NewsLatest Schedule for 2009-2010 national Series
Tuesday, February 2, 2010Download the latest schedule here.
Document Download:
0910NationalSeriesScheduleV7b.pdf (PDF - 75 Kb) 
Wall and Norris nail debut wins
Saturday, January 23, 2010Saturday 23 January 2010
It may have taken her four seasons but
at round two of the 2009/10 Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series in
Shepparton Joanna Wall has proven that persistence pays by taking her
first win while in the men’s race Lachlan Norris added to his growing
reputation.
After finishing second at the Australian
Championships one week ago Norris was a man on a mission setting a pace
in the opening laps that only Sid Taberlay could follow.
Taberlay
and Norris worked well together to build an almost two-minute lead on
their nearest challengers until Taberlay, who looked the stronger of
the two, punctured near the end of the second of six laps.
Left out in front on his own Norris went in search of a late birthday present two days after turning 24-years-of-age.
The
ever improving Victorian only just managed to hold onto his advantage
as he fought out a two-up sprint with Ben Henderson who rode out of his
skin on the final lap to get on terms with Norris just in sight of the
finish line.
Third place went to Queensland’s Aiden Lefmann,
who appeared to relish the warm conditions, and despite his costly
puncture on top of having started at the back row of the grid Taberlay
showed his class fighting his way back to finish fourth.
But
for Norris, the 2009 under-23 Australian and Oceania champion, his
first win in a national series race at the elite level was confirmation
he is on the right path to achieve his dream of racing at the London
2012 Olympics.
“It’s different to win an under-23 race
finishing mid field in the elite. Winning it overall gives me good
confidence going into the rest of the season and now I know I can beat
all these guys and will definitely be up there,” Norris said
immediately after his win.
“It’s been a slow progression but
I’m getting there. Hopefully in another couple of years I can be
stronger again and be a bit of a show for London.
“I’m pleased I could get one under the belt. I needed to have a win to set myself up for future wins.”
With
a lap to go Norris was more than one-minute clear of Henderson and
looked a safe beat for the win but with the fatigue taking its toll he
only just had enough left in the tank.
“I was slowing down you
could say. The lights were fading. I was pretty much in the box just
hanging on,” Norris said of the final lap.
“I didn’t realise how close he was until the last little bit and it was a lot closer than I thought.
“I
didn’t panic. I just thought I can only do what I can do and I knew if
I held him off down the last descent I would probably be able to have
the best run through the last corner and take it out, which I managed
to do.”
One of the surprise results of the day was that the
recently crowned Australian champion, Daniel McConnell, didn’t finish
the race and appeared to be suffering from cycling’s equivalent to a
premiership hangover.
In the women’s race national champion,
Rowena Fry, looked set to collected yet another win after building a
commanding lead by the end of the second of four laps.
Attempting
to ride through the rocky section of the course, while most others
negotiated it by foot, Fry had a front wheel puncture. Despite her
efforts to quickly replace the tube she lost more than four minutes and
fell back to mid field.
At the head of the race Joanna Wall found herself in the lead with Torq team-mate Jenni King hot on her heels.
Wall
made the most of her opportunity and pushed home for the first Jayco
Australian MTB Series win of her career ahead of King, while Fry fought
her way back to finish third.
“It’s been a long time coming.
I’ve wanted a national round for a long time and this is my first one.
Never give up,” Wall said of her victory.
“I paced myself and rode a steady race.
“It
was fairly controlled on the first lap because it’s such a long climb
no one wanted to go to hard off the front because you’d get caught
pretty quickly up there. It was hard technical course that had a bit of
everything for everyone.”
For Fry the experience of puncturing at a crucial time of the race may prove valuable in the future.
The
Tasmanian managed to claw back all but 30 seconds of the more than four
minutes she lost with her puncture but if she adopted different tactics
early in the race she may have had enough to win.
“It probably
serves me right for taking it easy in the early part of the race. I
really should have gassed it because then I would have had a bit more
time up my sleeve,” the Australian champion said.
“I was riding really well but that’s mountain biking for you. It’s always good fun.”
Racing
in round two of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series continues in
Shepparton on Sunday where the downhill and short courses cross country
will be contested.
