News Archive

On-line entry for Australian 24hr Solo MTB Championships now open
February 19, 2010

Cory and Buchar too strong in Thredbo
February 14, 2010

Sunday 14 February 2010
 
On what is known as the longest and toughest downhill course in Australia, Ben Cory and Claire Buchar have emerged victorious at the third round of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series in Thredbo today.
 
The esteemed ‘Cannon Ball’ run with its 410m vertical descent combined with the muddy conditions made racing extremely challenging.
 
Defying the tough conditions, Cory flew down the track, completing the course in 7:15.66, more than three seconds quicker than Bryn Atkinson (7:18.79) and Shaun O’Connor (7:21.84).
 
With three riders still to come, Cory sat in the hot seat, patiently waiting the fate of top seeds Amiel Cavalier, Chris Kovarik and Joshua Button.
 
But they couldn’t match the ferocious pace of Cory, the Canberra rider securing his second win of the series.
 
“I’m absolutely stoked,” said the 27-year-old. “There was some incredibly fast guys here today and some fellas who are probably more suited to the muddy conditions than I am, so I’m stoked.”
 
Cory was one of only a handful of riders to improve on yesterday’s seeding rounds.
 
“It’s probably not the toughest track I’ve raced on but the conditions here today made it really, really hard.”
 
In the women’s race, Canadian Claire Buchar was once again a cut above the rest, claiming back-to-back victories in a time of 8.52.61, more than six seconds faster than Jill Kintner who clocked 8:58.73. Julia Boer placed third with 9:08.14.
 
The boy’s under 19 event was taken out by Aden Wyber in 7:37.66. Rising star Troy Brosnan had a day he’d rather forget, finishing 20th, more than a minute slower than yesterday’s seedings.

In the under 19’s girls final, Holly Baarspul was too strong, crossing the finish line in 9:42.98.

The final round of the 2009/10 Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series will be held in Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra from March 12 – 14, 2010.

Downhill Results
 
Elite men
1  Ben Cory  7:15.66
2  Bryn Atkinson  7:18.79
3  Shaun O'Connor 8 7:21.84
4  Chris Kovarik 7:23.11
5   Amiel Cavalier  7:26.42
6  Joshua Button  7:26.52
7  Rick Boyer  7:33.96
8  William Rischbieth  7:45.21
9  Deon Baker  7:47.42
10 Rhys Atkinson  7:48.15
 
Elite women
1 Claire Buchar  8:52.61
2  Jill Kintner  8:58.73
3  Julia Boer  9:08.14
4 Sarsha Huntington  9:31.36
5  Leonie Picton  9:31.68
6  Claire Whiteman  9:38.30
7 Leigh Douglas  9:59.53
8  Emma Lewis  10:21.17
9 Joanne Muoser  10:26.71
10 Shannon Chugg  11:13.44
 
Under 19 men
1  Aden Wyber  7:37.66
2  Phillip Piazza 7:49.55
3  Jake Newell  7:50.96
4  Brandon Yrttiaho  7:52.43
5  Marcus Fairbanks  7:54.83
 
Under 19 women
1  Holly Baarspul  10:34.28
2  Emily Hockey  10:34.57
3  Tegan Molloy  11:52.34
4  Christie Batt  12:37.21
5  Katelyn Humphris  13:34.69
 
-ENDS-
 
For further information (media only), please contact:
 
Michelle Cook - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0430 177 668
michelle@jumpmedia.com.au

Logie trounces Fry in thrilling short course victory
February 14, 2010

Sunday 14 February 2010
 
In a drama-filled finale, Canberra’s Heather Logie has caused a major upset to defeat national champion and series leader Rowena Fry in the short course cross country at round three of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series in Thredbo today.
 
Drapac Porche rider Daniel Braunsteins from Victoria comfortably won the men’s elite race.
 
As it has all weekend, the rain continued to fall at Thredbo, the mud and slippery conditions playing havoc out on the course.
 
Logie, who has been the perennial bridesmaid to Fry all season, entered the race with nothing to lose.
 
As expected, Fry went out strongly, taking control of the race and pace from the outset. Logie, did not let her out of her sight, patiently sitting on Fry’s wheel looking for her opportunity to strike.
 
And then with just two laps remaining, on a grassy and slippery corner of the course, Logie made what would end up being the decisive and winning attack.
 
Logie moved up alongside Fry, however in the tussle for the lead the pair locked in on each other, causing both girls to spectacularly spill to the ground.
 
Fry was the first rider to recover, but upon assessment of her bike it was clear that the fall had caused considerable damage to her handle bars. 
 
Logie picked herself up out of the mud and was in hot pursuit. Taking advantage of Fry’s steering difficulties, the 32-year-old overtook and managed to break clear. Fry digged in deep to close the gap but it was not to be, Logie holding on to secure her first ever victory in the series.
 
“I’m just ecstatic, I finally get a first,” said a clearly delighted Logie, who finished second once again to Fry in yesterday’s cross country. “A second and a first this weekend, I’m stoked.”
 
“Rowena was definitely controlling the track out there, she had the inline on everything. She was holding me back when she knew I couldn’t get past.
 
“So I just knew I had to try it on a corner that no one was trying it on. That outside corner at the end, is really grassy and slippery, I knew that anyone would be stupid to attack there, but that seems to be what I’m known for and I thought I’d give it a go.”
 
“She got up and got doing so fast and I just knew I had to jump on and get going, and take advantage of that very quick reprieve. I just held it, I can’t believe it.”
 
Logie and Fry were followed by rising star Rebecca Henderson from Canberra.
 
Logie’s rise through the mountain biking ranks has certainly been impressive. The former-adventure racer only made the switch to the sport in October last year, and Logie is still learning from her peer every time she gets on the bike.
 
“Rowena has just got so much experience. I learn from her every time we race. Seeing what works and what tactics she uses is going to hold me in good stead for the future.”
 
The first half of the men’s elite race was a highly tactical race with the lead changing hands on a number of occasions, before Daniel Brauensteins hit the front at the half way mark.
 
As the rain started to get heavier, Braunsteins further extended his lead, drawing away from the Paul Van der Ploeg and Ben Henderson for a comfortable victory.
 
“At the start I just sat back and tried to get a good position,” said the 22-year-old geology student.
 
“A few guys started to look tired, so I decided to go pretty hard for a few laps and I just tried to hold the gap. Probably about ten minutes in I knew I’d be in with a good shot of winning it.”
 
The men’s sport category was taken out by Tim Wynan from New South Wales, who defeated Merlin Spranz and Jacob Langham.
 
The final round of the 2009/10 Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series will be held in Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra from March 12 – 14, 2010.
 
Short Course Cross Country Results
 
Elite men
1   Daniel Brauensteins VIC
2   Paul Van der Ploeg VIC
3   Ben Henderson ACT
4   Luke Fetch VIC
5   Joseph Lewis ACT
6   Lachlan Norris VIC
7   Steele Von Hoff VIC
8   Cal Britten  VIC
9   Mark Tupalski ACT
10  Joshua Carlson NSW
11  Daniel McConnell VIC
12  Garry Millburn NSW
DNF Robbie Hucker
 
Elite women
1   Heather Logie ACT
2   Rowena Fry TAS
3   Rebecca Henderson ACT
4   Katherine O'Shea VIC
5   Joanna Wall VIC
 
Sport Male
1   Tim Wynan NSW
2   Merlin Spranz  SA
3   Jacob Langham TAS
4   Mitchell Codner NSW
 
- ENDS-
 
For further information (media only), please contact:
 
Michelle Cook - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0430 177 668
michelle@jumpmedia.com.au

Mud, sweat and cheers as Fry and Norris reign supreme in Thredbo
February 13, 2010

Saturday 13 February 2010

Torrential rain and glorious mud might have stopped many in their tracks, but it didn’t seem to hinder cross country riders Lachlan Norris and Rowena Fry who put on an impressive display today at the third round of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series in Thredbo.
 
Whilst Australia’s winter Olympians were revelling at the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver, the nation’s best mountain bike prospects for London 2012 were putting on a show of their own at Thredbo’s alpine playground.
 
Norris arrived in Thredbo in strong form, having recently returned from New Zealand where he won the king of the mountain title on the road in the Tour of Wellington.
 
As expected, the 23-year-old went out like an express train on the opening lap establishing an early lead, with Ben Henderson, Aiden Lefmann and Paul Van Der Ploeg all in hot pursuit.
 
“I felt good at the start and got to the front. I noticed I had a gap and just kept the throttle on for the first couple of laps,” explained Norris.
 
The tough conditions started to take their toll on all of the riders, and as the conditions deteriorated throughout the five-lap race, so did the times.
 
Heading into lap three, Norris continued to hold on to his lead, but Henderson decided to make an attack, gaining another minute to move up just behind the Victorian.
 
“Later on in the race I was just trying to maintain that lead. It was difficult trying to stay focused in the mud, it was quite difficult technically and I was getting really tired.
 
“I think you always have this feeling that they’re just on your hammer. I was struggling but I knew that it was just as hard for them as it was for me.”
 
Henderson was a man on a mission on the penultimate lap but then misfortune struck, the Canberra rider sustaining a puncture at the crucial point in the race.
 
At the final bell, Norris looked to have the victory sewn up, but the 23-year-old started to struggle when cramp set in, forcing him off his bike to walk up the technical climbs.
 
A quick wheel change and Henderson was back in contention, but it wasn’t enough, Norris managing to hold off the late challenge by the fast finishing Henderson to notch up his second win of the series.
 
Van der Ploeg, who had mechanical trouble at the start of the race, put his foot on the gas on lap four, clawing his way back to cross the line in third position and take out the under 23 category.
 
After a strong race, Lefman had absolutely nothing left in the tank as he crossed the finish line in fourth place (third in open elite men).
 
Things didn’t go according to plan for national champion Dan McConnell. Struggling to find his rhythm in the trying conditions, McConnell left the track in the middle of lap two, recording his second DNF of the series.
 
Norris will now turn his attention back to the road, joining his Drapac Porche teammates at Le Tour de Langkawi in two weeks time, before resuming his challenge for the series title in Canberra.
 
After taking out Tasmania's premier mountain bike stage race, Wildside 2010, two weeks ago, Canberra’s Heather Logie was tipped as the strongest contender to dethrone Tasmania’s Rowena Fry in the women’s event.
 
However on this occasion Fry was just too strong. Leading from the outset, the national champion stormed home to secure her second victory of the series by nearly a two-minute margin, relegating Logie to second place for the third time this season.
 
Victorian Joanna Wall, who won in Shepparton three weeks ago, finished third.
 
“I really wanted to win this weekend,” said Fry. “I’ve just got a new bike sponsor, Avanti, and I wanted to get off to a good start with them and show them that their faith in me was worthy.”
 
As it did for all riders, Fry had her own challenges in the wet and muddy conditions.
 
“It ended up being quite grippy out there on the flats, you could trust the mud but it was just the climbs. The single track climb out the back was pretty tricky, I could ride it the first two laps but after that I was just running it. “
 
Fry was full of praise for her rival Logie, who only made the switch from adventure racing to mountain biking late last year.
 
“Heather is riding the house down, it’s fantastic,” Fry continued. “She’s pushing me and she really worked me over at Wildside. She’s very, very powerful for a small girl. Once she gets her skills up she’s going to be a top rider, which is very promising for Australian mountain biking.”
 
Fry will now put in some solid training hours back home in Launceston, before making her final assault for the series title in Stromlo, Canberra in a month’s time.
 
In the under 23’s, Canberra’s Rebecca Henderson rode an impressive race to hold off Victorian Peta Mullens and South Australia’s Sarah Holmes to take the series points.
 
Racing in round three of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series concludes in Thredbo tomorrow, with the enduro being contested in the morning followed by the short course cross country and downhill in the afternoon.
 
Cross Country Results
 
Elite men
1.                Lachlan Norris (VIC)   2:18:40  (25:20, 26:32, 28:20, 28:50, 29:35)
2.                Ben Henderson  (ACT)   2:19:05   (26:25, 27:03, 27:36, 29:19, 28:40)
3.                Paul Van Der Ploeg*  (VIC) 2:19:56   (25:54, 27:23, 28:39, 28:50, 29:09)
4.                Aiden Lefmann  (QLD) 2:21:02   (26:19, 26:41, 28:08, 28:58, 30:53)
5.                Cal Britten*  (VIC) 2:23:02   (27:03, 27:40, 29:08, 28:31, 30:38)
6.                Andrew Blair  (NSW)   2:24:59
7.                Joshua Carlson  (NSW) 2:26:20
8.                Aaron Benson*  (QLD)  2:26:49
9.                Adrian Jackson  (VIC)   2:28:01
10.            Daniel Braunsteins*  (VIC)   2:28:58
11.            Jeremy Ross (ACT)   2:32:52
12.             Peter Kutschera  (VIC)  2:39:35
13.             Tim Wynan  (NSW)  2:39:52
14.             James Peacock*  (VIC)   2:41:57
15.             Travis Frisby*  (SA)   2:42:51
 
       *Under 23 men
 
Elite women
1.                Rowena Fry  (TAS)   1:59:17  (28:20, 29:17, 30:41, 30:58)
2.                Heather Logie   (ACT)  2:01:08  (28:27, 29:47, 30:59, 31:53)
3.                Rebecca Henderson*  (ACT)  2:05:56  (29:44, 30:56, 32:09, 33:06)
4.                Joanna Wall   (VIC)   2:06:20  (29:51, 31:29, 31:43, 33:16)
5.                Katherine O'Shea   (VIC)   2:10:46  (30:23, 32:22, 32:53, 35:06)
6.                Peta Mullens*  (VIC)  2:12:50
7.                Jenni King   (VIC)  2:15:15
8.                Sarah Holmes*  (SA)   2:15:52
9.                Therese Rhodes*  (SA)  2:18:23
10.            Stephanie Russell  (WA)  2:25:04
 
      *Under 23 women
 
2009/10 Australian MTB Series - Round 4
Saturday, 13 March to Sunday, 14 March 2010
Stromlo Forest Park, ACT

-ENDS-
 
For further information (media only), please contact:
 
Michelle Cook - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0430 177 668
michelle@jumpmedia.com.au
 

Darrell defies conditions to secure comeback victory in Thredbo
February 13, 2010

Friday 12 February 2010
 
Canberra rider Leigh Darrell has stormed to a convincing victory in the men’s elite 4X at round three of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series in Thredbo tonight.
 
In wet and muddy conditions, the 22-year-old never looked like being beaten, flying out of the gates, and maintaining his rapid speed to the finish line to secure his first win of the 2010 series.
 
After a tough year, Darrell made it clear from the start that he was returning to top form, dominating the earlier rounds before opening up a ten metre advantage in the final to leave Graeme Mudd, Richard Levinson and Michael Young in his wake.
 
“I’ve had some bad luck in the last couple of races I’ve had, and things have finally come my way,” said Darrell, a multiple world junior champion in BMX.
 
“I popped out at the start, and I couldn’t see anyone in my vision, so I thought I was in front.
 
“I came into the first corner, got a bit sketchy and my front wheel washed out a little and I nearly came down. But I held it together and after that I tried to keep a smooth fast race and it paid off.”
 
With one more race left in the series for 2010, Darrell will be looking for a repeat performance on his home soil in Stromlo on March 12.
 
“Canberra is my home track but I don’t really ride there much, I’ll just have to wait and see hopefully luck comes my way again.”
 
In the absence of world champion Caroline Buchanan who is in New Zealand on BMX duties, Queensland’s Sarsha Huntington had no trouble taking out the women’s elite race, to extend her lead in the overall series standings.
 
Blake Nielson (under 19) and Max Hughes (under 17) continued their domination in the series, securing another victory on the muddy Thredbo course.
 
In the veteran men, James Collins held off Brett Minion for the win, whilst Harriet Burbridge-Smith was too strong for Danielle Beecroft, clinching the girls’ junior category.
 
Sean Anderson won the Sport Men and Jackson Frew the under 15 men. 
 
Racing in round three of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series continues in Thredbo over the weekend with the cross country being contested on Saturday and the downhill on Sunday.
 
4X Results
 
Elite men
1.         Leigh Darrell
2.         Graeme Mudd
3.         Richard Levinson
4.         Michael Young
 
Under-19 men
1.         Blake Nielson
2.         Joey Vejvoda
3.         Sean Fitzpatrick
4.         James Shepherd
 
Under-17 men
1.              Max Hughes
2.              Jordan Butler
3.              Wade Budden
4.              Ryan Cameron
 
Under-15 Men
1.                               Jackson Frew
 
Sport Men
1.                                                       Sean Anderson
 
Veteran Men
1.         James Collins
2.         Brett Minion
3.         Mitchell Turner
4.         Brett Thompson
 
Elite women
1.         Sarsha Huntington
 
Junior Female
1.                                 Harriet Burbridge-Smith
2.                                 Danielle Beecroft
 
For further information (media only), please contact:
 
Michelle Cook - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0430 177 668
michelle@jumpmedia.com.au

Logie faces tough assignment in Thredbo
February 11, 2010

Thursday, 11 February 2010
 
Whilst Australia’s winter Olympians are shredding up the ice and snow in Vancouver, some of our nation’s best prospects for London 2012 will be carving up trails of a different kind at Thredbo’s alpine playground.
 
The nation’s best mountain bikers head to the ‘Snowy Mountains’ this weekend (February 12-14), for the third leg of the Australian MTB Series.
 
However Canberra’s Heather Logie won’t have any time to stop and admire the spectacular scenery this weekend, she has a job to do.
 
After taking out Tasmania's premier mountain bike stage race, Wildside 2010, two weeks ago, Logie is shaping up as the strongest contender to dethrone Tasmania’s Rowena Fry in the women’s cross country event on Saturday morning.
 
One of Australia’s best hopes for London 2012, Fry is the outright leader in the national series standings.
 
Dominating the event in Hobart and at the nationals championships in Adelaide, things didn’t go quite according to plan for Fry in Shepparton three weeks ago, a puncture forcing her to settle for fourth place, despite a hard chase to regain ground. Fry bounced back the next day and dominated the short course cross country, which she hasn’t been beaten in yet this season.
 
Logie has been forced to play bridesmaid twice to Fry – both in Hobart and at the nationals.
 
“Rowena is the benchmark for all of us,” said Logie.
 
“The next two events in Thredbo and Stromlo (Canberra) are quite technical so they’re definitely in Rowena’s favour, and they’ll play to her amazing skills on a technical single track.”
 
“The last event in Stromlo (March 12-14) would have to be my best chance of beating her. If I can live and breathe the track for the next couple of weeks, and take advantage of my home track and home crowd I’m in with a chance.”
 
Logie’s rise through the mountain biking ranks has certainly been impressive. The former-adventure racer only made the switch to the sport in October last year, an Achilles injury forced her to stop running, ultimately leading her to throw all of her energy into riding.
 
Although Logie has the motor to match it with the best, the technical aspects of the sport have been the 31-year-old’s biggest hurdle.
 
“I have the base fitness and endurance however my technical skills still need a lot of work. One of my best attributes is that I don’t have a lot of fear however that means I fall off the bike a lot.”
 
“The technical aspects have certainly been a challenge, however my improvement over the last four months has been incredibly fast.”
 
Logie has already tasted success on the world stage – she was actually crowned world rogaining champion in 2006 – however she still has a lot of unfinished business on the international scene.
 
“My focus over the next six months is to improve my technical skills and confidence.
 
“I figure this is my chance. At the age of 31, I’ve given myself three to four years to see how fast I can go and see what I’m capable of.
 
“I would love to see how I would go on the world stage and compete at some World Cup events. I know I have a lot of work to do to improve my skills and gain race experience.
 
“Ultimately it would be great if Rowena and I could push each other to improve and put up a strong challenge for London 2012.”
 
Meanwhile in other events in the Australian MTB series, the men’s cross country has been a tale of two between current Australian champion Daniel McConnell and young gun Lachlan Norris who notched up his first win in the elite level at the last national series round in Shepparton.
 
Norris is expected to arrive in Thredbo in strong form, having recently returned from New Zealand where he won the king of the mountain title on the road in the Tour of Wellington.
 
In the downhill events, the husband and wife team of Chris Kovarik and his Canadian wife Claire Buchar will start as favorites in Thredbo.
 
