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Troy Brosnan wins in Thredbo to claim his first race in Elite

Published Date

Written by Stuart Plant

Troy Brosnan (SA), the dual Junior World Downhill Champion has sent a message to the field in his first race in Elite Men, winning the Real Insurance Gravity Cup in Thredbo from Sam Hill (WA) and Jared Graves (QLD). Troy’s time (5:31.54) was the fastest by over 2 seconds, showing he has carried forward the amazing form he displayed at the September UCI World Championships.

Significant rain overnight and a few showers throughout race day weren’t an issue, the Thredbo track was riding at its fastest delivering excellent racing. Troy said “It was pretty much the perfect weekend, I’ve been in off-season mode a little bit, but I’ve done some training coming in to this race”.

Sam was happy that good friend and team-mate Sam Hill was also on the podium, and happy with his race run at Thredbo. “The run was pinned the whole way down, the track was really fast so I gave it everything, I came in a bit hot to some corners but just ripped around and held on”.

Sam Hill, triple Downhill World Champion, has pleased the Australian mountain biking community by saying that he intends to compete in the whole Real Insurance Australian MTB Season. Whilst still recovering and building speed from injuries in 2011, he started the season in impressive fashion (5:33.87) with a second place to Troy.

Sam said “It was a good run, I tried to ride smooth and keep speed up everywhere”. He addressed the uniqueness of the Thredbo track “it’s a hard track to ride on, it wears you out, the track is about as long as you get anywhere in the world, so it’s definitely a bit of a challenge”.

Jared Graves, the fastest rider in seeding from Saturday came in third (5:34.63). “Overall I’m pretty happy with my run, and especially to be there right with Troy & Sam, a good day”. Jared, a Four-Cross World Champion and World Cup Series winner, intends to transition to what has been his second sport. “I’ve had a good 4 years in Four-Cross and now I’m looking to see what I can do in Downhill”.

Tracey Hannah (QLD), the 2006 Junior World Champion, set the pace on seeding day for the Elite Women and did not disappoint on race day. Tracey finished with a blistering time (6:15.73) that saw her win her first major race on return to the sport after a 4 year break. “It was a really clean, epic run, despite my wheel being thrown out at one point and my front foot coming off, I was going hard the whole way”.

Tracey will return to international racing in 2012. “I’ll be focusing next year on the World Cups that give me more experience for World Championships, I’ll be aiming to get back up to international speed”.

Second place in Elite Women went to Claire Whiteman (ACT) and third place to Michelle Crisp (NSW).

Joey Vejvoda (NSW), a local rider from Bredbo won the U19 men (5:44.66) by less than a second from hometown friend and rival Thomas Crimmins (5:45.34). Joey is talented in both 4X and Downhill and spent 2011 in the National Downhill team. This time has reaped rewards: “Going overseas and racing world champs was a really good experience for me, it really improved my skills”.

Danielle Beecroft (NSW) has stepped up to the U19 category and maintained her winning form with a confident win (6:54.70) in Thredbo. Danielle is looking forward to the challenge of international racing that the U19 category offers. “I’m aiming for a podium or even a win at the 2012 World Championship” said a focused Danielle.

Andrew Crimmins (NSW), the reigning U15 National Champion stepped up to the U17s and managed a great time (5:57.75) despite having a small crash during his race run. In the U17 Women’s field, local rider and junior to watch Tegan Molloy (NSW) set an amazing time (6:42.56) that would have placed her second in the Elite Women’s field.

The next round of the Real Insurance Australian MTB Season brought to you by MTBA unites the Gravity Cup and the All Mountain Cup, and will be held at Mt Buller on January 20-22.

All race information from this weekend and for the whole season is available at the Real Insurance 2011/12 Australian MTB Season website.

Elite Men

1 Troy Brosnan SA 5:31.54

2 Sam Hill WA 5:33.87

3 Jared Graves QLD 5:34.63

4 Ben Cory ACT 5:38.76

5 Rhys Atkinson NSW 5:42.15

6 Graeme Mudd NSW 5:42.82

7 Ben Power QLD 5:44.23

8 Rick Boyer NSW 5:44.30

9 Brendan Moon NSW 5:46.79

10 Cody Eichorn NSW 5:47.15

Elite Women

1 Tracey Hannah QLD 6:15.73

2 Claire Whiteman ACT 6:56.24

3 Michelle Crisp NSW 6:59.05

4 Holly Baarspul WA 7:25.46

5 Trudy Nicholas ACT 7:27.98

6 Philippa Rostan NSW

7:55.33

U19 Men

1 Joey Vejvoda NSW 5:44.66

2 Thomas Crimmins NSW 5:45.34

3 Connor Fearon SA 5:49.13

4 Jack Moir NSW 5:53.69

5 Henry Blake SA 5:55.05

6 Brent Smith NSW 5:55.25

7 Conor Bullard ACT 5:55.58

8 David McMillan ACT 5:58.00

9 Luke Ellison NT 5:58.34

10 Trent Piribauer VIC 6:03.59

U19 Women

1 Danielle Beecroft NSW 6:54.70

2 Ella Scanlan-Bloor NSW 8:21.03

3 Gemma Greentree NSW 10:32.41  

For further information after the race weekend, contact MTBA – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.