Cross Country Results
Elite men
1. Lachlan Norris (VIC) – 2:17.44
2. Ben Henderson (ACT)
3. Aiden Lefmann (QLD)
4. Sid Taberlay (TAS)
5. Andrew Blair (NSW)
6. Joshua Carlson (NSW)
7. Daniel Braunsteins (VIC) under-23
8. Jason English (NSW)
9. Paul van der Ploeg (VIC) under-23
10. Nick Both (NSW)
11. Adrian Jackson (VIC)
12. Luke Fetch (VIC) under-23
13. Travis Frisby (SA) under-23
14. Merlin Spranz (SA) under-23
15. Tim Wynan (NSW)
Elite women
1. Joanna Wall (VIC) – 1:50.35
2. Jenni King (VIC)
3. Rowena Fry (TAS)
4. Heather Logie (ACT)
5. Tory Thomas (VIC)
6. Rebecca Henderson (ACT) under-23
7. Sarah Holmes (SA) under-23
8. Therese Rhodes (SA) under-23
9. Katherine O’Shea (VIC)
10. Kelly Bartlett (VIC)
-ENDS-
For further information (media only) or to apply for accreditation, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
Brilliant Buchanan
Saturday, January 23, 2010 Friday 22 January 2010
Round two of the Jayco Australian
Mountain Bike Series may have been the first time the new 4X track in
Shepparton has been raced on but it was a familiar result with world
champion Caroline Buchanan going out a convincing winner in the women’s
event.
In complete contrast it was an American in his first 4X
race who was the best of the men with Barry Nobles, one of the world’s
leading BMX riders, showing a clean pair of wheels to the Australians.
Buchanan
got the better of her regular rival, Sarhsa Huntington, who once again
had to settle for second place just one week after collecting silver at
the Australia Championships, while third went to Loren Vanetie.
To
give the women more racing they contested their earlier rounds among
the ‘sport’ category men, which the world champion enjoyed and also won
comfortably.
“Sarhsa and I have raced each other every round in
the national series for the past few years and every race she is
getting closer. She’s top 10 in the world and awesome competition for
me,” the humble Buchanan said.
“Today it was really great that
we were able to mix it up amongst the men which made our first three
races more challenging. It was good to race against the boys again
because I haven’t done that since I was about 11.”
On the topic
of the new course Buchanan rated as one of the best she has seen and
dubbed it a world class facility with plenty of obstacles to keep you
on your toes.
“This place is definitely where it’s at with 4X at the moment,” she said.
Buchanan
went onto encourage more women into the sport and showing that actions
speak louder than words will be hosting an all girls clinic at Mt
Buller next weekend.
The men’s race was much tighter affair than the Buchanan dominated women’s event.
Nobles,
all the way from Alabama, went into the final as the favourite thanks
to his strong performances in the earlier rounds despite it being his
first 4X event.
He got the jump out of the gate but national
series leader David Habicht and Richard Levinson closed in on him at
the first turn.
Levinson provided the biggest challenge into turn two and three even managing to take the lead momentarily.
However,
the American didn’t come all the way down under to surrender his strong
position on the track easily and fought his way back to take the win.
Levinson,
in his desperation, lost control on the last corner to be overtaken by
Habicht who claimed second to hold onto his national series lead.
Levinson took third with fourth going to Michael Jobson.
“We jumped out of the gate and it was all pretty even,” a jovial Levinson said.
“I took the first corner with a good line and from there it was anyone’s.
“There was pushing, shoving, positions swapping left, right and centre and it was just good awesome racing. Some good fun.”
But
it was the American, Nobles, who really turned heads in his first 4X
race putting his vast BMX experience to good use with so many
similarities between the two styles of racing.
“I’ve always wanted to do it and always had a 4X bike,” Nobles said of his win on debut.
“I
worked myself up a little bit for the final and coming out of the gate
I didn’t feel anywhere near as strong as I did earlier in the day. I
just wasn’t relaxed enough but I did manage to hold them off to the
end.”
Nobles missed his chance to make the USA team for the
Beijing Olympics due an knee injury six months before the Games and now
has London 2012 in his sights.