Buchar’s strongest challenge will come from fellow Canadian Leigh Douglas who won the opening round of the series just prior to Christmas in Tasmania, where she now lives, but had to contend herself with third at the second round in Shepparton.
 
In the absence of world champion Caroline Buchanan, Queensland’s Sarsha Huntington will take control of the women’s 4X event, with American Barry Nobles who won on debut in Shepparton, starting as favourite amongst the men.
 
For further information including entry lists, results and overall standings, please visit www.nationalseries.com.au.
 
Competition Schedule
Round 3 -– Thredbo, NSW
 
Friday, 12 February
6:30pm
4X finals
 
 
Saturday, 13 February
8:30am
Cross Country - elite, U23, U19, U17, veteran, master and supermaster women
11:00am
Cross country - elite and U23 men
2:30pm
Cross country - U19, U17, veteran, master and supermaster men
 
 
Sunday, 14 February
8:00am
Cross Country Enduro - 4 hour solo and teams
12:30pm
Downhill – U15, U17, expert, masters, vet and sport supermasters men
 
Downhill – U15, U17, vet, masters, sport women
Hardtail
1:00pm
Short Course Cross Country
3:00pm           
Downhill - elite and U19 men, elite and U19 women
 
2009/10 Australian MTB Series dates
 
Round 3
Friday, 12 February to Sunday, 14 February 2010
Thredbo, NSW
 
Round 4
Friday, 12 March to Sunday, 14 March 2010
Stromlo Forest Park, ACT

-ENDS-
 
For further information (media only) or to apply for accreditation, please contact:
 
Michelle Cook - Jump Media and Marketing
0430 177 668
michelle@jumpmedia.com.au

Latest Schedule for 2009-2010 national Series
February 2, 2010

Download the latest schedule here.

Document Download:
0910NationalSeriesScheduleV7b.pdf (PDF - 75 Kb)

Wall and Norris nail debut wins
January 23, 2010

Saturday 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-
 
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Brilliant Buchanan
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-
 
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Document Download:
0910SheppartonR2_4X_Tree.pdf (PDF - 82 Kb)

Nation's best descend on Shepparton
January 21, 2010

Thursday 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-
 
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Where is Dookie? Shepparton Round 2 of 2009-2010 Jayco National MTB Series
January 20, 2010

The 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
January 17, 2010

Sunday 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-
 
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Fry, Taberlay deliver Tasmanian double
January 17, 2010

Sunday 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-
 
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Fry again, McConnell a first
January 16, 2010

Saturday 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-
 
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World Champion Buchanan dominates
January 16, 2010

Friday 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-
 
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Mountain bikers with a point to prove
January 16, 2010

As 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

Ground breaking Buchanan
January 15, 2010

Wednesday 13 January 2010
 
Women have produced some of Australia’s greatest cycling moments. Like Kathy Watt’s 1992 Olympic Games gold medal in the road race, Sara Carrigan doing the same in 2004 and Anna Meares with her Athens gold medal and against all odds silver medal in 2008.
 
Just as these women have conquered the world on the road and the track, Caroline Buchanan is breaking new ground for Australian cycling on the dirt.
 
The 19-year-old is the current 4X world champion in mountain biking and one of Australia’s best hopes for a BMX gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
 
But it will be at Eagle MTB Park, in Adelaide for the SRAM Australian MTB Championships, on Friday 15 January that she will get to race in the coveted rainbow jersey of world champion for the first time.
 
“I’m feeling pretty confident and excited for the race as I’m pretty proud to be wearing the stripes (of world champion),” Buchanan said.
 
“The last time I was on my mountain bike was at the world championships in Canberra last year.
 
“It was a fairytale weekend and the biggest highlight of my racing career so far.”
 
Buchanan will start as the raging favourite in the race for the 4X national title, however the Canberra local believes Sarsha Huntington of Queensland will be biting at her heels.
 
“Sarsha has put in a lot of training over the last few years. Every race she gets closer and closer and I think the race will be between her and me at the nationals.”
 
With a busy schedule that combines mountain bike and BMX racing, Buchanan has few opportunities to spend time at home and could be excused for being torn between the two disciplines of the sport.
 
“With the Olympics coming up, BMX is going to be a major focus but now that I also have the rainbow jersey for mountain biking I still want to be doing that,” she said of the constant juggling act she is currently trying to manage.
 
“Balancing the two sports is something I always have to work on by going to the races, in both sports, that count.”
 
As far as being a pioneer for her sport in Australia, Buchanan is quietly modest but hopes one day she will be remembered as one of the greats of Australian cycling.
 
“There are not many other girls I can race against in Australia. Mum and dad have been really supportive and have helped me get on the world circuit to give me that overseas experience,” she said.
 
“I think there are still big things to come from me and I’m looking forward to getting my name up with all those other great Australian women.”
 
Caroline Buchanan will be aiming to defend her 4X Australian title on Friday 15 January on day one of racing at the SRAM Australian MTB Championship on a testing Eagle MTB Park course in Adelaide.
 
SRAM Australian MTB Championships – Event Schedule (Updated)
 
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
 

2010 SRAM Australian MTB Championships - Preview
January 12, 2010

Adelaide has been taken over by cyclists and the racing kicks off with the SRAM Australian Mountain Bike Championships, 12-17 January 2010, at Eagle MTB Park.
 
The main races among the elite of Australian mountain biking will start on Friday 15 January, and go over the weekend, where the star attractions will include current 4X (pronounced four cross) world champion Caroline Buchanan (ACT) and 2006 and 2007 downhill world champion Sam Hill (WA).
 
Unlike former mountain biker and current road world champion, Cadel Evans, Buchanan and Hill aren’t household names but in the mountain bike world they are in high demand.
 
It was at the 2009 World Championship in Canberra that Buchanan claimed her first world title in the 4X event, which is a mix of BMX and downhill mountain bike racing.
 
For Buchanan, when she lines up for the 4X Australian Championships on Friday 15 January, it will be the unveiling of her rainbow jersey in her first mountain bike race since winning the world title.
 
“I’m feeling pretty confident and excited for the race as I’m pretty proud to be wearing the stripes (of world champion),” Buchanan said.
 
Buchanan said she expects her main rival to be Sarsha Huntington (QLD).
 
Looking ahead to the 2012 Olympics much of the attention at the SRAM Australian MTB Championships will be on the cross country races being held on Saturday 16 January.
 
The men’s race will be a hotly contested affair with Beijing Olympian Daniel McConnell (VIC) aiming for his first senior Australian title.
 
His main rivals are expected to be Athens Olympian and three-time Australian champion Sid Taberlay (TAS) along with last year’s U23 Australian champion Lachlan Norris (VIC), who now steps up to the elite ranks.
 
In the women’s race defending champion Rowena Fry (TAS) is the clear favourite, particularly after the good early season form she showed in winning the opening round of this season’s national series just before Christmas.
 
The main challengers for Fry are expected to come from Katherine O’Shea (VIC), who won last season’s national series, local favourite Therese Rhodes (SA) and newcomer Heather Logie (ACT) after her impressive second place finish behind Fry in round one of the national series.
 
On Sunday 17 January, multiple world champion and current world number one, Sam Hill will be the one to beat in the men’s event.
 
The 24-year-old Hill may not be in peak fitness after a long season, however he knows the campaign to snatch back the rainbow jersey starts now.
 
“I really want to get back the rainbow jersey, this is my main focus for the year,” said Hill.
 
“Unfortunately I am not in the best shape as I have just come off the World Cup tour and I am beginning to wind down.
 
“However I am going to go to nationals with the outlook I always have and that is to do the best I can on the day.”
 
In the women’s downhill race Claire Whiteman (ACT) comes with a perfect record at Eagle MTB Park and will be among the favourites along with last year’s silver medallist Julia Boer (ACT).
 
However, the fastest time on the course may come from Canadian born, Tasmanian resident, Leigh Douglas who won’t be eligible for the Australian champions jersey but had a very impressive win in round one of the national series in December.
 
Other feature events of the SRAM Australian MTB Championships include the trials competition on Saturday 16 January and the short course cross country and dirt jumps on Sunday 17 January.
 
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, please contact:
 
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au

Specialized announced as Presenting Sponsor for Jayco MTBA 2009-2010 Asutralian MTB Series
December 14, 2009

The Jayco National MTB Series has gained another high profile sponsor. Specialized will come on board as the Presenting Sponsor for all rounds.

Ben Morrison, Marketing Manager for Specialized said, "Specialized Bicycles is delighted to partner with Mountain Bike Australia in presenting to the Australian public this highly anticipated Jayco National Mountain Bike series. Through this series we reaffirm our commitment to promoting and celebrating Mountain Bike Racing in Australia.
 
The venues and dates for the Jayco 2009-2010 MTBA Australian MTB Series are:

Round 1: Glenorchy MTB Park, Tasmania - December 12-13 2009
Round 2: Shepparton, Victoria - January 23-24 2010 (UCI C2 listed for XCO and DH)
Round 3: Thredbo, NSW - February 13-14 2010 (UCI C2 listed for XCO and DH)
Round 4: Stromlo Forest Park, ACT - March 13-14 2010 (UCI C2 listed for XCO and DH)  

Fry and McConnell deliver again
December 13, 2009

Sunday 13 December 2009
 
Day two of racing at the opening round of the Jayco Australian Mountain Bike (MTB) Series saw Rowena Fry and Daniel McConnell come away with their second wins for the weekend while Leigh Douglas and Ben Cory took out the downhill races.
 
The men’s short course cross country race was a hard fought race between the experienced McConnell and rising star Paul van der Ploeg, 20, who took the initiative early trying to break the race up.
 
McConnell waited patiently early in the race before closing the gap to the young Victorian and eventually taking the win ahead of van der Ploeg and Ben Henderson but was impressed by his young rival.
 
“Paul just pushed me and pushed me. I thought he was going to run away with it but I just came good at the right time and managed to sneak away,” McConnell said.
 
“The future of Paul is just huge. Who knows what he can do. He’s so young and his stills are just awesome and he is definitely a name to watch in the future.”
 
Van der Ploeg was philosophical about his second place finish saying he always learns a lot from McConnell and might not be quite so aggressive at the start of the race next time.
 
For Tasmania’s Fry the women’s short course race capped off the perfect weekend of racing when she got the better of Heather Logie and Rebecca Henderson.
 
At the end of the first lap Fry appeared to have the race wrapped up after Logie crashed and found herself in last place.
 
Showing plenty courage Logie got back into the race and clawed her way back to second place coming into the closing stages but Fry had enough in reserve to hold on to win by six seconds.
 
The Tasmanian said she was happy with her early season form but saved much of her praise for Logie.
 
“She’s riding awesome,” Fry said of the second place finisher.
 
“I don’t know where she’s come from but it’s great to have another girl riding really well on the Australian circuit and a credit to her.,She’s flying.”
 
By coming back from her first lap crash Logie, who comes from an adventure racing background, showed the sort of character that could make her a factor for the rest of the series.
 
“In something this short, it’s over, it’s got to be over,” Logie said of the crash.
 
“And then I just thought, ‘that’s not me’. That’s not the way I’ve approached anything so why would I give up. I thought I’d just keep going and give it a go.”
 
In the downhill competition Ben Cory won the men’s event ahead of Amiel Cavalier and Rick Boyer.
 
Cory said he didn’t feel like his ride was anything special but was delighted with the win and now that he leads the downhill category of the Australian MTB series intends to contest the remaining three rounds in an effort to defend his lead.
 
In the women’s race it was a commanding win for the series defending champion Leigh Douglas.
 
Racing on home soil Douglas, the Canadian born Kingston resident, was a staggering 31 seconds faster than second place finisher Emma Lewis and has cemented herself once again as the women to beat in the 2009/10 series.
 
Third place in the women’s downhill race went to Sarah Booth.
 
The next round of the Jayco Australian MTB Series will be held in Shepparton, 23-24 January 2010. But prior to that the Australian Championships will be raced in Adelaide 12-17 January 2010.
 
Results
Elite women’s short course cross country
1.    Rowena Fry (TAS)
2.    Heather Logie (ACT)
3.    Rebecca Henderson (ACT) 
 
Elite men’s short course cross country
1.    Daniel McConnell (VIC)
2.    Paul van der Ploeg (VIC)
3.    Ben Henderson (ACT) 
 
Elite men’s downhill
1.    Ben Cory (ACT) 
2.    Amiel Cavalier (NSW)
3.    Rick Boyer (NSW)
 
Elite women’s downhill
1.    Leigh Douglas (TAS)
2.    Emma Lewis (TAS)
3.    Sarah Booth (SA)

For more information, please contact:
 
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au

Fry and McConnell off to perfect start
December 13, 2009

Saturday 12 December 2009
 
The Jayco Australian Mountain Bike (MTB) Series got underway in Glenorchy, Tasmania, today with local favourite Rowena Fry taking the honours in the women’s cross country race and Beijing Olympian Daniel McConnell winning the men’s event.
 
After a difficult couple of weeks due to funding cuts to the high performance mountain bike program Fry was just relieved to be able to let her legs do the talking.
 
“I’m just happy to be out racing in the Australian summer and it’s good to get the season underway again especially after all the publicity that’s been about elite mountain biking (funding cuts),” the Australian mountain bike champion said.
 
“It’s good to come out and show that we’re still kicking on and still going well.”
 
Fry took control of the race right from the start with a commanding performance that showed her to be a class above the rest of Australia’s elite women despite claiming she didn’t have great legs on the main climb of the course.
 
“I don’t think anyone’s legs would feel good on that climb but I managed to get up it for five laps so I’m happy with that,” Fry said.
 
“It was a bit comical at the start because I wanted to sit behind someone but everyone else had the same idea.
 
“As no one wanted to take the lead I got forced onto the front and was trying to ride off some other girls and put the foot down with three laps to go.”
 
The minor placings were taken by Heather Logie from Canberra in second position at one minute and 27 seconds behind Fry, with Victoria’s Jenni King in third place a further one minute and 24 seconds back.
 
The first under-23 finisher was Rebecca Henderson, who went across the line in fourth position overall. After finishing eighth in the under-19 category at the 2009 World Championships it was Henderson’s first official race out of the junior ranks and confirmed she is a likely challenger to Fry in the near future.
 
In the men’s event the win didn’t come quiet as easily for McConnell but in the end he demonstrated why he started the race as the one to beat.
 
“I held back for the first few laps as I didn’t really know how the other guys were going. I got about half way and decided to make a move. I got a bit of a gap and got out of sight and that’s all I needed,” McConnell said.
 
“It’s good just to come out with a win. I’m rapt.”
 
Being round one of the Jayco Australian MTB series it was a chance for the 24-year-old Victorian to measure his early season form.
 
“It’s one thing to train but when you go out with 30 of Australia’s best riders it makes you think there’s always room for improvement,” McConnell said.
 
“I was just going into today’s race to see how the form is and see what I need to work on over the next month or two.
 
“The signs today were pretty good. So now I’m just looking forward to the rest of the year.”
 
There were also plenty of positive signs for Adrian Jackson finishing in second place one minute and 31 seconds behind the winner. Jackson finished second overall in the Jayco Australian MTB series last season and was sitting in third place for the majority of the day but finished strongly to show his consistency.
 
Tasmania continued its good run of results on home turf with Ben Mather finishing third.
 
In the men’s under-23 category a jubilant Paul van der Ploeg went out the winner with a victory salute reminiscent of an Arnold Schwarzenegger pose in his body building hey-day.
 
“I was just having a bit of fun and had been working on that one for a little bit,” van der Ploeg said of his celebration across the finish line.
 
“I’ll race all the national series, have fun with that and try and get serious for the world cup races when I head over to Europe in March for all the big ones.”
 
Tomorrow will see the downhill, enduro and short course cross country races contested.
 
Results
Elite women’s cross country
1.    Rowena Fry (TAS) 1:49.15
2.    Heather Logie (ACT) at 1.27
3.    Jenni King (VIC) at 2.56
 
Under-23 women’s cross country
1.    Rebecca Henderson (ACT) 1:54.26
2.    Therese Rhodes (SA) at 2.21
3.    Sarah Homes (SA) at 2.21
 
Elite men’s cross country
1.    Daniel McConnell (VIC) 2:05.11
2.    Adrian Jackson (VIC) at 1.31
3.    Ben Mather (TAS) at 2.17
 
Under-23 men’s cross country
1.    Paul van der Ploeg (VIC) 2:08.20
2.    Luke Fetch (VIC) at 3.45
3.    Aaron Benson (QLD) at 6.31
 
For more information, please contact:
 
Matthew Keenan - Jump Media and Marketing
(03) 9500 0122 or 0438 048 083
matthew@jumpmedia.com.au

Event Village Booking for Expo and exhibitors for Jayco national Series Events
December 2, 2009

Please download the form here and forward onto the MTBA event manager.

Document Download:
EventBookings.pdf (PDF - 148 Kb)

Voluneers needed for Round 1 - Glenorchy
November 26, 2009

Wanted!
Volunteer Event Crew

That’s right, it’s on again already.  Last year we had the last round, this year we have the first.  And that makes for a fairly short holiday between events!

This season MTBA have taken on most of the administrative roles required in running this event, leaving us with just having to provide the racing venue and a volunteer army to assist.  In return we get a guaranteed income and less grey hair.

So, if you are coming to watch the best Mountain Bike action and riders in the country, or you have time in your competing schedule, remember, the best seats are reserved for the event crew.  

To help you decide to best time to volunteer here is a rough schedule for the event:

Session 1, Friday Afternoon 11 Dec:  Practice for all disciplines
Session 2, Saturday Morning 12 Dec:  Olympic distance cross country (XCO) racing, downhill and 4X practice
Session 3, Saturday Afternoon 12 Dec: More XCO racing, downhill practice and 4X racing
Session 4, Sunday Morning 13 Dec: Short course cross country (XCC) racing, Enduro cross country racing, downhill practice and racing
Session 5, Sunday Afternoon 13 Dec: More enduro cross country and downhill racing

So, if you can help out, please complete the volunteer registration form over the page and send it to me (post, email or phone) as soon as you can.  I will confirm receipt of your registration form and contact you again in the fortnight leading up to the event with a volunteer roster.  Maybe even a grand prize draw for one lucky volunteer!

We are of course overflowing with gratitude for your offers of help and will respond in the normal way with free T Shirts, other give-aways and free gourmet food while you’re working.  Call me anytime if you have any questions or suggestions.

Craig Saunders
Volunteer Coordinator
For Dirt Devils MTB
0429 868 833
Craig.Saunders@parks.tas.gov.au
http://www.dirtdevilsmtb.com

Document Download:
VolunteerNeededRound1.pdf (PDF - 48 Kb)

Updates to National Series Scheduling - Vets added to XCO
November 19, 2009

Several important updates have been agreed upon for the Series. As you can see from the on-line entry notices above Master aged XCO race categories have been re-inserted into the race schedule for Saturday. Participants 30 years and over can now enter the Jayco MTBA Australian MTB Series in their own classes of Veteran, Masters and Super-Master in both male and female XCO.

The male master aged athletes will race after the Under 19 and Under 17 riders at 2.30pm, while the females will race after the Elite, U23, U19 and U17 women at 8.30am.

Other changes are:

Presentations for XCO now scheduled for directly after the finish of the racing block as follows:

• All Women at 10.30am,
• Elite/U23 men at 1.30pm  
• U19,U17 and Master aged men at 4.30pm

• XCO Elite/U23 men 9.30 - 10.00am Saturday
• XCO Women at 7.00 - 7.30am Saturday
• XCO U19,U17 and Master aged men at 1.00 - 1.30pm Saturday
• XCE all categories at 7.00 - 8.00am Sunday

Document Download:
NationalSeriesSChedule0910V6.pdf (PDF - 89 Kb)

Jayco announced as 2009-2010 National Series sponsor
November 18, 2009

As you can see by the name MTBA has secured Jayco as the 2009-2010 Series Sponsor. Jayco have been widely involved in high profile cycling events such as the Jayco Herald-Sun Tour for many years and their entry into the mountain bike aspects of cycling is very welcome.

Here is what Andrew Ryan from Jayco said about the sponsorship, "Jayco is very excited to be a part of the Australian Mountain Bike Series, it is a great sport that doesn’t always get the support that it deserves and look forward to a long association with the event." We couldn't agree more!

