RonnieGrammatica.com
Chris Kovarik is always a threat and seeded in seventh, expect him to better this come finals. Photo: Ronnie Grammatica
Riders are experiencing warm conditions for the second round of the Australian National Series, currently beingA�held at Thredbo. After a few wet races there recently this is nothing to complain about though. Seeding results are as follows;
Under 19 Male
1. Thomas Crimmins 5.34.20
2. Dean Lucas 5.37.40 + 3.20
3. Luke Ellison 5.38.26 + 4.06
4. Brent Smith 5.39.26 + 5.06
5. Aiden Varley 5.41.83 + 7.63
Under 19 Female
1. Tegan Molloy 6.18.58
2. Danielle Beecroft 6.28.68 + 8.10
3. Kellie Weinert 6.40.79 + 22.21
Elite Female
1. Caroline Buchannan 6.15.54
2. Claire Buchar 6.17.16 + 1.62
3. Lisa Mathison 6.21.02 + 5.48
4. Genevieve McKew 6.43.68 + 28.14
5. Madelline Taylor 6.51.42 + 35.88
Elite Male
1. Sam Hill 5.22.44
2. Connor Fearon 5.28.09 + 5.65
3. Jack Moir 5.29.60 + 7.16
4. Joey Vejvoda 5.31.43 + 8.99
5. David McMillan 5.33.85 + 11.41
Looking at the results in Elite Men it is interesting to note that four out of five are riders who have just stepped up from the junior ranks!
Tegan Molloy was the fastest Junior Female but we expect a close race in finals. Photo: Ronnie Grammatica
The final round of the NSW State Series fittingly was held on one of Australia’s most famous, toughest and longest downhill tracks!
Thredbo resort held the 5th and final round of the Red Ass NSW-ACT Downhill State Series 2012 this weekend. Riders inundated the village to ride the legendary Cannon Ball trail and to see who would be crowned the overall champions for 2012.
Ben Cory would know this track like the back of his hand after racing here so often!
In the Elite male category, the old hand Ben Corey was victorious this weekend followed by Jack Moir. The young Graeme Mudd came in third place, which was enough to secure him the overall championship title for 2012.
No surprise Tegam Molloy took the victory on her home track!
Maybe ita��s no surprise that Tegan Molloy took out first place on her local track, with Sarah Booth in 2nd place and Danielle Beecroft in 3rd. Sarah was crowned the 2012 overall series champion following a consistent performance over the season.
Pretty standard Thredbo weather!
The weekend started out well with the sun shining, everyone smiling, although a little windy. Typical of the Alps, by Sunday the weather had taken a turn back to winter with wind and sleet seeing the Elite males off for their seeding runs.
A long way down still to go with a slightly different starting position!
Thredbo is renowned as the oldest DH track in Australia accessible by chairlift, and also as being one of the toughest tracks in the series. The track measures around 3km in length with over 500 metres of vertical. We could see that the Thredbo MTB crew had worked hard in the lead up to the weekend to build some new features. On show this weekend was a brand new double jump just above the a�?Bunny Walka�� section and a new step down jump at the bottom of the course.
Snowgums! The old girl got a run this weekend.
For those of you that know the track, this year the top section of the track that follows the gravel access road was closed for maintenance works. This meant that riders had to take the old Snowgums chairlift up and the race began at the beginning of what is known as the a�?Kareela Highwaya��.
Andrew Crimmins had the new section sorted!Tim Eaton had no problems on ‘Snakes and Ladders’ one of the more technical sections of the track!Wherever you can, whenever you can…The Lusty’s Industries/ Orange Bike team chilling under their tent.Sara Booth won the Elite female category.Local rider Joey Vejvoda showing off his skills on the new double jump.Jack Moir came 2nd in Elite Men.Thomas Crimmins popping off the double jump onto the lower ski runs, on his way to 4th position in Elite.Hi five to Greame Mudd, the young gun from Maitland who won the Red Ass NSW-ACT Elite Downhill State Series for 2012.
The RedAss Downhill NSW/ACT State Series 2012 is over but we are looking forward for the 2013 edition already!