In the under-19 men Blake Nielson took the win and Canberra’s Max Hughes was too good the under-17 race.
Racing
in round two of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series continues in
Shepparton over the weekend with the cross country being contested on
Saturday and the downhill on Sunday.
4X Results in brief
Elite men
1. Barry Nobles
2. David Habicht
3. Richard Levinson
4. Michael Jobson
Elite women
1. Caroline Buchanan
2. Sarsha Huntington
3. Loren Vanetie
Under-19 men
1. Blake Nielson
2. James Shepherd
3. Joe Vejvoda
4. Connor Fearon
Under-17 men
1. Max Hughes
2. Cameron Ryan
3. Jordan Butler
4. Luke Ellison
-ENDS-
For further information (media only) or to apply for accreditation, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
Document Download:
0910SheppartonR2_4X_Tree.pdf (PDF - 82 Kb)
Nation's best descend on Shepparton
Thursday, January 21, 2010Thursday 21 January 2010
The 2010 Jayco Australian Mountain
Bike National Series returns this weekend, with world 4X champion
Caroline Buchanan, Beijing Olympian Daniel McConnell and Oceania
champion Rowena Fry leading the charge at the second leg of the series
in Shepparton.
Kicking off this Friday night (January 22),
Australia’s best 4X riders will test their skills and speed on the
newly-opened Kialla track, before the action heads down the road to the
challenging course at Mount Major in Dookie.
Fresh from taking
out his first national cross country crown at the Australian
Championships in Adelaide last weekend, Beijing Olympian Daniel
McConnell arrives in Shepparton bursting with confidence.
Although
the 24-year-old Gippsland rider has earned the right to be labelled
favourite, it will be fellow Victorian Lachlan Norris from Castlemaine
who will be looking to burst his bubble on Saturday.
Norris,
who celebrates his 23rd birthday today, finished just adrift of
McConnell in his first year in the open elite category at the national
championships, and although they are good mates off the track, the heat
is sure to be on as soon as their wheels hit the dirt this weekend.
“We
push each other so it’s great competition. Off the bike we’re good
mates, but on the bike it’s hell for leather,” said Norris, the former
under 23 national and Oceania champion.
“Dan’s one of my good
mates, we’ve been through a lot together over the last four years and
have lived together when we’ve been competing overseas.”
“I pulled up well after Adelaide and I’m in good form, so I’m pretty keen for a win this weekend.”
The
challenging course on Mount Major is dominated by a start hill that
will take more than 11 minutes for most to climb setting the pattern
for the rest of the race.
“I haven’t ridden on the course before so it will be a mystery. I heard it’s pretty fresh so it will be rough,” Norris said.
In the women’s event, Launceston’s Rowena Fry will start as the one to beat.
Having
secured victory at the first leg of the series in Hobart, followed by a
comfortable win at the Australian Championships in Adelaide, the
Oceania champion should have no trouble accounting for her rivals this
weekend.
One of Australia’s best prospects for London 2012, Fry
is one of only a handful of elite mountain bike riders to retain her
funding from Cycling Australia.
On current form Heather Logie (ACT), who has come second to Fry in their last two outings, will provide the strongest challenge.
The
4X track at Kialla will make its debut on Friday night, and Canberra’s
Caroline Buchanan will don her world champion rainbow jersey for just
the second time this year.
Victory is almost a certainty for the 19-year-old, who is also one of Australia’s brightest hopes for BMX gold in London 2012.
The
men’s 4X event will have an international flavour, with Diego Alvaro
from Andorra and Barry Nobles from the United States featuring in a
fairly open field. Ryan Hunt (NSW) and Ashley Grey (Vic) are likely to
be amongst the contenders.
A favorite for riders and spectators alike, the downhill event is not for the faint-hearted.
On
Sunday all eyes will be on one of the nation’s brightest young
prospects, 16-year-old South Australian, Troy Brosnan who blitzed the
field to take out the under-19 national crown on the weekend.
Despite
admitting to making a few mistakes, Brosnan continued to add weight to
his growing reputation with an extremely swift time that put him up
amongst his more senior and experienced peers in the elite category.