Expect to see some of the cutting-edge Jayco products at the Series rounds.
 
The venues and dates for the Jayco 2009-2010 MTBA Australian MTB Series are:

Round 1: Glenorchy MTB Park, Tasmania - December 12-13 2009
Round 2: Shepparton, Victoria - January 23-24 2010 (UCI C2 listed for XCO and DH)
Round 3: Thredbo, NSW - February 13-14 2010 (UCI C2 listed for XCO and DH)
Round 4: Stromlo Forest Park, ACT - March 13-14 2010 (UCI C2 listed for XCO and DH)

2010 MTBA Australian MTB Championships - website and on-line entry now live
November 5, 2009

The 2010 MTBA Australian MTB Championships website is now live

To enter on-line entry use these direct links:

• Olympic Cross Country (XCO): https://www.registernow.com.au/mtba/ERegister.aspx?S=&E=81
• Short Track Cross Country (XCC): https://www.registernow.com.au/mtba/ERegister.aspx?S=&E=82
• DownHill (DHI): https://www.registernow.com.au/mtba/ERegister.aspx?S=&E=83
• Four Cross (4X): https://www.registernow.com.au/mtba/ERegister.aspx?S=&E=84
• Bike Trials: https://www.registernow.com.au/mtba/ERegister.aspx?S=&E=85

2009-2010 National Series Rider Information
October 25, 2009

The latest version of the National Series Rider Information for the 2009-2010 National Racing season is now available.

Download the document here.

It will cover most if not all the information you will need to know about the upcoming season.

2010 Australian Solo 24hr MTB Championships
October 22, 2009

MTBA announces the availability of the bidding document for the 2010 Australian Solo 24hr MTB Championships hosting.

Bids to host are due to MTBA by 23rd November 2009.

Document Download:
2010SoloBid.pdf (PDF - 227 Kb)

On-line entry for Round 1 2009-1020 National series now available
October 16, 2009

On-line entry to round 1 of the 2009-2010 National MTB Series at Glenorchy, Tasmania is now available.

To enter XCO (Elite, U23, U19 and U17 only) click here.

To enter 4hr Enduro (Solo (male and female in open and 40+), Pairs (male, female and mixed teams in open and 40+) and Schools Team of three (male, female and mixed 13yo - 18yo) click here.

To enter DH click here

To enter 4X click here

To enter Short Track XC (XCC) click here.

The race schedule is available for download here.

Document Download:
0910NationalSeriesSchedule.pdf (PDF - 218 Kb)

2009 MTBA Australian MTB Marathon Championships - Rescheduled
April 29, 2009

With the devastating bushfires in Victoria still on our mind MTBA is pleased to announce that the venue for the 2009 Australian MTB Marathon Championships have been rescheduled to Bendigo on September 20th 2009 and will be held in conjunction with the Bendigo Mountain Bike Club.
 
The ROCKSHOX Golden Triangle, which has been run with great local success for the previous 3 years, will form the basis of the Championships. The ROCKSHOX Golden Triangle gets its name from rich gold rush heritage of the Bendigo region (with the Golden Triangle including Castlemaine, Daylesford and Bendigo).
 
John Harvey, President of the Bendigo club said, "Tagging the ROCKSHOX Golden Triangle with the Australian MTB Marathon Championships will provide a boost to the local economy affected by the February fires and the economic downturn. To have an event of this significance in the region will be  great opportunity to increase the exposure of MTB to the local and regional community and an opportunity to showcase some of the unique MTB riding opportunities within the area."

"We look forward to welcoming a range of riders from the novices and juniors doing the 25km or the 16yrs olds doing the 50km event and obviously the best riders in the country doing 105km and racing for the Australian green and gold jersey. The Bendigo MTB club are committed to providing a quality, challenging and enjoyable mtb event."
 
Entry will open on-line on July 1st.
 

Cory captures series final and Douglas upsets
March 3, 2009

In the women’s downhill national series final in Hobart today, Tasmania's, Leigh Douglas caused an upset when she beat national champion, Claire Whiteman from Canberra.  Douglas won in 3 min 59.67 sec and took out the national series title Whiteman after a three year domination of the series.  A former Canadian, Douglas, competed in her first season in elite class and impressed by qualifying fastest in the first run at the Glenorchy Mountain Bike Park.
 
After holding the monopoly for three years, Whiteman had to be content for second overall.
 
Fellow Tasmanian, Emma Lewis, placed second while Whiteman claimed third.
 
Canberra’s Ben Cory turned the tables in the elite men’s race by taking the win in 3 min 11.03 sec. Series leader Joshua Button from Coffs Harbour was able to maintain the lead by placing second just half a second behind Cory. At 19, Button claims his first national series overall title.
 
Third was former World Junior Champion, Amiel Cavalier from Wollongong. Local rider Kaine Cannan placed eighth.
 
Ben Cory from Canberra qualified in the fastest time all day with a 3 min 9.99 sec run.
 
After taking some time off Cory has returned stronger than ever and claimed his first win of the national series. Although Cory joked about training and explained he just loved riding it did seem the upcoming UCI Mountain Bike And Trials World Championships in September has sparked some interest.
 
"The idea of racing World Championships in your home town would be unbelievable." stated Cory. "It would be great to be selected but whether or not that’s a possibility I’m not sure yet."
 
In one of the closest races of the season was in the Under 19 division with any three riders such as Shaun O’Connor, Rhys Willemse or Tamryn Murrell. O’Connor won and takes the series win for a second time. National Champion, Willemse was unlucky to strike a tree but finished in second place claiming second overall in the series. Willemse was unharmed.
 
Third in under 19 was local talent, Antony Moore.
 
For more info/interviews with riders/photos/ vision details/ results contact:
 
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

South Australia to Host 2010-2012 Australian MTB Championships
March 2, 2009

South Australia has secured the rights to host the Australian Mountain Bike Championships at Eagle Mountain Bike Park for the next three years.

Recreation and Sport Minister Michael Wright and Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith today announced that Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) had chosen South Australia to host the five-day championships from 2010 to 2012.

The first event will be held at Eagle Mountain Bike Park, at Leawood Gardens in the Adelaide Hills, from 13-17 January 2010.

“Mountain bike riding is increasingly popular both here in Australia and around the world and I’m thrilled that South Australia is going to be home to the sport’s national championships for the next three years,” said Minister Wright.

“It is a hugely challenging sport for participants and an exciting spectacle for non-participants and predictions are that up to 900 riders will be competing, with up to 10,000 spectators viewing over the five days.”

A series of significant infrastructure improvements will be made to Eagle Mountain Bike Park in preparation for the championships.

This will include an upgrade of the park’s internal access road, establishment of a permanent, world-class four cross (4X) track, expansion of a downhill finish area and minor upgrades to existing courses.

“This is another great result for South Australia and further strengthens our reputation as the centre of cycling in Australia,” said Minister Lomax-Smith.

“The Australian Mountain Bike Championships will kick-start a fortnight of cycling action in South Australia, with the event preceding the Tour Down Under.

“The final day of the five-day competition will coincide with the Tour Down Under’s prologue event, the Down Under Classic, on 17 January.

“The opportunity to host two significant events back-to-back is a real bonus for the state and will create a festival of cycling excitement next January.”

The event will be the largest event yet staged at Eagle Mountain Bike Park, following on from the World Police & Fire Games and the Australasian Masters Games, both in 2007.

Mountain Bike Australia Executive Officer, Tony Scott, said he was thrilled that South Australia had been chosen to host the pinnacle of Australian mountain bike competition for the next three years.

“Judging on the professionalism with which South Australia has run the previous two National Series rounds in 2007 and 2008, we have all the confidence in the world that the championships will be a great success.”

The event will decide the national mens, womens, junior and other category champions in each of the five main disciplines of mountain biking – Cross Country Olympic (XCO), Short Course Cross Country (XCC), Downhill (DH), Four Cross (4X) and Trials (OT).

The 2012 event will also serve as a major qualifier for selection of Australian representatives in the cross country event for the London Olympic Games.  

Beijing Olympian back in front
March 1, 2009

Victorian, Daniel McConnell, had his first mountain bike win since representing Australia at the Beijing Olympics. The 23 year old returned to form to win the National Mountain Bike Series Final in Hobart today.
 
McConnell managed to stay ahead of a fast finishing national champion, Chris Jongewaard from Adelaide. McConnell rode an impressive 2 hours 3 min 34 sec..
 
“We just all wanted to go out there and see how fast we could rider,” said McConnell.
“On the fifth lap I was struggling. I definitely feel a bit tired now.”
 
McConnell was relieved to have his first national win since Beijing under his belt.
 
“I just wanted it a bit really. It was good to come out and get the win,” said McConnell.
 
For 20 year old Jongewaard it was a race that did not go right even from the start.
 
“I got off to a good start, I got my foot in the pedal straight away and it was all going well then about the third or fourth pedal I unclipped and couldn’t quite get it back in,” he said.
 
:I guess I got a bit impatient and went up the climb and tried to overtake a whole heap of riders. I went down the downhill a bit too fast.  I think I took a wrong line and double punctured. The rear tyre just kept going down and I had to go into the pits.”
 
Jongewaard lost over two minutes in the first lap after suffering two flat tyres (double flatted) and found himself at the ‘wrong’ end of the elite men’s field.
 
“One thing after the next just kept going wrong,” explained Jongewaard. After crashing and gaining some ground Jongewaard progressed through the field to eventually finish in second place.”
 
I did it a couple of times in Europe, explained Jongewaard. "Once you loose in touch with the leaders you’ve got no show to usually get onto the podium.”.
 
I had fun out there. I just really enjoyed going hard. I’ve had it my own way for the whole year so far. To have that level of uncertainty is good for me I guess”
 
In what turned out to be the most unpredictable race of the series, early leader Dylan Cooper, held the lead for the first two of seven laps. Cooper could not maintain the momentum into the third lap and withdrew.
 
Jongewaard’s second placing gives him the national series overall win while Bendigo’s Lachlan Norris placed third and also takes out the Under 23 overall series title.
 
The elite women’s winner was Rowena Fry from Launceston. The 26 year old, current national champion, led the elite women's field  through five laps but was challenged in the first three by Bendigo’s Katherine O’Shea.
 
“I had to work for it,” admitted Fry. “Katherine O’Shea made me work for it."
 
She actually was in front of me on the third lap then I just snuck past her,”
 
The local favourite, Fry was cheered along by her how crowd.
 
“It was great having a few friends and family out on the track cheering me on. Definitely I didn’t want to disappoint on home turf,” stated Fry.
 
Third was Zoe King from Sydney.
 
Fourth place was taken out by Bendigo’s Jo Wall and fifth was Brisbane’s Jodie Willett.
 
Willett had led the series coming into the final round but Katherine O’Shea now lays claim as the national series overall winner. The Under 23 series overall winner was Canberra’s Gracie Elvin.
 
For more info/quotes/interviews contact:
 
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Tassie mountain bike could end in tussle
February 28, 2009

The AdvantageCard Tassie National in Hobart over this weekend could see a tussle between top ranked riders. The fifth and final round of the National Mountain Bike Series gets underway on Saturday with Cross Country followed by Four Cross later in the day. Downhill riders will race on Sunday.
 
On home turf, Tasmania's Leigh Douglas could upset the current national champion, Claire Whiteman in the downhill final on Sunday. Kingston currently trails by only eight points and is in good form following a win at the previous round in Mt Buller. Douglas is expected to use her recent form and local track knowledge to her advantage.
 
In the elite men’s current series leader, Joshua Button, has a more comfortable buffer of 31 points may get challenged by former World Junior Champion, Amiel Cavalier Button currently holds a comfortable 31 point lead.
 
The Under 19 men’s downhill will be the closest race of the season with only 12 points separating all top three riders. Current leader, Queensland’s Tamryn Murrell, is closely followed by last year’s series leader Shaun O’Connor Currently in third place is national champion, Rhys Willemse. The winner on the Glenorchy course will be sure to take out the series.
 
The Cross Country Olympic series winner will be decided tomorrow. An early lead in the season by Queensland’s Jodie Willett could hold off Victoria’s Katherine O’Shea. Willett’s narrow margin of six points may be ample if she places in front of O’Shea. National Champion, Rowena Fry from Launceston, is also in the line up along with last round’s winner Zoe King, however the pair are not in line to take out the overall series.
The strong women’s field could see several of this season’s top riders with the potential to win.
 
Three time national champion, Chris Jongewaard from South Australia, looks like a certainty to take the series after winning three of the four previous rounds. Ben Henderson from Canberra is the closest rival but a full 56 points looks impossible after seeing Jongewaard’s current form. Henderson also sits second in the cross country criterium series.
 
The Under 23 series leaders are Canberra pair, Gracie Elvin and Nathan Haas. Elvin hopes to maintain her 27 point lead over South Australia’s Terri Rhodes while Haas has to starve off Victoria’s Neil van der Ploeg also trailing by 27 points.
 
Four Cross elite men’s series leader, Thomas Hubert has withdrawn due to recent injury which leaves the series lead open for BMX Olympian, Luke Madill.
 
The current elite women’s leader, Caroline Buchanan, also suffered an injury last week and is not competing which should allow Sarsha Huntington to secure a series win.
 
For further information
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

2009 MTBA Australian MTB Marathon Championships - Wandong - Cancelled
February 19, 2009

Big Hill Events regret to announce that due to the devastating fires that have recently swept the Wandong area, the FELT MTBA 2009 Australian National Marathon Championships has been postponed.
 
A new date, venue and host for the 2009 Championships are yet to be confirmed by MTBA.   All current entrants will be contacted directly by Big Hill Events regarding the process for refund or credit.

Due to the severity of the damage caused by the fires, it is unlikely that Big Hill Events will be able to run a race in Wandong in the following year.  However, Big Hill Events are very busy with plans for a new Victorian race venue for March 2010 and are hopeful of being given the opportunity to host the 2010 MTBA Australian National Marathon Championships.
 
Big Hill Events are also planning to co-host a 6hr Enduro as part of the Victorian Enduro Series and host a stage race that will include a Hill Climb, XC race and Mini Marathon.
 
We thank you for your patience and understanding.  We would also like to share our great appreciation towards our many sponsors and supporters of the 2009 event. 
 
Our thoughts remain with all of those who have been affected by the Victorian bush fires.
 
Regards,
 
Rohin Adams                                                     Bruce Dickey
Race Director                                                     Race Director
  

World Champ whiz and Douglas claims career first
February 3, 2009

Two-time World Champion, Sam Hill, annihilated his opposition in a blinding downhill run in the fourth National Series round in Mt Buller today. Hill blitzed down the 3 km run in 3 min 18.84 sec beating national champion, Mick Hannah from Cairns, by 6 seconds.
 
"It was pretty hard," admitted Hill. "I wanted to give it everything I had to see what time I could do.”
 
It's a fairly technical and a loose and dusty and dry course, really."
 
Third was Amiel Cavalier from Wollongong while fourth by just 0.16 seconds was Bryn Atkinson from the Blue Mountains. Fifth was Hill's team mate and British professional, Brendan Fairclough, again just 0.13 sec further down.
 
Both Hill and Fairclough will now spend two months in Perth to prepare for their assault on the World Cup series which has been dominated by Hill in previous years.
 
"I've got two months before the first World Cup. I will just get as fit and strong as I can," explained Hill.
 
Joshua Button from Coffs Harbour finished a respectable sixth but retained the series lead.
 
While there was little surprise in the men’s winner, the women’s race was the exception when Tasmanian downhiller, Leigh Douglas, took the win from national champion Claire Whiteman from Canberra.
 
The 30 year old Canadian claimed the first win in her career after placing on the podium only once in the second round of the series.
 
"It feels awesome especially when I called my parents back in Canada it felt really, really good," smiled Douglas.
 
After qualifying fourth fastest, Douglas knew she had to post a far better time in the final.
 
"I had a mistake at the beginning and thought I had to make up for it," she explained.
 
Douglas posted a 4 min 31.68 sec which was 13 seconds faster than Whiteman.
 
Third was also an unexpected podium finish for fellow Tasmanian, Erin Hockey, after crashing in her final run.
 Whiteman retains the lead in the elite women's series however if the positions are repeated in the final round next month, Douglas will take out the series.
 
The fifth and final round of the series will be held in Hobart at the end of February.
 
For photos, full results, interviews, vision access or further information contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Jongewaard changes mountain temperature and King conquers
January 31, 2009

Newly crowned national champion, Chris Jongewaard, backed up his win at the titles last Sunday by winning the fourth National Series round today in Mt Buller in Victoria. The soaring temperatures elsewhere in the southern states given over 400 mountain bike riders a ten degree cooler respite..
 
Jongewaard rode the five laps in an impressive 2 hour 9.17 min. The 8 km newly developed cross course was unrelenting and according to Jongewaard, today’s race was tougher than winning the championships last weekend in Canberra.
 
“I reckon last weekend was a little bit easier for me,” he said.
 
“The first couple of laps were good but the course is so rough it gets you every lap so it’s very fatiguing out there,” Jongewaard admitted.
 
Many riders succumbed to the heat or conditions and even for Jongewaard it was the rocks that cause him to struggle in sections of the course.
 
“It’s so rocky out there it’s unpredictable and you can’t always see all the rocks. You’ve just got to be smooth and hold your line sometimes you hit a rock and it sends you a different direction! It’s pretty tough,” he said.
 
Still Jongewaard did not regret a chance to race to depart his Adelaide base where temperatures soared..
 
“It was a perfect opportunity to get away from Adelaide. I heard it was ten degrees cooler up here. A mate and I decided to come up so we are just enjoying the nice scenery and the good air up here,” he said.
 
Jongewaard also keeps his series lead with only one race remaining. Hobart will host the final national round at the end of February.
 
Zoe King from Manly won her first race of the national season after sitting behind national champion, Rowena Fry from Tasmania, early in the four lap race. King pounced on Fry on the second last climb and gained a minute on Fry to secure a victory.
 
"Feels great , it's a really long day out in the heat/ Two hours is along race anyway and just to be in these temperature s it was ohard work. I wcertainly went out conservatively and tried to stay strong," explaned King.
 
The heat took its toll with the women riding longer than officials expected stretching it to a 2 hour 4.47 min time for top finisher, King.
 
“It was just important to save yourself in this heat,” said King.
 
The women’s race went over the two hour mark even though officials expected it to be quicker.
 
Fry claimed second in a sprint for the line with Mt Beauty rider, Tory Thomas, in third. Fourth was silver national champion, Jo Wall from Bendigo.
 
A respectable placing by Brisbane’s Jodie Willett in seventh place allowed her to keep the series lead.
 
Downhill practice will continue on Sunday with racing getting underway at 12 noon. Racing in this national round are two time world champion, Sam Hill and British team-mate, Brendan Fairclough.
 
Defending their elite category series leads will be Coffs Harbour’s Joshua Button and Canberra’s Claire Whiteman.
 
For other photos/interviews of vision details contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

The mountain biking competition heats up at Mt Buller
January 29, 2009

Australia’s best mountain bikers, including World Champion Downhill rider Sam Hill, will be competing at Mt Buller next weekend, January 31 and February 1, in the  Australian MTB National Series Round Four. The three disciplined event is not to be missed by competitors or spectators alike.

Cross-country olympic competition will be held from 9am on Saturday, with entrants competing on the picturesque 8km course, which starts in the Mt Buller Village, goes over to Corn Hill and Howqua Gap and then back to Mt Buller.

All the action moves to the resort’s northern slopes on Sunday with riders competing in the fast paced Short Course Cross Country event and Downhill rider’s on the challenging International course from 12 pm. Competition will be held in elite and sport classes, with age categories from U15 to veterans.

Mt Buller’s Horse Hill Chairlift will be open for sightseers and mountain bikers over the weekend. The International track will be closed for the MTBA competition on Sunday, but the ABOM downhill track will be open to the public. The chairlift will operate from 9 am – 6 pm on Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm on Sunday and 10 am – 4 pm on Monday. The chairlift will operate both days earlier for competitor practice.