In
the open elite categories, defending series champion Leigh Douglas from
Canada (second at nationals, winner in Hobart) looks to have the
advantage in the women’s event.
In a strong field, the men’s
race will be an enticing battle between in-form New South Wales riders
Shaun O’Connor and Joshua Button, who filled the minor placings on the
podium at nationals, and Hobart runner-up Amiel Cavalier.
Competition Schedule
Round 2 -– Shepparton, Victoria
Friday, 22 January
4.30pm: 4X - motos
6:30pm: 4X - finals
Saturday, 23 January
8:30am: Cross Country - elite, U23, U19, U17, veteran, master and super-master women
11:00am: Cross country - elite and U23 men
2:30pm: Cross country - U19, U17, veteran, master and super-master men
4.00pm: Downhill - elite and U19 men, elite and U19 women seeding
Sunday, 24 January
8:00am: Cross Country Enduro - 4 hour solo and teams
12:30pm: Downhill – Hardtail, U15, U17, vet, masters, sport women, U15, U17, expert, masters, vet and sport supermasters men
1:00pm: Short Course Cross Country
3:00pm: Downhill - elite and U19 men, elite and U19 women
Remaining 2009/10 Australian MTB Series dates
Round 3
Saturday, February 13, 2010 to Sunday, February 14 2010
Thredbo, NSW
Round 4
Saturday, 13 March to Sunday, 14 March 2010
Stromlo Forest Park, ACT
-ENDS-
For further information (media only) or to apply for accreditation, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
Where is Dookie? Shepparton Round 2 of 2009-2010 Jayco National MTB Series
Wednesday, January 20, 2010The location for Round 2 of the 2009-2010 Jayco MTBA Australian MTB
Series is Shepparton. The maps below will help get you there. Note that
the 4X is now being run on Friday evening at a separate venue. All
events will be held at Mount Major except for 4X, which will be held in
Shepparton.
Travel times and distances are as outlined below.
Distance Travel time
Melbourne to Shepparton 190kms 2hrs
Melbourne Airport to Shepparton 177kms 1 h 45 mins
Shepparton to Dookie 29.8kms 30 mins
Dookie to Mount Major 4.1kms 6 mins
Document Download:
NationalSeries0910V7.pdf (PDF - 79 Kb)
Kovarik downhill king
Sunday, January 17, 2010Sunday 17 January 2010
In a tightly fought race for the downhill
title at the SRAM Australian Mountain Bike Championships in Adelaide
today, Chris Kovarik won his fourth national title while world number
one, and pre-race favourite, Sam Hill crashed on the final corner just
metres from the finish line.
Hill had set the fastest time in
the qualifying round to be the last rider out of the start house and
looked set to claim the title until it all came undone in sight of the
line. Unscathed from the fall he got back up and crossed the line to
finish fifth.
Having won the Australian title three years
running, from 2000 to 2002, it was a pleasing return to the top step of
the podium for Kovarik.
“Although it was pretty good I wasn’t
really happy with the time. I was hoping to go two seconds faster than
my qualifying time but I’ve just done the same time,” Kovarik said.
“Hard
luck to Sam coming off on that last corner and giving it to me. I was
just watching the times and think he would have had it by half a second
(if he didn’t crash).”
For a disappointed Hill it was just the beginning of his season long campaign to reclaim the rainbow jersey of world champion.
Overshadowed by the drama of Hill’s crash, the silver medal went to Shaun O’Connor and the bronze to Josh Button.
The
women’s event was dominated by Canadians Claire Buchar who was the
quickest, followed by Leigh Douglas and the first of the locals Claire
Whiteman who was crowned Australian champion.
Buchar has taken
the opportunity to train in Australia over the summer to avoid the cold
and snow of the Canadian winter, while Douglas now lives in Tasmania
and is one of the dominant performers on the domestic circuit.
“They
really push us along and both Claire and Leigh have been helpful this
weekend with pointers on how to improve,” Whiteman said shortly after
all three hugged in appreciation of their respective performances.
A
humble Buchar said “It’s great to get some racing in during our winter
and I love racing here in Australia. This is an awesome track and there
was a great atmosphere.”
Plenty of attention was also paid to
the under-19 men’s race where rising young gun Troy Brosnan of South
Australia blitzed the field to snatch the win ahead of Daniel Lavis and
Aden Wyber.
A relieved Brosnan said that he made a few mistakes
but it was a great relief to win particularly with support he had from
a very vocal crowd.
Much is expected of Brosnan as he has been
touted as Australia’s next big thing in downhill racing and today’s win
will only add to his growing reputation.
Emily Hockey won the women’s under-19 title ahead of Holly Baarspul and Christie Batt.
SRAM Australian MTB Championships – RESULTS
Elite men – downhill
1. Chris Kovarik 1:56.03
2. Shaun O’Connor 1:57.52
3. Joshua Button 1:57.58
4. Kaine Cannan 1:58.50
5. Sam Hill 1:59.25
6. Amiel Cavalier 1:59.65
7. Rhys Willemse 1:59.82
8. Mitchell Delfs 2:00.07
9. Rhys Atkinson 2:00.40
10. William Rischbieth 2:00.51
Elite women – downhill
1. Claire Buchar 2:18.46
2. Leigh Douglas 2:26.71
3. Claire Whiteman 2:31.89
4. Leonie Picton 2:32.55
5. Joanne Fox 2:34.45
6. Emma Lewis 2:36.34
7. Julia Boer 2:37.94
8. Shannon Chugg 2:41.11
9. Shelly Flood 2:43.95
10. Sarsha Huntington DNS
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
Fry, Taberlay deliver Tasmanian double
Sunday, January 17, 2010Sunday 17 January 2010
Fry, Taberlay deliver Tasmanian double
It was a Tasmanian double in the short course cross country race at the SRAM Australian MTB Championships where once again Rowena Fry was a cut above the rest and Sid Taberlay took out the men’s title.
It was an intriguing tactical battle in the men’s race with Lachlan Norris continually attacking in an effort to break the spirits of pre-race favourite Daniel McConnell and the ever present Taberlay.
Norris wasn’t able to shake his rivals and at three laps to go he, McConnell and Taberley along with Ben Henderson and Joshua Carlson formed a group of five all in contention for the win.
The 29-year-old Taberlay used his vast experience by waiting patiently until the final lap to launch his bid for victory. McConnell marked the move and the two were shoulder-to-shoulder up the finishing straight with the Tasmanian getting the gold medal in a photo finish while the bronze medal went to Henderson.
“I was just hoping I had something left coming out of that bottom corner. I saw Dan throw his bike to the line and I didn’t think he got ahead of me but you just have to wait patiently for the photo finish to confirm it,” Taberlay said of the tight finish.
“Throughout the race I was just trying to be smart because I was suffering out there all day.
“It’s early season and I don’t quite have the horsepower needed so I was trying to suck wheels and stay in the game up until the last couple of laps so I had the best shot at it.
“After a little bit of an ordinary day yesterday it was good to live back up to expectations and deliver.”
On the back of his three cross country titles (2002, 04, 06) this was Taberlay’s first victory in the short course cross country.
While it was a familiar result in the women’s event, it was a drama packed affair with Katherine O’Shea (VIC) heavily crashing on the second lap, forcing her out of the race and briefly bringing the race to a halt.
Once racing resumed Heather Logie made all the running at the front with only Fry able to follow her pace. However, Logie lost control on a tight left-hand corner abruptly bringing her race to an end and leaving Fry out in front on her own.
“It was good to win but it feels a little hollow because of the early crash to Katherine that took her out of the race,” Fry said of one of her main rival’s fait.
“Unfortunately that’s short course racing. There was battle to get to the front and a little clip of the handlebars caused the crash.
“Then Heather was leading when she fell at the front which changed things a bit because I was going to try to sit on her and wait for an opportunity to attack but just had to go on my own and it was hard out in front.”
The race for the minor placing saw 18-year-old Rebecca Henderson take the silver medal and Jodie Willett (QLD) the bronze.
In the under-19 men’s race South Australia’s Mitchell Codner won ahead of Ryan Standish and Mathew Waghorn.