One-way sightseeing tickets are $12 for adults and children, or $18 for an adult all-day ticket and $10 for a child all-day. Mountain biking lift tickets are $47 for a day. Altitude Sports, located in the heart of the Mt Buller Village, is open everyday with bike rental and retail. Cross country bike hire ranges from $40 for a half-day (4hrs) or $60 for a full-day. Downhill rental ranges from $80 for a half-day (4hrs) and $120 for a full-day hire - inclusive of a full-faced helmet, gloves and downhill bike. Competition entry prices are listed on the website.

To complement the biking action, Mt Buller plays host to the Buller Beerfest, located in the Village Square on Saturday from 12-6pm. Now in its third year, the event offers beer aficionados (and those just out for a drink) a chance to sample some of Victoria’s finest amber fluid from microbreweries including Coldstream, Buffalo and Grand Ridge.

For more information and event schedules or to enter the National MTBA event log onto www.mtbuller.com.au under the ‘Events’ section or for a wide range of summer accommodation options, contact High Country Reservations on 1800 039 049.

For Mountain Bike media information contact:

Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

 For Mt Buller media/marketing information contact:

Jacqui Whitby
Marketing Manager
Buller Ski Lifts
5777 7821
0418 555 066
Jacqui.whitby@skibuller.com.au

Olympian relieved with Mountain Cross win
January 24, 2009

CANBERRA: Jared Graves claimed his first national four cross title today after a four year drought. The BMX Olympic finalist was elated after a convincing win at the National Mountain Bike Championships in Canberra in the first day of competition. The Toowoomba rider can now add this win to his recent World Cup win on the same course.
 
Often on the podium at World Championships and World Cups, the 26 year was equally delighted with an Australian jersey.
 
“I haven’t won one since 2005,” he explained. “I was a touch late on the gate but I got the gas down and just really tried to rider smooth with elbows wide.”
 
Second was Graves’ protégé, Sam Willoughby, in only his second mountain bike race.
 
According to Graves, Willoughby has proven he is ready for the big league.
 
“It’s unreal to have him (Willoughby) up there. He’s an awesome kid too and he’s like a little brother I'd. never had. He’s beaten me at BMX a month ago so he’s shown he is ready to step it up.”
 
Graves win kick starts his World Cup campaign his aim to return to Australia in September to win the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships.
 
“It’s a big confidence boost,” said Graves about his win on the World Championship course. “I know what I have to do to win.”
 
Defending national champion and BMX Olympian, Luke Madill, suffered a puncture and finished behind Ryan Henderson in fourth place.
 
Canberra’s Caroline Buchanan won her fourth national title in classic style today but the 18 year old admitted she was more nervous than usual.
 
“Even after winning the World Cup here with over 7 000 spectators, I was actually more nervous today,” she said. “I've only been on a new bike over the last two weeks. Also the track was a bit rough.”
 
BMX silver world medallist, Lauren Reynolds placed second in her first mountain bike race while Brisbane’s Sarsha Huntington claimed third. Townsville’s Rachel Bracken rode well in her first foray into mountain bike and placed fourth.

4X results are available in the National Championships 4X calendar entry.
 
The national championships continue tomorrow with the olympic cross country, bicycle trials and the downhill seeding run.
 
For further information/interviews or photos please contact
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au 

Course changes little as Stromlo tunes up for World Champs
January 23, 2009

While the biggest cycling phenomenon is happening in South Australia, Canberra also plays host to an important cycling event. The 2009 Australian Mountain Bike Championships at Stromlo Forest Park over the Australia Day weekend has attracted over 500 competitors from around the world including riders from Australia, New Zealand, France, Czech Republic and Germany. This weekend gives riders a sneak preview of the course that will be used in this year's 2009 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships between 1 – 6 September.

There are five disciplines over three days and without doubt all eyes will be on the four events that will return for the World Championship;, four cross, cross country olympic, bicycle trials and downhill,

Elite competition begins on Saturday afternoon with the heats and finals of Four Cross. The BMX style course is expected to see some tight racing and close finishes.

On Sunday morning the elite and under 23 women’s race precedes the men’s. The 8.5 km laps will be similar to the recent World Cup circuit with a fire road start which hooks into the single track. The famous 300 m ‘Cardiac Climb’ is followed by a technical rocky section. The one metre rock drop known as “Hammerhead” will again become popular for spectators. About mid course riders will head into the berm track known as the ‘Weekend at Bermies’. There is a double feed zone followed by a climb known as ‘Blackberry Climb’. The remainder of the course has fast descents and been described as a quick and flowing course. Women will race for approximately 1 hour 45 min while the men’s competition is closer to the 2 hour mark.

Sunday afternoon the downhill riders will complete one seeding run. The 2.2 m track starts from a 2.7 m high scaffold start ramp. Riders head into the first open section which has step downs followed by the fire road jump. Competitors then need to choose the faster ‘A line’ or the easier ‘B line’ through the lengthy rock garden into the traverse. The tricky ‘G 20’ section will sort out the riders before they head through the downhill bridge. The ‘triple treat’ has high speed berms followed by a road gap known as ‘first blood’. As expected on a course like this riders face a pedally “wallaby run” From the busy ‘J walk’ intersection riders then need to pump home with one final jump before the finish line. Winning times are expected to be between 2.30 to 2.45 minutes.

The Mountain Bike Trials will set up and competition will be conducted throughout Sunday.

In amongst the events are Friday's Club Team Relay and the Short Course Cross Country on Monday morning.

For further information, interviews, photos or vision contact:

Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
0412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Entries for the 2009 MTBA Australian MTB Champs Close 19/1/09 – Enter Now.
January 16, 2009

Online race registration for the 2009 MTBA Australian Championships will close midnight on Monday 19 January. You will be able to register at the event but pre-race registrations are appreciated - not to say cheaper; on-the-day entries will cost $30 extra - so get in early and enter now and save! Visit www.mtbnationals.com.au

VOLUNTEERS FOR 2009 MTBA Australian MTB Championships urgently needed
January 9, 2009

The Nationals 2009 team urgently require more volunteers for all tasks including course marshalling, set-up and pack-up.  If you can volunteer for half or even a full a day between Thursday 22 January and Tuesday 27 January you will have our sincere thanks and also be part of a great event team.  Please fill in the details on the  Volunteer Registration Form below and email to Sarah at volunteers@mtbnationals.com.au.

Document Download:
2009MTBChampionshipsVolunteers.doc (MSWORD - 36 Kb)

2009 MTBA Australian MTB Championships riders registration now open!
December 23, 2008

Rider registration for the 2009 MTBA Australian MTB Championships is now open. The best riders from all over Australia and will compete on the course that will decide the World Champion in 2009. Go to  www.mtbnationals.com.au, and click though to Riders Registration.

National Series in video
December 17, 2008

Check out video clips of Illinbah (Series round 2) and You Yangs (series round 3) here:

You Yangs: www.gotv.net.au/index.asp?speed=512

Illinbah: www.youtube.com/v/zeB8VEeaYUQ&hl=en&fs=1
Credit to Shane Wode

NATIONAL CHAMP OUTCLASSES OLYMPIANS - XCO#3
December 13, 2008

National Cross Country rider, Chris Jongewaard from Adelaide, won the National Mountain Bike Series round held in Geelong today. Despite unexpected rain, Jongewaard led from the first of five laps winning in an overall time of 2.hours 9 min 17 sec. A top class field was assembled including three Olympians, Beijing’s Dan McConnell (Bruthen) and Athens Olympians Sid Taberlay (Hobart) and Josh Flemming (Bendigo).
 
Jongewaard was unchallenged throughout the race and surprised himself after recently returning from a five week lay off.
 
“I just went out and wanted to have a good workout. I did fade in last three laps,” admitted Jongewaard. “My front brakes went so I just took it easier on the downhills.”
 
Jongewaard said the granite tracks at the You Yang’s Regional Park held up surprisingly well despite the deluge.
 
“It was horrendous conditions but it’s probably the track I would rather ride in the wet,” Jongewaard said.  “The conditions didn’t affect the race results overall.”
 
Second was Aiden Lefmann (Brisbane) and third was Under 23 rider Nathan Haas (Canberra). Jongewaard now takes over the series lead after winning the first round in Adelaide. Haas takes the series lead in the Under 23 division.
 
Melbourne‘s Katherine O'Shea from Port Melbourne won the elite women’s race proving her growing ability. The 29 year old only started cycling after taking part in a talent identification program. Now O’Shea is one of five women riders in the "Dirt Roads to London” program aimed a developing depth in Australia’s mountain bike riders. Prior to this O’Shea was a softball representative.
 
Second was Brisbane's Jodie Willett and third was Jo Wall (Bendigo). Wall and O'Shea are both members of the "Dirt Road to London" program as well as hailing from Bendigo and members of the newly formed TORQ team.
 
The women raced over four laps of the 6.1 km circuit. O'Shea's time was 1 hour 59 min and 48.7 sec a full one minute ahead of Willett. However Willett retains the series lead after winning the first round and placing second in the next two rounds.
 
There are five national series events with the remaining two being held in Mt Buller at the end of January and Hobart at the end of February. The national championships over Australia Day weekend will be held on the 2009 World Championships course in Canberra.

2009 MTB Championships schedule - UPDATE 1
December 9, 2008

The updated schedule for the 2009 MTBA Australian MTB Championships is available below.

All athletes intending on participating at the 2009 National Championships must be aware of the following entry and registration constraints.

• ALL XCO entry finishes at 7.30am. Registration for XCO can continue throughout the day.

• ALL 4X entry and registration concludes 3hrs before the heats on Saturday 12 noon. Riders not registered by that time will be removed from the start list for moto development.

• ALL DH entry and rego concludes 90 minutes before the group race and/or seeding. No new entries for Group A will be accepted after the seeding race on Sunday afternoon.

• ALL XCC entry and registration concludes at 10.30am on Monday.

Document Download:
2009MTBChampionshipsScheduleUD1.pdf (PDF - 210 Kb)

Illinbah vidoes
December 4, 2008

Enjoy watching some of the "Local Heroes" at the National Mountain Bike Series round 2 at Illinbah.
 
Below are the links for the video and blog.
 
http://player.video.news.com.au/couriermail/#WLwpnVNWFq9QaAOanR9DJZeHwCy_Mj5E
 
http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/amandalucas/

Kovarick claims national series round two
December 2, 2008

World ranked downhiller, Chris Kovarik, won the National Downhill Series race on the Gold Coast today. The 30 year old from Brisbane claimed the win in 3 min 46.75 sec after qualifying fastest earlier in the day.
 
"I qualified fastest to see where I was at which always takes a lot out of you," Kovarik pointed out. "At the top I was pretty confident I could pull it off if I got through those slippery woods." 
 
After heavy rain the day before riders had to negotiate a slippery rocky section near the top of the 1.7 km course.
 
"For everyone it was treacherous," admitted Kovarik. "You couldn't get through there with your feet on!"
 
Despite the wet conditions, Kovarik praised the course saying it was as good as any on the international World Cup circuit.
 
Second was Joshua Button from Coffs Harbour with 3 min 52.57 sec. Third place was taken out by Perth’s Deon Baker in a time of 4 min 5.30 sec.
 
A few of the top riders came to grief  in the rocky forest descent including series leader, Jared Graves from Toowoomba out of contention after his bike slipped down the hill making him 2 minutes slower than his qualifying run. Graves finished way down in 40th place allowing Button to take over the series lead.
 
Kovarik’s fiancée Claire Buchar from Canada also claimed the win in elite women despite falling in the slippery forest section.
 
“I was trying to go a bit too fast,” Buchar said. “The conditions are really unpredictable.”
 
Buchar rode the course in 5 min 35.63 sec a comfortable 5 seconds ahead of her nearest rival Tasmania’s Leigh Douglas. Securing second place now gives Douglas the series lead.  Previous leader, Canberra’s Claire Whiteman, moved down the series rankings after finishing in fourth place.. Third place was taken by Canberra’s Caroline Buchanan.
 
Under 19 winner, Tamryn Murrell from the Gold Coast rode exactly four minutes. The 17 year old time would have claimed him a third place in elite men with his time. Murrell takes over the series lead from Western Australian, Will Gower. New South Wales rider,
Shaun O’Connor placed second while local rider Rhys Willemse placed third.
 
The Under 19 women’s winner was Emily Hockey from Adelaide.
 
For a national series, Gold Coast had record entries over the weekend with the largest group being over 350 downhill riders on Sunday.
 
The third round of the national series continues in Geelong in two weeks time.
 
FOR PHOTOS/VISION OR INTERVIEWS etc please contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Mountain biker pursues her London Olympic dream
November 30, 2008

O’Shea Touché
Mountain biker pursues her London Olympic dream
 
After her best finish to date, Bendigo’s Katherine O’Shea now has her sights firmly set on the next Olympics in London. The 29 year old business analyst won the Olympic Cross Country race at the national mountain bike round held in the Gold Coast hinterland today. The former softballer only switched to mountain biking just three years ago after being selected for a development program for mountain bikers. The “Dirt Roads to London” program aims to prepare Australian female riders for the London 2012 Olympics.
 
Hot  and humid conditions affected the women's field.
 
"It was really tough," said O'Shea. "It felt like you were dripping wet. My only reward was when I was at the top of the hill and I could pour the water over me."
 
O'Shea praised the "Dirt Roads to London" program aimed at building Australia's depth in women's cross country.
 
"It’s been fantastic. It got me into the sport and it’s great having the other girls around to encourage you to turn up to these races. It was a tough day."
 
O'Shea will head overseas to race internationally next year and when asked if her long term goal of making the London Olympics was now closer she said, "Yeah for sure. Bring it on."
 
During the race, O'Shea kept a close eye on series leader, Jodie Willett from Brisbane.
"When I turned around on the climb they looked like they were miles back. I thought Jodie was going to come back," she admitted.
 
Willett was disappointed with second place. Willett started the race conservatively but O’Shea gained time every lap eventually winning by over 5 minutes.
 
Willett thought she had gauged O'Shea's strong start. "I thought she may blow up," admitted Willett. "When the lead was three minutes I thought she's not blowing up!"
 
Third was fellow Bendigo rider, Jo Wall. Wall's podium finish was her best to date and Wall also celebrated her thirtieth birthday. Wall is also a member of the "Dirt Roads to London" program.
 
Former national champion, Tory Thomas from Mt Beauty, withdrew due to the intense heat along with Canberra’s Bec Henderson.
 
The elite men's cross country race started in hot conditions until the dark clouds were followed by thunder and lightning. Officials were forced to shorten the men's distance from seven to six laps due to dangerous conditions.
 
Early leader, Aiden Lefmann from Brisbane, was unlucky to suffer a broken chain mid-way through the race. Eventual winner Adrian Jackson from Melbourne won in 1 hour 52 min 54 sec.  Brisbane's Mark Frendo took over the lead after Lefman’s mechanical trouble however it wasn’t long until Jackson put on the pressure pulling ahead by 2 min 10 sec. Third place went to Canberra's Shaun Lewis just over 1 minute further behind.
 
The storm delayed the four cross racing while downhill practice was stopped. All downhill and short course cross country racing on Sunday will go ahead as usual with fine weather predicted.
 
For photos vision and info contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Adelaide Elite and Junior Final DH video is up at Freecaster
November 17, 2008

"That Computer Bloke's National Mountain Bike Series Downhill Round #1 downhill practice with men and junior men's finals are edited & up on Freecaster. Also the men's final is up so click on the links below to check it out!
 
Practice & Junior Finals
 
Men's Finals

Created by Ira Fehlberg.
 

2009 Felt MTBA Australian Marathon Championships - Entries now open
November 10, 2008

Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) and Big Hill Events are pleased to announce that entries to the 2009 Felt MTBA Australian Marathon Championships and Felt Marathon Challenge are now open.  

The 2009 Felt MTBA Australian Marathon Championships will be run in conjunction with the 2009 Felt Marathon Challenge (previously known as The Gut Full) on Sunday 29 March in Wandong and Mt Disappointment State Forest, Victoria.

Riders will be able to chose from 100km, 69km and 38km course distance options ensuring that the event is challenging yet achievable for riders of all levels.  Those who enter the 100km course will be riding amongst Australia’s top mountain bike riders in the 2009 Felt MTBA Australian Marathon Championships.

Only one hour from Melbourne, this event offers everything you want plus a little more… European-style feed stations, on-course bike servicing, a huge prize pool, supportive and friendly event staff, affordable race entry, a compressive event website…. and more to come!

With a mix of 4WD tracks, fire roads and great single track the 2009 Felt MTBA Australian Marathon Championships and 2009 Felt Marathon Challenge is set to reward, thrill and excite!

Riders are encouraged to enter early as the event will be limited to a field of 750 riders.  Enter online at   www.bighillevents.com.au.

Joint statement concerning DH/4X High Performance Program
November 6, 2008

Please read the joint statement from Cycling Australia and MTBA concerning the departure of Scott Sharples from the DH/4X High Performance program and the future for the program.

Document Download:
DH4X HP Statement.pdf (PDF - 261 Kb)

OLYMPIAN GOES DOWNHILL - DH#1
November 3, 2008

Just two months after making the finals of the BMX race at the Beijing Olympics, Jared Graves (Toowoomba) has returned to mountain biking. Graves won the first national series downhill race in Adelaide today. The 25 year old had a clean run to win in a time of 2 min 2.44 sec.
 
“I made some mistakes up the top it’s getting a bit blown out and sandy but I had a good solid bottom and had good legs to the line. There are a few things to work on after twelve months off the bike (downhill) but I’m very happy," said Graves. "I’m starting to feel like my old self on the bike. I haven’t done a lot on the bike."
 
After switching from Four Cross to BMX in the lead up to the Olympics, Graves found the return to mountain bike a lot tougher than expected.
 
“I’m really struggling with anything over 30 seconds,” he admitted. “People think you’re going to strong but I’m suffering like nothing before at the moment.”
 
Always analytical, Graves still plans to improve his downhill skills and will race the next national round on the Gold Coast.
 
“There are definitely things I’ve got to work on. They put on a great race here in Adelaide and it’s nice to walk away with the win. I’ll be doing all the series this year.”
 
Western Australian riders Ben Bell ( ) and Mitchell Delfs (Gracetown) finished in second and third respectively. Canberra elite, Ben Cory placed third while first placed Adelaide rider was the experienced Craig Yates.
 
Graves qualified fastest today in the seeding run with 2 min 3.31 sec.
 
Two-time World Champion, Sam Hill from Perth had mechanical trouble in the rock garden and was unable to pedal in the final section of the course. Hill qualified in 67th position leaving him out of the top 40 riders to get into the final run.
 
However, for spectators from all over Australia, Hill rode the course for a demonstration run and posted a time of 2 min 3.67 sec.
 
Winner at Eagle Mountain Bike Park in the last national series, Will Rischbieth from Adelaide placed a creditable 7th in 2.06.11.
 
In the short course cross country Victorian Tory Thomas won the women’s race while Canberra’s 19 year old, Nathan Haas, won the elite race.
 
The next national round will be on the Gold Coast at the end of November.
 
Downhill Elite Men
1st Jared Graves #14 Toowoomba Qld ( 2.02.44)
2nd Ben Bell # 50 Perth WA (2.03.77)
3rd Mitchell Delfs #35 Gracetown WA (2.04.87)
4th Ben Cory # 5 Canberra ACT (2.05.15)
5th Craig Yates # 8 Adelaide, SA (2.05.64)
 
Downhill Elite
1st Clair Whiteman #1Canberra, ACT (2.30.36)
2nd Leigh Douglas #11 (2.34.80)
3rd Sarah Booth #6 South Australia (2.35.40)
 
Regards,
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Missing Olympic talent squad no worries for Willett - XCO#1
November 3, 2008

After missing out on applying for the mountain bike talent for the London 2012 Olympics, Jodie Willett aims to put herself up for selection after winning the first national series event in Adelaide today. The 31 year old from Brisbane passed the early leaders Zoe King (Manly) and Tory Thomas (Mt Beauty).
 
Willett won by 30 seconds to beat former national champion, Thomas, after passing her just before the finals and fourth lap. Willett secured a new course record in 1 hour 33 min 42 sec. The fastest lap was early race leader, King in a time of 23 min 2 sec.
 
After placing second in last year’s national event in Adelaide, Willett was keen to make amends.
 
“I got second last year here last year and I really like the course so it was good to get the win,” stated Willett.
 
Evan after passing Thomas with just one lap remaining Willett did not rest.
 
“She (Thomas) is not the sort of rider you can pass and she cracks,” explained Willett. “I knew I had the win on the last climb.”
 
After missing out on being part of a national program called “Dirt Roads to London” Willett did not let it deter her from aiming at the London Olympics in four years time.
 
In the elite men’s cross country, national champion, Chris Jongewaard, secured a strong lead in the first of seven laps. Jongewaard eventually won in a record time of 2 hr 18 min 34 sec a clear 3 and a half minutes from his nearest. Brisbane’s Aiden Lefmann was in second place until the final lap when he was overtaken by Canberra’s young gun, Ben Henderson. Jongewaard claimed the fastest lap an astonishing 18 min.34 sec.
 
Jongewaard praised the local clubs and said he will take a well- deserved break from the sport and reassess his season.
 
An unlucky puncture followed by a crash saw Canberra’s Shaun Lewis exit from the race while in a fourth place.
 
Four hundred and eighty riders from all states in Australia have headed to Eagle Mountain Bike Park this weekend. Cross Country racing continues tomorrow with short course at 10 am and racing in the downhill gets underway at 1 pm. Two-time Downhill World Champion, Sam Hill from Perth, will race for the first time in Australia and for his first time in Adelaide tomorrow.

Results are available through the event calendar.
 
For further information, interviews, photos contact:
 
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au
 

BMX Olympian kick starts Mountain Bike season - 4X#1 Sydney Olympic Park
October 18, 2008

BMX Olympian Luke Madill (Penrith) is on track winning the first round of the Red Ass National Four Cross at Sydney Olympic Park today The 28 year national champion took the win away from last season’s overall leader, Leigh Darrell from Canberra. Madill admitted he has his sights set on an international career in mountain biking.

“I’m just looking at getting to all of the World Cup rounds this year,” Madill stated. " Today was great. I always wanted to race it internationally and it's a change from BMX."
 
The stage was set in the final with Madill leading into the first corner with Darrell matching his every move. Third was Victoria's David Habicht (Sebastopol) while Sydney's Alex Lloyd (St Clair) claimed fourth.
 
The women’s national champion, Caroline Buchanan from Canberra secured her first win of the national series. After winning the World Cup round in Canberra recently the 17 year old looked confident all day. A return to racing from top Australian rider, Sarsha Huntington (Redland) from Brisbane made a top field but Huntington was outdone in the second straight by Shannon Jobson (Blaxland) and Danielle Beecroft (Londonderry). Jobson and Beecroft finished in second and third place respectively.
 
Graham Mudd (Woodberry) won the Under 19 men’s while Taylor Barnes (Oakville) took out the women’s category.
 
Round two in the national series continues tomorrow at the Monster Mountain Cross track at Sydney Olympic Park. Racing starts at 12 noon.
 
For further information contact:
 
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au
 

Red Ass Australian Four Cross Rounds start the mountain bike season
October 14, 2008

The Australian mountain bike season kicks off at the Sydney Olympic Park this weekend with two round of four cross. Rounds one and two of four cross will be conducted at the Monster Mountain Cross track as part of the Festival of Cycling.
 
Last year’s winner and National Champion, Caroline Buchanan from Canberra will return but to four cross after featuring on the World Cup podium this season. Buchanan won the World Cup round in Canberra in August but will be challenged by Brisbane’s Sarsha Huntington.
 
The elite men’s field will see last year’s winner at Sydney Olympic Park, Leigh Darrell from Canberra however the in-form World Cup bronze medallist from Canberra, Thomas Hubert from Maitland will be tough to beat. Just two weeks ago, Hubert claimed silver at the NSW BMX Championships in Macarthur.
 
Red Ass Mexican Food sponsor and rider, Albert Bacci (Concord) will line up in the masters men's division and will be challenged by Western Sydney's Steven Humphreys. Divisions range from Under 15 to veteran.
 
Over 200 mountain cross riders are expected over the two day event plus BMX racing will be held on the newly opened Monster BMX track alongside on Sunday.
 
Sponsors for the first two rounds include Red Ass Mexican Food, Anaconda, POW Gloves and Bern Helmets.  Riders and spectators are in for two fiery days at Sydney Olympic Park.
 
Register now at www.rockytrailentertainment.com to save on racing fees:

• Junior categories $35 online per round, $60 cash registration on the day;
• Senior categories $44 online, $70 on the day.
• There are also offers to race both rounds.

Red Ass Australian 4X Series Rounds 1 and 2
October 3, 2008

Each year Mountain Bike Australia summons the best mountain bikers of Australia for the national mountain bike season and Australian National Championships. The National 4-Cross Rounds 1 & 2 return to Sydney Olympic Park’s “Monster track” on the “Spring Cycling Festival”-weekend of 18 & 19 October 2008, this year sponsored by Red Ass Mexican Food.

“We are looking forward to seeing our Mexican meals at the Nationals this year. Such a hardcore sport calls for some hearty food”, says owner of the Sydney-based food company and passionate Masters 3&4 4X racer Albert Bacci.

Four cross is a specific type of mountain bike racing and one of the four disciplines in the National Series, also known as ‘mountain cross’. Inspired by BMX racing, this event pits four riders on the same course from starting gates to finish.

“The venues for the Australian MTB Series again have been chosen as being high-profile in exciting locations and hosted by very capable event promoters, and as usual the courses have been selected to be fun, achievable and interesting”, says Tony Scott, Executive Officer of MTBA.

The Monster track was built for the Olympic Games in Sydney and is one of the best and most popular tracks in Australia. Spectators will have excellent views of the entire track from any point of the event centre and organisers expect more than 100 riders per day.

Registration will be open at 8am until 9am on both days and practice will be from 9 until 12. First Heats or Motos will start at 12:00 hours and both riders and spectators are some fiery two days at Sydney Olympic Park – no doubt the Red Ass Gringo food will contribute to that…

Race information is available and online race registration is now open at  www.rockytrailentertainment.com

 

Bid process to host the 2009 Australian MTB Marathon Championships
May 30, 2008

The 2009 Australian MTB Marathon Championships will be used as one of the key selection events to assemble an Australian team to contest the UCI World Marathon Championships. The 2009 UCI World MTB Marathon Championships will be hosted in Graz, Austria on 23rd August 2009.

To bid to host the 2009 Australian MTB Marathon Championships download the document here.  Further information can be obtained from MTBA.

Document Download:
2009XCMChamps.pdf (PDF - 256 Kb)

2008 Oceania MTB Champions - some details
February 18, 2008

Where: Nelson New Zealand

When: March 14 - 16 2008

Why: The Oceania Championships offers UCI points all the way down to 40th place, but placing better than 26th will give you the 'magic' 20 UCI points that will allow entry into the Canberra round of the UCI World Cup in August. Note, however, that UCI points are only allocated to athletes entering the Elite/Open (or U23 in XCO) race categories - no UCI points are allocated to Juniors racing in an U19 age class.

How: Enter on-line here and then click on on-line entry menu. Entry fees (NZ dollars) are:
- XCO (Friday 14th March): $40
- DHI (Sunday 16th March): $60
- 4X (Friday 14th March): $20
- XCC (Sunday 16th March): $10

Details:

- A complete event program will be available shortly. Go here for all the latest details as BikeNZ makes them available.

- The cut-off date for pre-entries is the 5th March. There is a late fee for entries recieved after the 5th March of between $10 and $20 depending on category and discipline.
 
- Bike NZ will probably not accept on-the-day entries in Elite/U23 or Open categories unless a registration has been completed the day prior the competition (although this is still to be confirmed by BikeNZ).

- There is no Australian National MTB Team per se, so entry is available to anyone with the appropriate license. Note that the age cut-off date is 31/12/2008 and that you must be 19 and over to enter Elite/U23 XCO and open XCC and 17 and over for Elite DHI and open 4X. Your age is determined as follows: 2008 - year of birth.

- If you are intending on entering you are reminded that you must have a UCI international license. To get one from your MTBA membership follow these simple steps:

1. You will first need a CA license (available through a value add from your MTBA membership for $132). Download a CA application form here  Fill it in, photocopy your MTBA membership card (with more than 3 months of membership left!) and post both (with payment) directly to Cycling Australia. Note on it that you are also after international endorsement.

2.  Then have it internationally endorsed and arrange for medical insurance. The details for  international endorsement are here

 Good luck in New Zealand. 

National Championships Bicycle Trials
February 14, 2008

After a week of hard work in the sun, Kleat Wilson (VIC) & Craig Pearce (ACT) put the finishing touches on some of the most challenging man made Trials Sections ever seen in an Australian competition. There were a number of puzzled looks from most riders when they pre walked the sections, and considerable discussion on the best approach options to ride the obstacles. Unlike other Mountain Bike disciplines the riders can not practice the course! Crossing the edges of the 3m high cable spool on an axel posing the most intimidating challenge!
 
With a number of riders riding both 20” & 26” Classes there were Pro level riders competing all throughout the day providing a fantastic show for all the spectators. Joe Brewer started as the Pro 26” favorite given his time spent this year on the World cup circuit in Europe and his results at World Championships in Fort William, however as soon as Andrew Dickey commenced riding, his consistency and confidence showed why he has been the Australian Champion for so many years. Both Andrew and Joe only made two mistakes each during the 26” competition Joe falling off twice earning him 10 points and Andy falling once for a 5 and putting a foot down once for 1 point. Taking the win and once again becoming the 26” Australian Champion on only 6 points! With the local Canberra rider Craig Pearce finishing in third.
 
In the Pro 20” Class it was a different story with Andrew riding well! Joe competing in 20” for the first time and Patricio Escobar (over from Columbia) it promised to be a close competition. The sections proved more difficult for all the riders with the smaller wheels. Or perhaps by the afternoon the heat had started to take its toll. Patricio took the win on 21 dabs. With Joe in a close second becoming the 20” Australian Champion on 35 dabs. Andrew finishing in 3rd on 69dabs.
 
Nathan Mummery took out the Elite 26” win capping off a perfect season for him wining every National round he entered in the series even after a trip to hospital and some stitches after a big fall practicing in a local creek the night before the Championships. Lachlan Sens won with Elite 20” class and took the Season trophy followed closely by his older brother Ryan in second.
 
With the 2008-09 National Trials season starting off again in a few months all the top riders will be training & competing hard for selection into the Australian MTB team for the upcoming 2009 World Championships in Canberra

Document Download:
OTNationalsResults08.xls (OCTET-STREAM - 19 Kb)
OTRanks0708.xls (OCTET-STREAM - 38 Kb)

Mt Beauty DH 07/08 Series Finals -Hill and Moseley
February 4, 2008

World Champion blitzes downhill final
 
World Champion, Sam Hill (PERTH), claimed an Australian victory yesterday in the SRAM final of the Mountain Bike Series in Mt Beauty, Victoria. At just 22 years of age, Hill is currently ranked number one in the World following his prestigious World Cup Series win last season. Hill rode a blistering 3 min 10.98 sec to win after qualifying fastest in the seeding run in heavy rain. Hill’s appearance, his only in Australia since claiming his second World Championship in Scotland in August, was appreciated by his Australian fans.
 
The crowds lining the course cheered their hero in his final run. Hill appreciated the accolades.
"It was awesome especially coming into the last chute. You could hear them 20 seconds before I got there," Hill commented.
 
As Hill prepares for another assault on the World scene he was pleased with his form to date.
"I've only been on the bike a month," he admitted. "I came here to use it as a bit of a gauge of my fitness. I'm on track. I've still got work to do obviously."
 
With a strong group of younger riders trying to emulate Hill's success in Australia and overseas the World Champion was impressed with the field.
"There are a lot of fast younger riders here that I haven't seen before. It's good to see those guys out there." 
 
Conditions changed from driving rain in the seeding run the skies cleared for the finals. Elite riders had  the best traction on the course all day.
 
With Australian riders high on rankings, Hill had a top field including 8th in the World, Nathan Rennie (GOLD COAST) to contend with. Newly crowned National Champion, Rennie, placed third with a final run of 3 min 17.78 sec today just one and a half seconds behind Canadian National Champion, Steve Smith.
 
A disappointing run today for series leader, Amiel Cavalier (WOLLONGONG) lost him the overall series lead and that title went to Rennie with 215 points. Cavalier suffered from two crashes early on the course and stepped aside to allowed the World Champion, Hill, to pass before riding to the finish. Cavalier made it into second overall with 181 points while young Will Rischbieth (ADELAIDE) ranked third in the series with 158 points.
 
Rick Boyer (NEWCASTLE) survived slippery conditions to place fourth and local professional rider Liam Panozzo (MT BEAUTY) claimed fifth.
 
The elite women’s race was won by World ranked number two, Tracy Moseley (GREAT BRITAIN) with Queensland sensation, Tracey Hannah, in second. At number three in the world, Hannah qualified fastest but her final run of 3 min 51.26 included a crash in the final berm leaving her three seconds behind Moseley's time. Hannah claimed second overall in the national series just one point behind Canberra’s Claire Whiteman. Women's series leader's coming into the final, Emma McNaughton (NEWCASTLE), was disappointed after crashing in practice and was withdrawn for medical attention.
 
In the Under 19 men it was Shaun O'Connor's (KANGAROO VALLEY) turn to claim a win even with two crashes on his final run. O'Connor also claimed the overall series with 270 points. National Champion, Dylan Prohm (WOLLONGONG) finished in 16th place but ended up with 193 points to claim second in the series. Rhys Willemse (GOLD COAST) also had trouble on his run placing 13th but overall secured third place in the series with 170 points
 
Two Adelaide riders, James Shepherd and Connor Fearon claimed the overall series in under 17 and under 15 men respectively.
 
Earlier on Sunday the cross country riders returned to ride the short course race. The women raced in muddy conditions and local rider, Tory Thomas (MT BEAUTY) took the early lead however a strong sprint by Katherine O'Shea (MELBOURNE) gave her the win with Thomas claiming second.
 
For elite men's race the course was becoming slippery however National Champion, Chris Jongewaard (ADELAIDE) showed his class and it was only local rider Paul Van Der Ploeg (TAWONGA) who attempted to bridge the gap. Jongewaard went on to win with Ploeg second.

Document Download:
MtBeautyFinalsDH0708.pdf (PDF - 123 Kb)

Mt Beauty XCO 07/08 Series Finals - Jongewaard and Starr
February 4, 2008

CHAMPIONS BACK UP WINS AT BEAUTY
 
Both National Champion Cross Country Olympic winners, Dellys Starr (MELBOURNE/DENVER) and Chris Jongewaard (ADELAIDE) backed up their wins last weekend with another win today the SRAM final of the National Mountain Bike Series held in the Alpine district, Mt Beauty, Victoria.
 
Starr’s win last week obtained her a position on the shadow team for Australia while Jongewaard is already one of three males on the shadow team. Dan McConnell and Sid Taberlay are also included in the shadow team. McConnell raced today and placed a creditable second. For the Australian fans it will be the last time they see their potential Olympians at a national event before August.
 
In mid-January the UCI announced that Australia would have one position for a female and one for a male at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
 
Today’s race, although not a selection race, was still used by many riders to gauge their fitness. Riders will not line up for the Oceania Championships in New Zealand and later the World Cups and World Championships overseas which are seen as important selection events.
 
For the national series leaders coming into the final of four races today it was a matter of maintaining positions to gain enough points to secure an overall win. Rowena Fry (LAUNCESTON) in just her first full season after being identified on a National Talent ID Program to prepare female riders for the 2012 Olympics called “Dirt Roads to London” managed a podium at every event this season. Fry is on track to attempt to make the selection criteria for Beijing however performances at international events are vital.
 
Fry placed third today after being overtaken in the final lap by Kate Potter (SYDNEY) but takes out the overall series with a total of 245 points. Local rider, Tory Thomas (MT BEAUTY) finished in fourth place and hence finishes second in the national series with 161 points just one point clear of Dellys Starr, today’s winner, who finishes the series in third. overall.
 
In the elite men Jongewaard took out the six lap race in 1 hr 55 min 39.2 sec just under four minutes clear of second placegetter Dan McConnell. McConnell moved into second in the second lap with only local Under 23 rider Paul Van Der Ploeg likely to challenge.
 
“Backing it out from last week was a bit challenging,” admitted Jongewaard. “Cross Country takes a lot out of you week by week.”
 
“I was a bit sluggish to start,” said Jongewaard. However Jongewaard recorded the fastest lap time of the day on his first of six laps in 18 min 45.7 sec.
 
Series leader going into the race Dylan Cooper (CANBERRA) finished in fourth position after being outsprinted by a surge by Van Der Ploeg which saw him cramp just after the finish line. Cooper takes out the series with a total of 226 points. Last year’s series winner Aiden Lefmann (MANLY) fell back in the field to finish in 24th position but claims second with 173 points.
 
Today’s winner, Jongewaard finishes the national series in third place with 160 points.
 
In the Under 23 division it was a local domination with Cal Britten (BRIGHT) the clear series winner with 116 points while Van Der Ploeg claimed second just six points shy of the top spot. Van Der Ploeg won the National Championships last week in Canberra.
 
On Sunday the cream of international talent in downhill will line up for the final of the national series. Headlining the field is two time World Champion and World Cup Series winner, Sam Hill (PERTH) in his only national race in Australia. New National Champion, Nathan Rennie (GOLD COAST) will line up along with series leader, Amiel Cavalier (WOLLONGONG).
 
The women's field has World ranked number 2, Tracy Moseley UNITED KINGDOM and World number 3 Tracey Hannah CAIRNS as the favourites. Current series leader, Emma McNaughton NEWCASTLE hopes to stay in the lead after the final run on Sunday afternoon.

Document Download:
MtBeautyXCOFinals0708.pdf (PDF - 86 Kb)

Day 4 - Toyota 2008 MTBA Australian MTB Championships
January 29, 2008

Day 4 of the Toyota 2008 MTBA Australian MTB Championships was the final day of a fantastic 4 days of Australia's premier MTB competition and saw the Group B DH race, Short Course Cross Country and Elite Group A DH racing.


British Tracy narrowly beats Aussie Tracey while Rennie rules the roost
 
You could be mistaken as to which Tracey the crowds were cheering for at the Toyota 2008 Australian Mountain Bike Championships on the slopes of Mt Stromlo in Canberra today. The winning margin between British rider, Tracy Moseley,  and Queensland’s Tracey Hannah came down to six hundredths of a second.
 
Moseley and Hannah, the world ranked number two and three respectively, headlined the field however with Moseley being a British citizen the Australian title goes to Hannah. Moseley rode a 3 min 1.12 sec while Hannah rode 3 min 1.18 sec. Canberra’s Julia Boer claimed third with a 3 min 21.83 sec.
 
“It’s always great racing her. I’m really happy she came and she’ll be here next week. It was a bit more competitive,” explained Hannah.
"It’s always really great when internationals come over here."
 
Nathan Rennie reclaimed the national downhill mountain bike title this year after placing second last year by a narrow margin of just over 2 seconds. The 28 year old professional downhiller qualified second fastest but pushed the limits to win in 2 min 37.95 sec.
 
“I threw down a pretty decent run yesterday,” said Rennie. “I knew I had a bit more in the tank.”
 
Riding at the end of the day meant that the track changed since the practice run.
 
“Conditions were a bit how you going really. Dust and bumps everywhere. One little mistake towards the finish and I though it might not be enough but I knew I’d punched it up the top,” said Rennie.
 
Second was Bryn Atkinson with a 2 min 40.11 sec. Canberra’s Ben Cory was in the hot seat with the fastest time for most of the elite men’s runs and his 2 min 41.47 sec still claimed third.
 
Canadian National Champion, Steve Smith, claimed fourth. Canberra’s Jared Rando rode in for fifth and national series leader, Amiel Cavalier, suffered gear problems. 
 
In the Under 19 men, Dylan Prohm claimed first with 2 min 38.97 sec. Favourite Shaun O'Connor crashed and ended up way down in the field. In the Under 19 women, Canberra's Caroline Buchanan ran unopposed but rode a time of 3 m 18.75 sec which would have been enough to place her third in the elite women's class.
 
Short Course Cross Country
 
In the women's short course an early break by Dellys Starr(Melbourne) was matched by Rowena Fry(Launceston) was still not enough to secure a win. Fry out sprinted the newly crowned national olympic cross country champion, Starr, to claim her national title. Starr placed second and an impressive ride by Oenone Wood, current road champion saw her claim third.
 