RESULTS – 2010 SRAM Australian MTB Championships
Elite men – short course cross country
1. Sid Taberley (TAS)
2. Daniel McConnell (VIC)
3. Ben Henderson (ACT)
4. Lachlan Norris (VIC)
5. Joshua Carlson (NSW)
Elite women – short course cross country
1. Rowena Fry (TAS)
2. Rebecca Henderson (ACT)
3. Jodie Willett (QLD)
4. Jenni King (VIC)
5. Joanna Wall (VIC)
-ENDS-
For more information or media accreditation, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
Fry again, McConnell a first
Saturday, January 16, 2010Saturday 16 January 2010
Tasmanian Rowena Fry made it back-to-back titles in the cross country
race and Beijing Olympian Daniel McConnell of Victoria took out the
men’s event at the SRAM Australian MTB Championships in Adelaide today.
As the only mountain bike event on the Olympic program, there was more
than the coveted green and gold jersey at stake with each performance
between now and London sure to leave an lasting impression on the minds
of national selectors.
For McConnell, who won the under-17 Australian title in 2001, it was a
commanding win and his first national championship gold medal at the
elite level.
“It’s great. It’s been a long time coming. I’m stoked. I’ve been
working towards this for a few months. I really wanted this, so to come
out with the gold medal I’m just stoked,” McConnell said.
On his longer term objectives he went on to say “Beijing was awesome.
Once you go to one Olympics you want to go to more, so that’s
definitely my goal.”
The 24-year-old got off to a flying start and managed to avoid a first
corner crash that blocked the track for everyone caught behind it.
“There wasn’t a lot of passing so I knew I had to get off to a good start and try to set the early pace which I did,” he said.
“After a lap I opened a gap of five seconds and kept building on that, that was the goal and it worked out brilliantly.”
McConnell’s main challenger throughout the race was 2002, 2004 and 2006
winner Sid Taberlay who stayed in contact for the first three of the
six lap race but couldn’t maintain the pace and fell away to finish
fourth on a difficult course that also saw him crash on the fifth lap.
The second half of the race saw last year’s under-23 champion, Lachlan
Norris, demonstrate his ever increasing strength as he overtook
Taberlay and went on to claim the silver medal one minute and 35 behind
the winner.
A surprising bronze medal went to little known Joshua Carlson from
Wollongong. Carlson rode his first mountain bike race in 2007 and first
national championships last year finishing 29th.
Having dropped from 86kg to 75kg in the past 12 months he cried “I want a brownie” shortly after crossing the line.
The U23 category in the men’s race was won by Paul van der Ploeg, who
at 20 is quickly becoming one of Australia’s most likely contenders on
the world stage.
In the women’s race Tasmania’s Rowena Fry started as the strong favourite and didn’t disappoint.
The 27-year-old lead from start to finish but didn’t quite have it all
her own way as she was challenged by Heather Logie up until the final
lap.
Logie, who has recently come across from adventure racing to mountain
biking, eventually faded and had to settle for second place with third
going to the experienced Jenni King.
“It’s bloody good,” Fry said of her win.
“I was really keen to win it this year. I love wearing the national
jersey oversea, it means so much to me. I’m just rapt to be able to do
it for another year.”
“The European season doesn’t start until March so hopefully I can hold my form and build from here.
“I’ve still got a bit of work to do but everything’s going in the right
direction. It’s really good for my confidence to be riding this well
early in the season.”
Despite her convincing win Fry was quick to acknowledge Logie’s silver medal performance.
“She’s a little ripper. She’s got so much go in her, she’s a great athlete,” the two-time Australian champion said.
“Once she gets her mountain bike skills up and gets a few more races
in, she’s really going to push us top girls and its going to be great
for mountain biking in Australia.”
After finishing seventh at the junior world championships last year
Rebecca Henderson made her first appearance at an Australian
Championship in the U23 category and was a convincing winner ahead of
local favourite Sarah Homes. Another South Australian, Therese Rhodes
took the bronze medal.
Sunday 17 January, the final day of racing in the SRAM Australian MTB
Championship on a testing Eagle MTB Park course in Adelaide, will see
world number one Sam Hill in action in the downhill. The short course
cross country title will also be contested.