The elite men's race Chris Jongewaard (Adelaide) took the chance to earn himself another national jersey. The battle for second ended with Under 23 rider, Paul Van Ploeg (Mt Beauty), Holding off the charge from Canberra's  Dylan Cooper to get a well deserved second and Cooper finished in third.
 
For interviews/photos/vision details contact
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Document Download:
Day4_DH_GrpA.pdf (PDF - 154 Kb)
Day4_XCC.pdf (PDF - 27 Kb)

Day 3 - Toyota 2008 MTBA Australian MTB Championships
January 28, 2008

Sunday at the Toyota 2008 MTBA Australian MTB Championshipss saw U19 and Veteran Men, Elite, U23 and U19 women and Elite and U23 men racing the Olympic format Cross Country, Group C DH racing the hill and seeding for the Group A DH.

Jongewaard doubles but Starr is the star
 
Potential Olympic cross country mountain bikers today made steps towards their selection for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Men’s defending national champion, Chris Jongewaard, claimed another victory while Dellys Starr stomped home in the women’s race held at Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra. With the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) recently announcing Australia as having one spot for female and one for male the competition is now beginning to heat up.
 
In the women's race, Melbourne's Commonwealth Games representative, Dellys Starr proved she was in a league of her own. Starr moved away from National Road Champion, Oenone Wood in the start lap and retained her lead for four laps of the 8.3 km circuit. Although not a selection race, Starr has now been placed in the shadow team.
 
Australian newly appointed cross country coach, Neil Ross, was impressed with Starr’s performance.
 
“With the World Cup season still ahead there remains other opportunities for women to achieve shadow squad qualification. If no one else qualifies then the only athlete on the shadow squad, Dellys, is first in line for the Olympic nomination,” said Ross.
 
Starr was leaving nothing to chance and made a break to finish the four laps in 1 hour 54.46 min.
 
“It’s impossible to take it easy if you take it easy you loose your spot and it’s so much harder to gain that back," stated Starr.
 
"It definitely wasn’t an easy race I was pushed the whole way and I was really impressed with the depth of the field."
 
Quietly confident, Starr was not expecting her final placing. “You can never expect anything. I knew I had good legs but once again I didn’t know whether they were good enough,” she added.
 
Chris Jongewaard was not challenged after the first lap of five. The defending national champion, found the technical sections suited him. The 28 year old from Adelaide finished the five lap course in 2 hr 2.12 min. Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay, claimed second while Victorian Dan McConnell placed third.
 
“I just knew that I would have it over these guys on the technical sections,” admitted Jongewaard.
“I thought I’d give it a bit of a test on the first climb. Going down the descent I just gapped them. I rode my own race and went on with it.”
 
Although different to the women’s race, three of the men have already gained positions on the shadow team. Chris Jongewaard, Sid Taberlay and Daniel McConnell have already made it onto that team however gaining his second title has significance to Jongewaard personally.
 
“It’s a good feeling to win the title again,” he said.
 
There was close racing in the Under 23 division with Paul Van Der Ploeg beating Cal Brittan. Local favourite Ben Henderson claimed third.
 
Racing at the Toyota 2008 Australian Mountain Bike Championships continues with downhill. In the women's event world ranked number three, Tracey Hannah qualified ahead of Great Britain's Tracy Moseley ranked number two. The elite men seeding run today saw Bryn Atkinson qualify fastest while Nathan Rennie  qualified second. In third spot is Canadian national champion, Steve Smith, while Canberra's Jared Rando and Amiel Cavalier gained fourth and fifth fastest today.
 
The of competition starts with the short course cross country followed by final for the elite downhill run will start at 2.30 pm tomorrow.
 
For more information please contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au
 
1st Dellys Starr (Smiths Gully, /Denver) # 312
2nd Emma Colson (Fitzroy. VIC) #303
3rd Niki Fisher (Macquarie, ACT) #304
4th Zoe King (Manly, SYD) #306
5th Tory Thomas (Mt Beauty, Vic) #301
6th Rowena Fry (Launceston, TAS) #309
7th Jo Wall (Bendigo, VIC) #311
8th Joanne Harrington ( Newport, SYD) # 326
9th Kate Potter ( Cromer, SYD) #302
10th Oenone Wood (Belconnen, ACT) #322
 
1st Chris Jongewaard (Para Hills, SA) #
2nd Sid Taberlay (Blackman’s Bay, TAS) #
3rd Dan McConnell (Bruthen, Vic)

Full results for the day are here.

Document Download:
Day3 XCO.pdf (PDF - 130 Kb)
Day3_DH_Seeding.pdf (PDF - 133 Kb)
Day3_DH_GroupC.pdf (PDF - 119 Kb)

Day 2 - Toyota 2008 MTBA Australian MTB Championships
January 27, 2008

On Day 2 of the Toyota 2008 MTBA Australian MTB Championships most of the age classes in Olympic Cross Country raced  and the day concluded with the 4X discipline.

National Champs double in four cross
 
Last year’s winners proved too strong at today’s Hi Lux four cross final at the Toyota 2008 Australian Mountain Bike Championships in Canberra. Both elite reigning champions, Luke Madill and Caroline Buchanan, retain their crowns for another year however not without a struggle.
 
Buchanan forced the speed in the final to win her second national title at only 17 years of age.
 
“That was a tough one. I’m so tired,” announced Buchanan on the line. “I knew I had to be switched on the whole time. I was just in the zone. I was so pumped up.”
 
Challenges to Buchanan’s second national title came from Brisbane’s Sarsha Huntington.
“I knew she was there all the time. I knew she (Huntington) would do any move to pass me. I knew if I messed up she would be there,” said Buchanan.
 
Huntington crashed during a forced move and finished in fourth place. Second place was taken by top British downhillers, Tracy Moseley, while young Gracie Ireland from Sydney claimed third.
 
The repeat performance was quick to follow in the men’s race with defending national champion, Luke Madill too strong for local challenger, Leigh Darrell.
 
“I knew where he was and I may have let my guard down but I came back,” explained Madill. Darrell looked like a move in the second last straight may have given him the edge but Madill had it measured to perfection to win.Madill had been a standout through the day with good gates and led the field though the motos and heats. With BMX charging into tithe Olympic games in August, Madill has confirmed hie will not focus on trying to gain a spot in the Australian team.
 
Second place went to Darrell and Sydney’s Terrance Scarr retained third. Thomas Twentyman stayed out of trouble all day to finish in fourth.
 
National downhiller series leader, Amiel Cavalier from Wollongong was unlucky to make the final after crashing in the semi-final. World ranked downhiller Nathan Rennie was lucky during the preceding races a couple of spills allowing him a safe spot into the semi final. Rennie's sights are firmly set on another National title  on Monday in the downhill after finishing second last year.
 
The elite women and men’s cross country races tomorrow are the highlights of the weekend with one berth for either on offer at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
 
For the women in particular if qualification criteria are not reached during the remainder of the overseas season then selections may go back to the national champion.
 
All eyes will be on defending national champion, Tory Thomas from Mt Beauty however a serious challenge to her retention of the title could come from Dellys Starr. Starr represented Australia at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and has return from her base in Denver to now pursue her Olympic hopes.
 
Also added to the mix will be new National Talent Identification Riders (NTID) from the “Dirt Road to London” program, Rowena Fry from Launceston and Zoe King from Sydney. Fry currently leads the national Olympic cross country series.
 
 
Regards,
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Full results for the day can be found  here. (at the bottom of the table).

Day 1 - Toyota 2008 MTBA Australian MTB Championships
January 25, 2008

Four teams contested the Club Team Relay today (January 24). Based on a similar model used at the UCI World MTB Championships each rider of the four person team, consisting of  an  Elite/Expert/Sport man, a Veteran/Master/Supermaster man, a Woman and an U19/U17 man, racing one lap of the XCO course.

The first event of the Championships on day one was ultimately won by Canberra Off Road Cyclists (The CORC ‘Geese:
Graeme Allbon, Brendan Johnston, Rebecca Henderson and Ben Henderson). Canberra also picked up a second place (The CORC Giants: Jason Chalker, Michael Baker, Rosemary Barnes and Andrew Blair) with the team from Manly Warringah Cycling Club (Aiden Lefmann, Zoe King, Hugh Suttor, Warren Burgess) a close third.

National Series final - Mt Beauty Feb 1-3
January 16, 2008

On line entry is now available for the "GRAND FINALE" round of the MTBA National Series in Mount Beauty, February 1 -3
 
Visit www.tmb.org.au for all your event information including course maps, Event Schedules and Entry Fees. Accommodation enquiries can be made through the Alpine Discovery Centre on 1800 808 227 or go to www.visitmtbeauty.com.au. For any other enquiries contact Iain Moore at info@tmb.org.au
 
In an effort to make the 2008 final round of the series more accessible to interstate riders MTBA have taken the initiative of assigning the round to the weekend after the National Championships being held in Canberra. Mount Beauty is a just a cruisey 5 hour drive from Canberra so it makes good sense to make the most of your travel budget and take in two of the most prestigious races of the 2007/08 season. For those riders and their families that do take the opportunity for an extended week There will be will be plenty of stuff organized to keep you all occupied. For those family members who don’t ride there’s plenty of stuff to do, With wineries, walks, great café’s, fishing in crystal clear alpine rivers all with the backdrop of the magnificent Kiewa Valley, Mount Bogong and the Alpine National Park.

Stromlo DH course closed in preparation for Australian MTB Championships
January 14, 2008

The Nationals DH Course will be closed from 1800 (6pm) on Friday 18 January to 0900 on Thursday 24 January to conduct maintenance and begin marking it out for the National Championships.   The beginner DH course on the western side of Mt Stromlo is still open for riding.   The beginner DH course starts about 300m north of the start of the Nationals course, and is at the top of a small crest near a gate.   Remember, both XC and DH riders use the beginner DH course.  

Final 4X National round - Canberra Captures National Series
January 14, 2008

Canberra mountain bike riders dominated the final of the National Four Cross at Kurrrajong, west of Sydney  today. National Four Cross Champion, Caroline Buchanan won and now claims wins in every series round. The 17 year old did not have an easy run in the sixth round today with national downhill champion Joanne Fox in the field. But it was fellow Canberra rider, Julia Boer, who laid down the challenge by passing Buchanan in the first 20 metres of the women's final.
“In the third moto Julia did the same move so I knew she could do that,” explained Buchanan. “I just knew there were four different spots on the track I could pass her and the first one worked.”
For Buchanan the variety of tracks over the six round series has boosted her confidence as she heads into defend her national title in two weeks time at Mt Stromlo.
“We’ve had rocks, really flat ones like BMX tracks and really steep ones like this one,” Buchanan said. “Going into the nationals I feel really confident with all the different practice on different tracks which has been good.”
 
Brisbane rider, Adam Nicholson (The Gap) , 30  won the men's final despite crashing along with four finalists. However after crashing Nicholson saw his bike land past him and was the quickest to get underway and sped down the steep course with series leader, Leigh Darrell in hot pursuit.
"It's the first elite after a lot of years racing. It was a long time coming. I knew I had it in me,"said Nicholson.
 
Canberra based, Darrell claimed the elite men’s overall series but was unlucky to crash while in the lead today. Even with second place, Darrell had ample points after winning three of the six national rounds earlier in the season.
“This is my first time in elite and the first year I have done a whole series,” grinned Darrell.
Darrell will now face riders like current national champion, Luke Madill at the championships but not before fine tuning his bike.
“I’ll just do a few bike modifications and see how I go,” said Darrell.
 
Other Canberra riders, Mic Longhurst won his race today and the overall veteran series while 13 year old Max Hughes placed third but had ample points to take out the 15 boys overall series.
 
In other races today Danielle Beecroft and Matt Walker and won the Under 19 women and men's respectively. Ryan Henderson won the Under 17 race and takes out the series overall.
 
Riders now prepare for the Toyota MTBA National Mountain Bike Championships over the Australia Day weekend. Full information on the Nationals are available here.
 
For more info please contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Document Download:
4XRound6Results.pdf (PDF - 60 Kb)

Mountain Bikers crash and run in fifth 4X National Series round
January 13, 2008

It was more like a running race in the final 10 metres of the elite women’s mountain bike race today at the National Four Cross round at Ebenezer just west of Sydney. In the fifth round, early leader Caroline Buchanan, 17 year old from Canberra crashed just metres from the finish line. Buchanan was then passed by Brisbane’s Sarsha Huntington however Huntington suffered the same fate. Both riders ended the race by running with their bikes over the finish line with Buchanan winning and Huntington running across the line to claim second. Third was Canberra’s Julie Boer and Gracie Ireland (Mt Annan) rode in for fourth place.
 
The elite men’s race had some change of placing throughout the race but it was last year’s series winner, Terrance Scarr (Raby), who made sure he got a clear run. Current series leader, Leigh Darrell (Canberra) had mechanical trouble in the first straight but regained some ground to place third. Second was Queensland’s Adam Nicholson while Tom Hubert’s earlier clash with Nicholson saw him relegated to fourth.
 
After being gripped by fear in practice today it was Courtney Taylor’s determination to ride the tricky downhill section of the course that scored her accolades plus a win in the junior women’s race with local favourite, Danielle Beecroft, in second. Taylor Barnes and Emmy Tatum placed third and fourth respectively.
First event to put in rock drops and dusty sections which suited the downhillers
 
Under 19 men’s division saw an upset as downhillers, Shaun O’Connor, won over current national series leader Ryan Hunt. Matt Walker gained third place while James Horton got fourth.
 
It was the Under 17 men’s race that amazed spectators with their speed. Ryan Henderson took the win over Benjamin Clark with Blake Neilson able to finish in fourth and unlucky Graeme Mudd (Lake Macquarie) to loose his earlier lead to finish last.
 
The veteran men’s category was eventually won by Canberra Mic Longhurst. Local Steven Humphreys ended with second while newcomer Albert Bacci placed a respectable third.
 
Racing in the final four cross round in the National Series gets underway tomorrow at Koorajong Grass Ski Park just west of Sydney.
 
For further information, photos or interviews contact:
 
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

National 4X Series, rounds 5 and 6
December 31, 2007

The Australian Mountain Bike 4X 2007-08 series will close in the Hawkesbury in the outskirts of Sydney at Ebenezer and finally Kurrajong and brought to you by Western Sydney Mountain Bike Club.  Round 5 will be at Ebenezer on Saturday January 12th 2008 and the next day Round 6, and final, at Kurrajong on Sunday January 13th 2008.  The Championships will be held at Mt Stromlo Canberra on the Australia Day Weekend.  The Series started at Sydney Olympic Park with Rounds 1&2 in October then to Illanbah on the Gold Coast for Round 3 in November, to Thredbo in December for Round 4.

Round 5
Site: Ebenezer
Date: January 12th, 2008 Saturday
Times:    Registration 08:00 Hours till 09:30 Hours
Practice 08:00 till approximately 10:30 Hours
Racing 11:00 Qualifiers Semis and or finals 13:00 hours
Cost: $50 or $85 for both January 12 & 13th

Located: 142 Tizzana Road Ebenezer 2756 NSW

Directions: Travel to Windsor then take Wilberforce Road across the Hawkesbury River to Wilberforce.  After passing The Butterfly Farm Go Carts, The Caravan Park and Service station take King Road or Sackville Road to Sackville on the Right.  Keep driving past Woodlands Industrial area and park up the hill to King and Sons Hardware, the Ebenezer Public School is next on the left so you will turn right into Tizzana Road.  Drive past Coromandel Road and after about 500 meters you will see 142 on the right.  Turn in an then right the parking area, the track is below the parking area.  You will see the start mound in the corner of the parking area. The event will be catered with a Bar-B Que hot plate and drinks available.  Water will be available from tanks.

Round 6
Site: Kurrajong Grass Ski Park
Date: January 13th, 2008 Sunday
Times:    Registration 08:00 Hours till 09:30 Hours
Practice 08:00 till approximately 10:30 Hours
Racing 11:00 Qualifiers Semis and or finals 13:00 hours
Cost: $50 or $85 for both January 12 & 13th

Located: 1380 Bells Line of Road Kurrajong Heights 2758 NSW

Accommodation:
Caravan & tourist parks,
Butterfly farm 446 Wilberforce Road Wilberforce 0245751265
Hawkesbury Waters Leisure Park Port Erringhi Road Ebenezer 02457799253
Sackville Ski Gardens 742 Tizzania Road Sackville 0245791036

Hotels
Australian Hotel Corner Pitt Town Road & Windsor Road McGraths Hill 0245 773104
The Heritage Hotel/Motel 10 Rose Street Wilberforce 0245 751603
Royal Family Hotel Richmond 163 Windsor Street Richmond 0245 45781011
Richmond Inn Hotel Motel 90 March Street Richmond 0245 781044

Motels
Colonial Motel Best Western 161 March Street Richmond 0245 781166
Kurrajong Heights Hotel Motel 1349 Bells Line of Road Kurrajong Heights 0245 677140
Richmond Inn Hotel Motel 90 March Street Richmond 0245 781044
The New Inn Motel 51 Bosworth Street Richmond 0245 780520
Windsor Terrace Hotel 47 George Street Windsor 0245 775999
Sebel Resort & Spa Hawkesbury 61 Richmond Road Windsor 0245 774222

More details: Contact Steve Humphries -  water.care@bigpond.com
 

2008 Australian MTB Championships schedule - revision 2
December 22, 2007

We have listened to  the comments for Australian mountain biking community and have made a few tweaks to the complicated schedule for the 2008 Nationals.

In short we have:

1. Added more DH practice time on Friday for Group C and B
2. Changed U19 XCO women's race to Sunday after the Elite Women's race
3. Moved U15 men to an earlier start time on Saturday

Change 1 were made to allow a more equitable practice sessions for B and C groups onearlier in the  schedule. A total of of 30 minutes has been added for Group C and 60 minutes for group B. This is in line with expected group numbers.

Changes 2 and 3 have been made to allow  the Saturday's women's race to use a truncated course as a group. All other start groups will use the full course. Course maps and profiles are available on the national's website: www.mtbnationals.com.au

The new schedule is available as a download here.

Document Download:
2008NationalChampionshipsScheduleR2.pdf (PDF - 459 Kb)

Entry on-line now available for 2008 Nationals
December 22, 2007

On-line entry is now available for the 2008 Australian MTB Championships being staged in Canberra, January 24-28.

Go to the Championships website and enter early: www.mtbnationals.com.au.

The following will also assist you.

1. Non-Australian citizens entering the 2008 Australian MTB Championships

Non-Australian citizens are allowed to enter subject to the following:
1. They must either have a photo-ID UCI license or purchase a MTBA day permit
2. They will be eligible for any award they may achieve as a result of their efforts. This will include the appropriate podium medal and prizes but will not be awarded the Australian Championship jersey or be eligible to accrue UCI CN points.

2. Call up order for XCO events and start order for DH.

(a) The order for allocating start positions in the Olympic Format XC and DH competitions will be (for all classes other than Elite, U23 or U19):
- Defending National Champion
- Athletes, in order, that have a top 20 National ranking derived from the current 2007-2008 National Series in the respective discipline if they have not already been allocated a start position above
- All other athletes.

(b) The order for allocating start positions in the Olympic Format XC and DH competitions will be (Elite and, for XCO,  U23):
- Defending Elite National Champion
- Defending U23 National Champion (XCO only, and if still in U23 age category)
- Current Elite World Champion
- Current U23 World Champion (XCO only, and if still in U23 age category)
- Athletes, in order, that are listed in the top 200 of the overall standings as at 31/12/2007 published by the UCI  (for Elite men and women)
- Athletes, in order, that have a top 50 National ranking derived from the current 2007-2008 National Series in the respective discipline if they have not already been allocated a start position above
- All other athletes.

(c) The order for allocating start positions in the Olympic Format XC and DH competitions will be (U19):
- Defending U19 National Champion (if still in U19 age category)
- Current U19 World Champion (if still in U19 age category)
- Athletes, in order, that have a top 50 National ranking derived from the current 2007-2008 National Series in the respective discipline if they have not already been allocated a start position above
- All other athletes.