RESULTS – 2010 SRAM Australian MTB Championships
Elite men – cross country
1. Daniel McConnell (VIC)
2. Lachlan Norris (VIC)
3. Joshua Carlson (NSW)
4. Sid Taberley (TAS)
5. Aiden Lefmann (QLD)
6. Jason English (NSW)
7. Dylan Cooper (ACT)
8. Shaun Lewis (ACT)
9. Andrew Blair (NSW)
10. Nick Both (NSW)
Under 23 men – cross country
1. Paul van der Ploeg (VIC)
2. Cal Britten (ACT)
3. Daniel Bruansteins (VIC)
Elite women – cross country
1. Rowena Fry (TAS)
2. Heather Logie (ACT)
3. Jenni King (VIC)
4. Joanna Wall (VIC)
5. Jodie Willett (QLD)
6. Katherine O’Shea (VIC)
7. Kelly Bartlett (VIC)
8. Jessica Douglas (VIC)
9. Anna Beck (QLD)
10. Jody Bush
Under 23 women – cross country
1. Rebecca Henderson (ACT)
2. Sarah Holmes (SA)
3. Therese Rhodes (SA)
-ENDS-
For more information or media accreditation, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
World Champion Buchanan dominates
Saturday, January 16, 2010Friday 15 January 2010
In the rainbow jersey of world champion, Caroline Buchanan (ACT) claimed her fifth 4X Australian title at the SRAM Australian MTB Championships at Eagle MTB Park in Adelaide today and Luke Madil took out the men’s event.
It was the first outing for the 19-year-old Buchanan in the rainbow jersey of world champion. Starting as the outright favourite she coped well with the pressure putting in an almost floorless ride.
The women’s race was only ever a race in two as Sarsha Huntington challenged Buchanan through the first two berms as they rubbed shoulders fighting for the lead but the multiple Australian champion eventually got the better of the battle. Emily Hockey claimed the bronze medal in front of her home crowd.
“I wasn’t too sure what was going to happen in that first corner. It got pretty close in the first turn and I was ready for some carnage,” Buchanan said.
“I knew that Sarsha would be close and it’s great that she pushes me all the time.
“Being my first mountain bike race since world’s I was feeling a little bit rough in areas but I wear the rainbow jersey with pride and I had an absolute ball with it out there today.
“I was just as nervous for this race as I was for the world titles.
“This (Australian) title feels just as good as the first one.”
In addition to being the first outing for Buchanan’s rainbow jersey, it was the debut for the new 4X course at Eagle MTB Park that the current 4X world champion rated as world class.
“With 4X it’s important to get the lines equal so there’s not one fast line from top to bottom and they’ve done that here,” the 19-year-old said.
“It’s on a really good slope. They’ve made it really technical and it will make for really even racing.”
In the men’s race Luke Madill took his third Australian title after going through the quarter final and semi-final comfortably but got pushed to the line in the race for gold by Randal Huntington who made it a husband and wife combination in the silver medal position. The bronze medal went to Graeme Mudd.
“Having that strong first straight helped me a lot and got me out of trouble in the final,” Madill said of the way the race unfolded.
“But it’s still hard and you never know who’s behind you because with this track there’s lots of different lines so anything can happen.
“Once you get to the final experience really counts. But having the younger ones push us is good.”
Saturday 16 January at the SRAM Australian MTB Championship will see the race for the green and gold jersey in the elite men’s and women’s cross country where Rowena Fry will aim to defend her crown and Beijing Olympian Daniel McConnell will be aiming for his first title.
RESULTS
Elite men – 4X
1. Luke Madill (NSW)
2. Randal Huntington (QLD)
3. Graeme Mudd (NSW)
4. David Habicht (VIC)
Elite women – 4X
1. Caroline Buchanan (ACT)
2. Sarsha Huntington (QLD)
3. Emily Hockey (SA)
4. Charise Atkinson – DNF
-ENDS-
For more information or media accreditation, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
Mountain bikers with a point to prove
Saturday, January 16, 2010As the only Olympic mountain bike event the cross country race at the SRAM Australian MTB Championships, at Eagle MTB Park in Adelaide this Saturday, is sure to be a hotly contested affair.