(d) Number Plate allocation
Number plate allocation that reflects the above scheme will be only made on the basis of those pre-entered. In other words to get the number plate you are eligible to, based on the above scheme, you must be entered the 2008 Australian MTB Championships by the close of pre-entries,  21st January 2008. On-the-day entries will be assigned arbitrary number plates that may not reflect their position as indicated in the above scheme.

Successful International Cycling Union (UCI) visit to Mt Stromlo Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships sites in Canberra.
December 17, 2007

Senior mountain biking delegates of the International Cycling Union (UCI) were hosted by the
Canberra Off-Road Cyclists (CORC) Organising Committee to inspect the progress of the courses in
the lead up to the 2008 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and 2009 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials
World Championship events.

The UCI delegation led by Melanie Leveau, UCI Mountain Bike Events Coordinator included Beat
Wabel (UCI Cross Country Technical Delegate) and Helen Mortimer (UCI Downhill and 4X
Technical Delegate).  The Canberra Off-Road Cyclists Organising Committee team hosting the visit
was led by Club President Anthony Burton, with Event Bid Coordinator Russ Baker, Cross Country
Race Director John Graydon, Downhill Race Director Dave McKinlay and 4X Race Director Jeff
Hughes spending the weekend with the delegation.  Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) Executive
Officer Tony Scott was present for the visit and MTBA President Gillian Duncan visited Stromlo
Forest Park on Sunday Afternoon.

The UCI delegates were able to see the Mt Stromlo Forest Park in action as part of the Brindabella
Challenge.  Canberra Downhill rider and current National Downhill Elite Women series leader Claire
Whiteman took Helen Mortimer (a former downhill World Cup racer) through the paces of the
Stromlo Downhill course – two runs which had Helen wanting to register for the race!
The courses received a very positive reaction from the delegation, with only some minor course
adjustments needed in preparation for the World Cup and World Championships events. Both events
will see world class riders come to Canberra to compete. The large open nature of Stromlo Forest Park
and Canberra’s extensive accommodation, transport and support infrastructure were viewed as
considerable advantages by the UCI.

 “It’s a very good venue," stated Melanie Leveau, “it's very wide and open so we have many options
for the tracks and the set up of the village.  We still have to decide where to put what, but we have
many options and that’s the most important thing.”

 “There are a few small changes that we’re going to make on the downhill course”, said Mortimer,
appraising the track, “we’re looking to put in some tricky drop offs and bigger jumps as well – to meet
the standards of the world’s best. Already there has been a huge amount of work put in with the 4X
and the downhill tracks. The bobcat will be up on the hill digging and putting some strategic rocks in
place. It looks to be pretty good once it’s finished.”

Mortimer recognises the advantages of hosting lead-up events at Stromlo like the MTBA National
Mountain Bike Championships on 24-28 January 2008, allowing feedback from those taking part in
them. “You’ve got quite a few races out here so it’ll be good to get some of the riders’ input as well.
Australian riders are some of the world’s best and it will be good to get their feedback once the new
sections get put in,” says Mortimer.

At the conclusion of the visit, CORC President Anthony Burton said that, “It was a really successful
visit and we are in great shape to pull together a fantastic couple of weekends of mountain biking.  The
delegates have been there and done it all before and everything they had to say was really positive”.

Rain forces cancellation of final downhill run in Thredbo
December 17, 2007

Heavy rain forced the cancellation of the final runs in the national series downhill mountain bike round in Thredbo today. Heavy rain overnight and again throughout the day caused track conditions on the famous Cannonball run to deteriorate. Officials cancelled the final downhill runs for the elite at 1.30 pm (DST). With elite riders aware that their qualifying run could be the final run of the day many took advantage to get their best time.
 
World ranked Nathan Rennie (Gold Coast) won the elite men’s event in 6 min 47.21 seconds well clear of current series leader Amiel Cavalier. Cavalier rode a 6 min 55.52 sec keeping him in the series lead. Adelaide youngster, Will Rischbieth placed third with a creditable time of 7 min 3.23 sec.
 
Rennie was pleased to back up his win after the previous national round on the Gold Coast last month but claimed the wet conditions were close to the worst he had ridden within Australia.
.
 “There were holes everywhere and they were just filled up with water,” said Rennie. “My aim was to just keep ticking it over and keep up the speed.”
 
“I ran full spikes instead of regular tyres so I think I made the right choice,” he claimed.
 
The elite women’s final run was also cancelled leaving the world bronze medallist, Tracey Hannah from Cairns, as the eventual winner with a time of 7 min 47.89 sec. Hannah also backed up her win in the previous national series. Newcastle’s Emma McNaughton placed second with junior sports award winner, Caroline Buchanan in third.
 
"It was a fairly fast run but I had a bit of a slide out, lost my footing and then I crashed again," Hannah explained.
Conditions were not ideal for the far North Queensland based rider. "It was cold after coming from Cairns with record high temperature and humidity near 100 percent," she said.
 
"Overseas they would have still run the race but I think it was a good decision though," said Hannah."Everything was wet and the track was beaten up."
 
On Friday night both Hannah and Buchanan were awarded the elite and junior women's cycling awards for mountain bike at the Australian Cyclist of the Year Awards in Adelaide however both were competing  in Thredbo. Buchanan also won the BMX junior women's award as well as racing and winning the fourth round of the national four cross in Thredbo on the same evening. Hannah rode her first four cross event in two years and impressed spectators to finish in second place beating rising star, Brisbane's Sarsha Huntington.
 
Downhill riders now prepare for the National Championships in Canberra on the Australia Day weekend. The fourth and final round of the downhill national series will be in Mt Beauty on 3 February.
 
Brief results
Men Elite
1st Nathan Rennie (Gold Coast, Qld) 6.47.21
2nd Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong, NSW) 6.55.52
3rd Will Rischbieth (Stirling, SA) 7.03.23
 
Elite Women
1st Tracey Hannah (Cairns, Qld) 7.47.89
2nd Emma McNaughton (Newcastle, NSW) 8.48.04
3rd Caroline Buchanan (Canberra), ACT) 8.53.15
 
Under 19 men
1st Shaun O’Connor (Sydney, NSW) 7.11.57
2nd Matthew Vincent (Campbell, ACT) 7.12.53
3rd Dylan Prohm (Helensburgh, NSW)  7.15.01

 
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Document Download:
ThredboDH3Results1607.pdf (PDF - 80 Kb)

Buchanan wins two awards and one race in one night
December 16, 2007

Canberra’s Caroline Buchanan capped off a successful evening winning two cycling awards in both mountain bike and BMX. The 17 year old National Four Cross Champion was unable to attend the Cycling Australia Awards held in Adelaide last night instead preferring to race the National Series Four Cross event in Thredbo.
 
The current National Four Cross Champion, Buchanan, won the elite women’s race beating World silver medalist downhiller Tracey Hannah from Cairns after a close contest in the preliminary heats. Buchanan now leads the national series with third placed, Sarsha Huntington (Brisbane) retaining second place overall.
 
Buchanan and Hannah were close in the heats but according to bystanders Buchanan raised the bar in the final.
 
“I think I just got adrenaline in the final,” explained Buchanan. “I tried a different line in the first corner and it worked. I had a good start as well.”
 
“I knew if I got around the first corner I could hold it from there,”she said.. With only two rounds remaining in the national series Buchanan is favourite to take out the series title for a second year in a row.
 
Leigh Darrell, made it a Canberra double when he won the elite men’s class securing a firm hold on the series lead. Darrell did not let his guard down winning every race throughout the night. Darrell rode the first off camber sweeper to perfection and got the edge over his opponents.
Second was Thomas Hubert (Merewether) and third was Queenslander, Adam Nicholson.
 
Tim Dunn (Warrimoo) had the best gate starts all night and placed fourth in the final.
 
Under 19's was won by Shaun O'Connor while Under 17 rider Ben Clark won against a top field. Adelaide's Connor Fearon won the Under 15 class.
 
Sunday's third round of the national downhill series is expected to create some excitement with world ranked riders such as Nathan Rennie and Tracey Hannah on the start line.

For a full list of Cycling Australia awardees see the MTBA website.
 

Document Download:
Thredbo4X151207.pdf (PDF - 78 Kb)

Starr stars in cross country and lays claim on Olympic selection
December 8, 2007

Winning the third round of the National Series cross country race in Thredbo proved a point for Melbourne’s Dellys Starr (Smiths Gully). Starr returned to Australia just two weeks ago from her base in Colorado to prepare for her assault on the Beijing Olympics spot. The 31 year old Melbourne Commonwealth Games rider is hoping to secure the one spot allocated for an Australian elite female. The men also have one spot.
 
“I’m here for the national series and looking forward to the National Championships in January and going for Olympic selections,” Starr said.
 
Starr got the fastest lap in her second of four laps in 21 min 16 sec when she took over the lead from current series leader, Rowena Fry (Launceston).
 
“It makes me feel like my training is on track. It’s good to gauge where the rest of the girls are at. I’m only going to get stronger from here,” she added.
 
Completing the four laps in 1 hr 26 minutes gave Starr a one and a half minute lead over nearest rival, current National Champion, Tory Thomas (Mt Beauty, VIC).
 
Starr will not rest now and continue training and racing in Australia until March next year.
 
“I definitely never underestimate anyone. I’ve been keeping tabs on the results,” she said.
 
Starr now looks ahead to the National Championships at Mount Stromlo in Canberra at the end of January which will form a part of the selection process towards the Olympics.
 
“It’s a great course (Stromlo). I competed there last year. I wasn’t quite as prepared,” she admitted.
 
This year Starr sounds like she has a different plan and preparation is underway as her race results showed today. With still eight months to go to Beijing Olympics and several of the elite women could be looking like a candidate at this stage.
 
“Definitely it doesn’t seem to be cut and dried,” she said. “No one is dominating. It’s going to be tight and selection is going to be close.”
 
Fry finished in third place and retains the series lead.
 
The elite men’s race was a cat and mouse affair with the lead changing four times over the seven laps. Eventual winner, Canberra’s Dylan Cooper took charge in the fifth lap to finish in 2 hr 4 min. The 28 year old now leads the series and has his sights set on the overall series and next month's National Championships.
 
Second was Victoria’s Dan McConnell securing the fastest lap of 16 min 53 sec. The 23 year old crashed in the second last lap going over his handlebars sustaining lacerations to his right knee. A sprint finish gave Andrew Blair (Cooma, NSW) third place and series leader, Aiden Lefmann (Manly) claimed fifth and relinquishes the leader’s plate.
 
Under 23 men’s winner Paul Van Der Ploeg (Mt Beauty, VIC) got third fastest in the men’s race with an impressive ride for the world representative rider.
 
Final round will be in Mt Beauty in early February with the National Mountain Bike Championships beforehand in Canberra on the Australia Day weekend in January.
 
For more information, interviews, photos or vision information.
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Document Download:
XCO#3.pdf (PDF - 75 Kb)

World Class Downhillers take National Series, Illinbah 25th November
November 27, 2007

World Ranked downhillers, Tracey Hannah (Cairns) and Nathan Rennie (Gold Coast) competing in the second round of the National Mountain Bike Series on the Gold Coast proved too hard to beat. Hannah currently ranked third in the world dominated the women’s field and rode a respectable 3 min 49.33 sec. The 19 year old beat second place getter Emma McNaughton (Newcastle) by a massive 34 seconds over the 2.3 km course.
“I love racing the local Australian races,” said Hannah. “There is so much support.”
 
Hannah admitted she found some sections of the world class course tricky but is determined to compete at the National Championships in Canberra late in January.
 
“It was tight in the woods with rocks and roots. I was struggling but I’m happy with my run,” she said.
 
Series leader, Claire Whiteman (Canberra) placed third and retains the series lead.
 
World number 7, Nathan Rennie, left nothing to chance when he barrelled down the Illinbah course in record time of 3 min 13.74 sec. He took a full 6 seconds off another professional rider, Bryn Atkinson (Blue Mountains).
 
With a near perfect run Rennie improved on his qualifying time of 3 min 20.34 sec.
“I’ve had a perfect run just one little falter,” he explained. Coming into the finish at a blistering pace Rennie admitted he was going too fast.
“I had to break a bit near the finish I was cooking. The track had dried out a bit and I wanted to keep both wheels on the ground,” he stated.
 
Spectators crowded the bottom of the course awaiting Rennie’s speedy descent. “I was wondering where everyone was at the top,” said Rennie, “then I came into the finish. It was awesome.”
 
“It’s great to win on the Gold Coast in my own backyard. I’m a local boy here and I’ve had a few more runs than the other guys,” he explained.
 
Rennie praised the course at Illinbah, saying it has potential.
“This is a great course it’s got a bit of everything. The course here could suit a World Cup. All the riders loved it.”
 
Third was young Western Australian, Mitch Delfs (Bunbury), while fourth place getter, Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong) takes over the series lead from young Adelaide rider, Will Rischbieth, after he placed 13th .
 
Another favourite, Jared Rando (Canberra) was unlucky to hit the dirt in the final run.
 
Local downhillers, Rhys Willemse (Chambers Flats) won the Under 19 division. The 16 year old also claimed the second fastest qualifier of the day. Willemse rode an impressive 3 min 23.97 with only Nathan Rennie bettering his time in qualifying. Second was Tamryn Murrell (Gold Coast) and third place went to Shaun O’Connor (Sydney).
 
 Adelaide’s James Shepherd won the under 17 division.
 
Four Cross
 
On Saturday night spectators witnessed one of Australia’s best four cross riders, Jared Graves (Toowoomba) in action. Graves did not put disappoint his home crowd and won the third round of the National Mountain Bike Series at Illinbah near Canungra. Graves put aside his aspirations to make the BMX Olympic squad but claims that it is still his main focus.
“The closer it gets to the Olympics BMX becomes more and more of a focus,” he explained.
 
Elite women’s winner was National Champion, Caroline Buchanan from Canberra). A strong challenge came from Brisbane’s Sarsha Huntington (Bulimba) and a crash in the final let Buchanan take the win.
 
The next rounds of downhill and four cross will be in Thredbo on the 15 - 16 December.
 
 
Elite Men Downhill
1st # 85 Nathan Rennie (Gold Coast) course record – 3 min 13.74 sec
2nd # 52 Bryn Atkinson (Blue Mountains) 3.19.95
3rd # 80 Mitch Delfs (Bunbury) 3.22.97
4th # 2 Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong) 3.23.42 – new national series leader
 
Elite Women Downhill
1st # 309 Tracey Hannah (Cairns) 3 min 49.33 sec
2nd # 302 Emma McNaughton (Newcastle) 4.16.19
3rd #301 Claire Whiteman (Canberra) 4.19.62 – retains  the series leader

Document Download:
IllinbahDH2.pdf (PDF - 78 Kb)

King is king of women’s cross country, Illinbah Round 2
November 26, 2007

The olympic event of cross country started in wet conditions for round 2 of the National Series on the gold Coast. Slippery conditions made it tough for women hoping to make it to Beijing. With one Olympic spot up for grabs already the Australian season has witnessed close racing. Eventual winner, Zoe King (Manly, Syd) led in the first lap and retained her lead for four laps of the 5.5 km circuit.
 
“It  was a really tough race,” admitted King, “the hills certainly did hurt.”
King appeared keen to dominate the race early however she claims otherwise.
“My plan was to go out a bit conservatively,” she said. “I passed them on the inside and my legs felt good. I was pretty comfortable being out there.”
 
When asked about pursuing the single women’s Olympic spot she said, “There’s a chance, so I’m certainly going to give it a shot.”
 
Second was Canberra’s Rosemary Barnes just three minutes off King’s blistering pace.
 
Favourite for the event, Tasmanian Rowena Fry, (Launceston) finished in third but stays in first place in the series equal on points with Zoe King.
 
 In the men’s elite cross country an early break by Aiden Lefmann (Harbord) at the gun gave him a clear lead into the first of six laps. The Sydney rider stayed away from the chasing group and split the field.
Lefmann again gained the series lead which is a repeat of his early series lead last season.
 
Like the first round last year I was really stoked. I didn’t know what to expect coming into the race,” he admitted. “I would’ve been happy with top five. I just felt consistent.”
 
Cal Britten (Bright) stayed away from the chasing Shaun Lewis (Watson). Britten placed second in elite and claimed the Under 23 win. Lewis secured third while Adrian Jackson (Ferny Creek) took out the fourth spot and Dylan Cooper (Downer) finished fifth.
 
Brief Results
Elite Women Olympic Cross Country
 
1 # 303 Zoe King (Manly, SYD) 1 hr 47 min 0 sec
2 # 309 Rosemary Barnes (O’Connor, CANB) 1 hr 49 min 57 sec
3 # Rowena Fry (Launceston, TAS) 1 hr 51min 49 sec
4 # Jodie Willett (Morningside, BRIS) 1 hr 55 min 43 sec
 
Elite Men’s Olympic Cross Country
 
1 #5 Aiden Lefmann (Harbord, SYD) 2 hr 7 min 05 sec
2 #7 U/23 Cal Britten (Bright, VIC) 2 hr 9 min 59 sec
3 #4 Shaun Lewis (Watson, ACT) 2 hr 10 min 53 sec
4 #26 Adrian Jackson (Ferny Creek, MEL) 2 hr 11 min 10 sec

Document Download:
IllinbahXCO2.pdf (PDF - 68 Kb)

2008 Australian MTB Championships, January 24-28 Website live
November 15, 2007

The website for the 2008 Australian MTB Championships is now live. On-line entry will be available through this website as well as all the information you need to get the most of Australia's competitive flagship event.

The venue, Stromlo Forest Park has greened up considerably since January 2007 and the trees around the XC course have grown!  Together with a some new DH alignments and some other innovative changes this event will be bigger and better than 2007 - so make sure you are there.

Go to www.mtbnationals.com.au for all the info you need.

The schedule for the 2008 National Championships has been decided.  The dates of official practice and competition extend from Thursday 24th January to Monday 28th of January 2008.

There are two items of note that are new for 2008.

1. Club Team Relay.  The club team relay will be staged on Friday 25th. This event will be reminiscent of the team relay at the World Championships. The rules for the club team relay will be:

(a) The team will comprise 1 Elite/Expert/Sport man, 1 Veteran/Master/Supermaster man, 1 Woman and 1 U19/U17 man.
(b) All members of the team must be registered members of the same club which is affiliated to MTBA. If the rider(s) are not MTBA members (ie a CA member) then other documentation to support this needs to be given.
(c) The team can start their riders in any order
(d) All team members must be also entered for another National Championship event
(d) The course will be 1 lap of the standard XCO course for each team member
(e) Team member change-over occurs by a physical contact at the start/finish area between team members
(f) The winner is the team who completes the 4 laps in the fastest time

2. New DH practice and  competition group. In an effort to make DH practice safer and competition fairer MTBA have introduced a Group C for DH.

The make up of the DH groups for the 2008 National Championships now becomes:

Group A: Elite men and women and U19 men
Group B: Expert men, Veteran men, Master men, U17 men
Group C: 
(a) all women other than Elite
(b) SuperMaster men, U15 men, sport men and hardtail.

Document Download:
2008NationalChampionshipsSchedule.pdf (PDF - 460 Kb)

Voting at Illinbah, Saturday 24th November
November 14, 2007

If you are attending the 2nd round of the National MTB Series at Illinbah (Gold Coast)  over the weekend of the 24-25th November there are a few options available for casting your vote for the Federal Election on the 24th.

1. If you are a resident in Qld you can vote at the closest polling place:

Moriarty Park Community Sporting Complex (Forde)
Monarch Dr
CANUNGRA, 4275

2. If you are an interstate resident, or are listed on the electoral roll as residing outside Queensland then you can vote at one of the closest interstate polling locations as follows:

Piazza On The Boulevard
3221 Surfers Paradise Boulevard
SURFERS PARADISE, 4217

Southport Central
56 Scarborough St
SOUTHPORT, 4215

2453 Gold Coast Highway
MERMAID BEACH, 4218

Runaway Bay
Shop 15/459 Oxley Dr
RUNAWAY BAY, 4216

Burleigh Heads Library
Park Ave
BURLEIGH HEADS, 4220

Alternatively you can vote at an early polling centre (check out www.aec.gov.au for locations near your place of residence) or you can make a postal vote (before Thursday 22nd November) by visiting your local post office. Remember that if you are on the election roll it is compulsory to cast your vote.