Rowena Fry (TAS) will be heavily marked as she aims to defend her title in the women’s race but favouritism is far hard to pin-point in the men’s event.
Lachlan Norris (VIC), the 2009 U23 Australian Champion, will be stepping up to the senior ranks this year and is making no secret of his ambitions.
“Winning the elite national title is something I’ve always wanted to do and I think this year, compared to the last few, I’m in a much better position to do so,” the 22-year-old said.
“In other years there’s always been a standout favourite but that’s not the case this time around.
“I think I’m a lot stronger but others have improved as well so the overall level is higher and it’s a really tight field.
“Sid Taberlay (TAS) is always dangerous and has had some good results recently. But I think the one to beat will be Daniel McConnell (VIC) and you can never underestimate Adrian Jackson (VIC) who is really strong.”
After finishing 11th at the world championships last year, in the U23 category, he is hoping to make the Australian team for the elite race in 2010 and says the Australian championships will play an important role in achieving that objective.
However, like many mountain bikers, particularly after the recent funding cuts to the high performance program, Norris also has a heavy program of road racing.
“My road program will match in pretty well with my mountain bike commitments and the two complement each pretty other,” he said on the back of a solid seventh in the criterium at Australian Road Championships last week.
“But my heart is on the dirt. And like plenty of other mountain bikers I’m motivated by the funding cuts as we all think we’re as good as the athletes on any cycling program and we’re out to prove a point this year.”
Unlike the men, in the women’s race there is a clear pecking order with Rowena Fry (TAS) holding the position of being the hunted one.
Her main challengers are expected to come from last year’s silver medallist Jo Wall (VIC) and Katherine O’Shea (VIC), who won last season’s national series. Others to watch include local favourite Therese Rhodes (SA) and newcomer Heather Logie (ACT), who finished an impressive second behind Fry in round one of the national series.
Well aware of the old cliché that it’s harder to stay on top than it is to get to the top Fry said, “I’m excited going into the race but if I can win there’ll also be a feeling of relief.”
“There’s nothing that can make you more proud than representing you country overseas and wearing the green and gold jersey of Australian champion.”
Leaving no stone unturned in her title defense, the 27-year-old has been training on the course to ensure there are no surprises on Saturday.
“It’s a very fast course, with a lot of single track,” she said.
“The way the course is laid out it will be hard to gain time but easy to lose time.
“And although there’s not a lot of climbing, the climbs are short and sharp so you’ll need to be pretty punchy in those sections.
“But the biggest factor is that it’s a hard course to pass on, which will make the start and the whole first lap really important.”
The cross country race in the SRAM Australian Mountain Bike Championships will be raced at Eagle MTB Park in Adelaide Hills on Saturday 16 January 2010.
SRAM Australian MTB Championships – Event Schedule
Tuesday 12 – Thursday 14 January 2010
Practice sessions
Team relay (Thursday from 12:30pm)
Friday 15 January 2010
8:30am Cross Country – veteran women, sport, masters, super masters, U17 and U15 women
10:30am Cross Country – U17 men, U15, masters, super masters and grand super masters men
12:30pm Cross Country – sport men A, sport men B
3:30pm 4X seeding
6:30pm 4X finals
Saturday 16 January 2010
8:30am Cross Country – Elite, U23 and U19 women
10:00am Trials heats and finals
11.00am Cross Country - Elite and U23 men
2:00pm Country Cross – U19 men, veteran, expert men
Sunday 17 January 2010
9:30am Short Course Cross Country – Sport men
10:00am Short Course Cross Country – U19
10:30am Short Course Cross Country – open women
11:00am Short Course Cross Country – elite men
10:00am Downhill – U17, U15, Expert, Masters, Veterans and Sport men, U17, U15, Veterans, Masters, Sport and Super Masters women
11:30am Dirt Jumps final
2.00pm Downhill – Elite Men, Elite Women, U19 Men, U19 Women
-ENDS-
For more information or media accreditation, please contact:
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au
Archive
|