Rischbieth runs away with downhill win in DH#1
November 5, 2007

In a surprising victory on Sunday local downhill rider Will Rischbieth (#23 Adelaide) beat last year’s national series winner, Amiel Cavalier (#1 Wollongong) by one second. Recording a course record of 2 min 31.02 sec. By winning the first round of the National Series, Rischbieth leads the rankings. The 17 year old blasted out of the start and made up time in the middle section of the course at Eagle Mountain Bike Park in Adelaide
After heavy rain overnight the course had dried out for the final run but it did not deter Rischbieth who qualified fastest on the first run with a respectable 2:36.18.
 
“I didn’t know I was going to qualify that good,” he admitted. “But after my practice run in the morning in the mud I knew I had to step it up a bit.”
 
Rischbieth who rides for the same team as Cavalier has high regard for the 2005 World Junior Champion who has now turned professional.
 
“To Amiel’s credit,” he said, “he’s been overseas and been training pretty hard.”
 
Having ridden the track on a regular basis, Rischbieth did agree that was an advantage on the day. “I do know the track pretty well.” he admitted.
 
The elation of winning on his home track was made more precious by the local support he received by hundreds of spectators lining the course.
 
“It was awesome,” he said, “all my mates were on the side of the track all the way down.”
 
Cavalier also praised the talented youngster.
 
“I’m pretty happy to be that close to Will here. I was a bit scared he was going to destroy the field!”
 
Third was Tim Eaton (#4 Canberra) with a time of 2.34.32. Alex Swann (#50 Victoria) made fourth while fifth place went to Adelaide favourite, Craig Yates (#6).
 
The unluckiest rider of the day was Ricky Boyer who lost grip on the track and failed to qualify for the final run.
 
Cavalier’s riding partner, Brad Benedict from California placed sixth. The 21 year old on the verge of becoming a professional rider next season rode a 2:36.1.
 
Downhill racing was fast and furious in the elite women’s field with Sarah Booth qualifying fastest but the win was taken by Claire Whiteman (Canberra). Second was Newcastle’s Emma McNaughton with last year’s series winner, Caroline Buchanan (Canberra), in third.
 
Booth mad it into fourth while South Australian state champion, Jane Rutter claimed fifth.
 
Earlier in the day the Short Course Cross Country racing was tight and muddy with the lead changing several times in the women’s race. Zoe King (Manly, NSW) and yesterday’s winner Rowena Fry (Launceston, TAS) fought it out over the 20 minute race. A surge in the final laps was enough to secure Fry her second win of the weekend. King claimed second with Katherine O’Shea (Port Melbourne, VIC) in third.
 
The elite men’s race saw Dylan Cooper (Canberra, ACT) improve his third placing yesterday as he took the win convincingly. Second was Ben Mather (Launceston,TAS) and third was Neil Van der Ploeg (Tawonga, VIC).
 
Round 2 of the National Mountain Bike Series will be held on the Gold Coast on the 23-25 November.
 
Photos/interviews available (vision also may be available). Contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Tasmania's new talent takes first series and Jongewaard gets serious in XC)#1
November 3, 2007

Tasmania’s Rowena Fry won her first National Cross Country Olympic race today in just her second season by winning the first round of the National Mountain Bike Series at Eagle Park in Adelaide today. Despite muddy conditions, the 24 year old from Launceston set the pace in the first of four laps and won in a time of 1 hr 42 min. Since joining the Australian Sports Commission program to develop females in the sport for the London Olympics, Fry has blossomed under the “Dirt Roads to London Program” by also winning the national marathon championship in July.
 
Pleased with her current form and results Fry predicts that the women’s racing this season will be close.
“There is going to be good racing all season. We are all close,” she said.
 
“Tory (Thomas) came past me a few times and we were jostling to get onto the single track first.”
 
“I’m riding technically a lot better and I’m a lot fitter so now I can concentrate on what I’m doing.”
 
Fry praised the “Dirt Roads to London Program saying, “I would never have gotten into the national series otherwise.”
 
Newcomer to the national season, Jodie Willett from Brisbane placed second after passing Sydney’s strong Zoe King and National Champion, Victorian Tory Thomas in the final lap.
 
Sydney’s Zoe King was unable to repeat last year’s performance by winning the first race of the season and placed third. King is also in the “Dirt Roads to London” program. Current National Champion and last season's overall leader, Tory Thomas finished in fourth after suffering mechanical trouble
 
Local “Dirt Roads to London” rider, Terri Rhodes, made it into sixth place in the early laps but the exertion saw her fade and finish a creditable 20th. Rh odes however placed first in the under 23 division with second going to Anna Beck from Harbourd.
 
In the men’s race current National Champion, Chris Jongewaard from Adelaide, proved local course knowledge was an advantage. Jongewaard took over the lead in the first lap but started to suffer in boggy conditions.
 
“I thought I might have gone out too hard at the start,” he said. “On the second lap I backed it off a bit. Then Sid (Taberlay) caught me.”
 
After the first lap the 28 year old professional rider then decided to get serious and ride his own race. Jongewaard was challenged by Tasmania’s Taberlay in the second and third laps. However Jongewaard pushed ahead in the last half of the six lap race to win in  2 hr 5 min.
 
Athens Olympian Sid Taberlay found himself in second place with Dylan Cooper threatening to gain time in the second last lap. Taberlay was last season’s overall leader with Dylan Cooper second overall and positions remained unchanged.
 
In the under 23 division Canberra’s Ben Henderson stayed away from Victoria's Cal Britten to take the win. Gold Coast’s Dave Whitney showed good form by taking third.
 
 
Downhill practice was cancelled one hour before expected in the due to wet conditions, however racing will start as expected at 1 pm on Sunday with Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong), last year's series winner, expected to podium.
 
Other chances in the elite men's downhill race are Ricky Boyer and Adam Smithson both from Newcastle. Local riders Dave West and Craig Yates could have a home town advantage on the fast descent.
 
The elite women's downhill race could show some new Adelaide talent up against last year's series winner, Caroline Buchanan from Canberra.
 
Brief results only below
Full results attached
Elite Women
1st Rowena Fry #303 Launceston, TAS 1:42.29.6
2nd Jodie Willett #318 Brisbane, QLD 1:42 55.0
3rd Zoe King # 316 Manly, NSW 1:43.20.0
4th Tory Thomas #301 Mt Beauty, VIC 1:46.53.4
Elite Men
1st Chris Jongewaard #6 Parra Hills, Adelaide, SA 2:05:32.00
2nd Sid Taberlay # 28 Blackman’s Bay, Hobart, TAS 2:07:33.2
3rd Dylan Cooper, #1 Downer, Canberra, ACT 2:08:04.5
 
Under 23 (in the same race as elite men)
1st Ben Henderson #4 Canberra, ACT
2nd Cal Britten # 23 Bright, VIC
3rd David Whitney #18 Gold Coast, QLD
 
For more information contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Document Download:
EagleSAXCO.pdf (PDF - 87 Kb)

Cross Country close to home for Jongewaard in XCO#1
November 1, 2007

For National Cross Country Champion, Chris Jongewaard the best part of this weekend’s race in Adelaide will be not travelling to another city. For the first time in his mountain bike career the 28 year old will race on his home turf at the new Eagle Mountain Bike Park.
 
“It’s going to be a different feeling waking up and heading to a race from your own home,” said Jongewaard.
 
“This is break through for Adelaide,” he said. “Every day it’s becoming a high class cycling city.”
 
Jongewaard recently returned to Australia after racing the World Cups, World Championships and the mountain bike test event in Beijing. HE is the highest ranked Australian in 26th position with 643 points.
 
Team mate, Sid Taberlay from Tasmania will also start his Australian series assault in Adelaide after winning the overall series last season. Lining up will be Canberra’s Dylan Cooper after claiming second in last year’s season and competing at the World Championships he could be a threat.
 
Adelaide’s Shaun Lewis will not compete this Saturday but instead is working to raise enough money for his overseas campaign for season. His counterpart with the same name from Canberra is on the start list and is expected to challenge the leaders.
 
Last season’s early leader, Aiden Lefmann is expected to put the pressure on early in the 6 or 7 lap race along with young under 23 series winner Cal Britten from Victoria.
 
The women’s race numbers have exceeded the men’s and means National Cross Country Champion, Tory Thomas from Victoria will have to get into the lead group early. A strong group of developing riders that are part of the “Dirt Roads to London” program including National Marathon Champion, Rowena Fry from Launceston could challenge Thomas’s domination of last year’s series.
 
The “Dirt Roads to London” initiative is in its second year and already the selected riders have shown massive improvement. One such rider, Terri Rhodes from Adelaide is elated to have the event in the Adelaide hills.
 
“I can’t wait to show my coach how much I’ve improved,” she said. “The majority of the course is single track which I like. The climbs are technical and single track climbs which I like as well.”
 
For Rhodes who rode her first mountain bike at the first testing session for the program knows her skills have improved dramatically since then.
“I showed a bit of potential but in terms of mountain bike specific skills I didn’t have any,” she admitted.
 
“I want to show my coach how much I’ve improved. I know this track so that will help.”
 
Last year’s first series race winner, Zoe King from Manly, also has podium potential on this course.
 
Women’s cross country gets underway at 11:00 am on Saturday and the men’s cross country to start at 1 pm. According to the Olympic format the men’s race should take approximately two hours with the women’s just under the two hour mark.
 
Downhill practice will be run on Friday and Saturday. Racing starts at 1 pm on Sunday.
 
For further information and media arrangements - photos/vision/interviews contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

The Eagle has taken off for mountain biking
October 30, 2007

South Australia’s new Eagle Mountain Bike Park will host its biggest event to date when the first round of the 2007-2008 National Mountain Bike Series gets underway this weekend. Although the park was opened in December 2006, this will be the largest competition held at the venue and now adds mountain biking to the prestigious list of South Australia’s major cycling events.
 
Over 400 competitors from around the country are set to race in the first round for Cross Country Olympic and Downhill and will create history by being the first national cross country event ever held in South Australia.
 
Saturday’s elite women’s and men’s events will attract riders aiming for Olympic selection. Adelaide’s Chris Jongewaard along with fellow Commonwealth Games rider, Sid Taberlay from Tasmania will headline the men’s field. Jongewaard, the current National Champion, will race in his home town for the first time in his career.
 
With South Australia hosting other major cycling events such as the professional Tour Down Under and the BMX Supercross World Cup in 2008 the Eagle Mountain Bike Park will assist in raising the profile of mountain biking throughout the nation and in particular in South Australia.
 
After six year’s in the planning, after planning for the facility started with the two Adelaide mountain bike clubs, Bike SA and government bodies. Now the two Adelaide clubs, Adelaide Mountainbike Club (AMBC) and Insideline Downhill Mountainbike Club (IL), along with the Office of Recreation and Sport will take the venue to a new level of event. Already it has hosted many state events as well as the World Police & Fireman Games and recently the Australasian Masters Games.
 
According to event manager, Nick Rudzki, this event will showcase some of the talented riders in the discipline of downhill.
 
“We have upcoming talent with enormous potential from 15 to 19 years and some of them will certainly follow Sam Hill’s path to becoming a World Champion,” he said. “In fact I think one of the future World Champions will come from South Australia.”
 
Over the past two years the discipline of downhill has seen an increase of 30 percent in South Australia. Along with that Adelaide riders have claimed many high national rankings and elite riders such as Craig Yates (Camden Park) and Dave West (Rostrevor) leading the state. West also claimed second place overall in last year’s national series.
 
The younger ranks of downhill are swelling with talent with riders such as national under 15 champion, Troy Brosnan (Secombe Heights) and Will Rischbieth (Stirling). Rischbieth claimed the Oceania Championship title and also the under 19 national series title. He recently represented Australia at the World Championships in Scotland.
 
According to Rudzki, the Eagle Mountain Bike Park facility has helped to increase local racing numbers but the difficulty for recreational riders is that a shuttle service is not available to get downhillers from the base to the top of the course. "For events like this we can run buses and shuttles,” he stated, “but for training and recreational use no vehicles are allowed at present."
 
With Australian downhill riders among the best ranked in the world race times are expected to be close during competition on Sunday. "With top riders expecting to near the two and a half minute mark there could be a huge advantage for the local riders,' claimed Rudzki. "For them knowledge of the local track and could save precious seconds."
 
Official practice begins on Friday morning while Cross Country racing starts on Saturday morning. Downhill qualifying begins on Sunday at 1 pm with final runs starting near 4 pm.
 
For further media information/photos/interviews and preview opportunities contact:
Regards,
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au 

Darryl Doubles win and Scarr hits the dust
October 26, 2007

A fall on the last corner robbed the defending National Four Cross Series winner Terry Scarr (Raby) of his first win of the 2008 Mountain Bike series. Sydney’s Olympic Park hosted the first round on Saturday and the second round on Sunday. Canberra’s Leigh Darrell won both rounds of the BA Gear Four Cross this weekend to take a commanding lead in the series.
 
Leigh was the early lead but mechanical trouble struck. 'My gears got all messed up in the first straight," said Darrell
 
Scarr fought back and took the lead in the second straight but lost control in the final corner handing the race over to Darrell. Scarr’s crash forced riders around the track.
 
"When Terry dropped it I had to go over the berm." explained Darrell.
 
Thomas Twentyman (Eagle Vale, NSW) got caught behind the crash in third place until Ryan Jedrzejcyk (Guildford West, NSW)) took advantage of the mayhem. Jedrzejcyk claimed second while Twentyman was relegated to third. Scarr finished a disappointing fourth. Leigh now leads the National Series Four Cross Series.
 
A win in the first moto of the day gave women’s challenger, Sarsha Huntington (Bulimba,Qld), the incentive to match National Four Cross Champion, Caroline Buchanan (Canberra). However in the final Buchanan made one decisive move into the lead in the first straight and did not falter winning her second National Series round in two days.
 
Huntington made it a challenging day for Buchanan. "There were elbows throughout the day. It was like four finals," said Buchanan.
 
One of the best battles so the day was between Under 17 Blake Neilson (Springwood, NSW) State Champ and BMX A Pro, Ben Clarke (Emu Heights, NSW) also known as Luke Madill’s understudy. It was Ben Clarke’s weekend with two wins over the two days.

One of the hotly contested divisions was the Under 19. Aiden Nemet (Canberra) took the win for both rounds. Gold Coaster riders, Tamryn Murrell and Rhys Willemse swapped podiums with Willemse placing third on Saturday and Murrell placing second today.
 
In the Veteran Men’s division James Harris claimed wins on both days.
 
Next round of the National Four Cross season will be on the Gold Coast in late November while the first round of the Olympic discipline of Cross Country will begin the Adelaide round in two weeks time. The first round of downhill also starts in Adelaide on the Eagle MTB Park.
 
For more information/photos or interviews contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

Canberrans dominate at 4X #1, Sydney Olympic Park
October 20, 2007

Canberra duo, Caroline Buchanan and Leigh Darrell took out the first round of the National Four Cross Series at Sydney Olympic Park today. Current National Four Cross Champion, Buchanan proved her recent crash at the World Championship had not got in the way of her gutsy riding style. Buchanan led early and stayed out of a crash between Sarsha Huntington (Brisbane) and Shannon Jobson (Blaxland). Sydney rider, Grace Ireland stayed out of trouble to finish second. Huntington rode in to claim third and Jobson fourth.
 
The men’s race was won by Leigh Darrell (Canberra) in a tough line up alongside inaugural winner, Alex Lloyd (St Clair); Thomas Hubert (Mereweather) and Timothy Dunn (Warrimoo).
 
“Thomas (Hubert) got a good start too. I wasn’t quite in front to block him into the first corner to block him right out,” explained Darrell.
 
A loss of control by Thomas Hubert in the third corner gave Darrell the lead he needed.
 
“.I just gave it everything I got in the last bit,” Darrell said.
 
With top riders like Luke Strom (East Blaxland) and defending national series winner, Terry Scarr (Raby) eliminated today in the quarter finals , Darrell will be certain to get challenged in tomorrow’s second round of the National Series.
 
“I’m going to try and come back and back it up,” said Darrell.
 
In the Under 19’s Canberra’s Aiden Nemet was a clear winner while only two hundredths of a second separated second and third. Adam Thalor (Oakflats) narrowly got second place with Queensland’s Rhys Willemse (Chambers Flat) being relegated to third. Fourth was Ryan Hunt (Mt Annan).
 
The second round of the National Mountain Cross Series continues tomorrow afternoon also at Sydney Olympic Park.
 
For photos/interviews or information contact:
Regards,
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

BAGear 4X rounds, Sydney October 20-21
October 18, 2007

The BAgear 4X Round 1 & 2 of the MTBA National Series 2007-2008 Last minute news It’s going to be another huge year at the Monster Mountain X track at Sydney Olympic Park for the baGEAR Round 1 of the MTBA 4X National Series – and that’s not just because this year we have twice the racing with Round 2 on the Sunday! With a Sunny 29 degree average predicted for the weekend, we’re again looking forward to some great racing at the Homebush site. Again Bicycling Australia via their BAgear brand have contributed cash prizemoney, this will be distributed across both rounds for the Elite Men & Open Women’s categories. The Track Is about to go through the final stages of preparation. Australia’s leading duo in 4X track design and building – Brett Barnes and Geoff Cartwright – will be polishing the course with it’s final surfacing over the coming days ready for the weekend. Brett and Geoff tell us that the track will be in the best condition it's ever been for the race weekend. BMX and more Riders should also be aware that Saturday morning will mark the opening of the Sydney Olympic Park Monster BMX facility, which now shares the same site for the 4X. BMX riders keen to race the 4X event should be aware that they can upgrade to an MTBA licence for only $36, assuming they have more than 3 months left on their current BMXA licence and they bring their membership card to the event. MTBA have also supported less regular riders by making a ‘day licence’ for this event last for BOTH rounds, one $15 licence will cover riders for the whole weekend. We at BrightOrangeEvents have also offered riders wanting to ride in both rounds extra value, discounting the entire weekend fee by 15% for riders racing both days. Riders can enter online at www.brightorangeevents.com before the weekend (methods are available for pre-entry with or without a credit card). There will be a late fee applicable to entries on the weekend ($10 for 1 Round, $15 for both Rounds), so we encourage riders to enter before the weekend! Online entries will stay open until 6pm on Friday 19th October. Free Parking! As part of the Festival of Cycling, we’re also happy to announce that the Sports Development Manager of Sydney Olympic Park will be making parking free for all competitors this year! P5 Pod C – the closest carpark to the venue – will be open for all competitors to park for free on both days. Schedule The schedule for both days is the same: registration will be open from 7:30am to 10:30am. Practice (for registered riders only) will be available from 9:00am to Midday. Heats will be from 1pm to 3:30pm, and Finals will be at 4pm for riders who qualify. Presentation ceremonies will follow finals, with anticipated time for these being 5pm. STOP PRESS – Under 13 Category: Due to popular demand, not least from the many BMX riders keen to bring their MTNX bikes and compete on the ‘other track’, we’ve decided to add an Under-13s category. This won’t be a National Series category, but it will be recognised on the podium on the day, and there will be some small product prizes on offer for this category too. Web-links to all of the key information All event information (http://www.brightorangeevents.com/boe_4x.htm) Online Entries (https://commerce34.pair.com/tzone/events/brightorange/fourx/index.php) Email Entries (for those without Credit Cards) (http://www.brightorangeevents.com/BOE_4X_Manual.htm) What bike do I need to race MTNX? (http://www.brightorangeevents.com/BOE_4X_BikeRegs.htm) The MTBA National Series Website: (www.nationalseries.com.au) All event enquiries should be directed to: Stu Plant Event Director Bright Orange Events 0412 357 951 info@BrightOrangeEvents.com All media enquiries should be directed to: Sharon Payne Media Manager Mountain Bike Australia Mob +61 (0) 412 773500 sharon@bikemedia.com.au

2007 - 2008 National MTB Series announced
September 12, 2007

The national series for the 2007/2008 season has been finalized.  Once again the season sees 4 high quality venues conducting events from October 2007 through to February 2008. Two of these venues are new to the national series.

The season kicks off with the much anticipated MTNX#1 at Sydney Olympic Park (October 20). But as a first for MTNX the second round will also be staged at Sydney Olympic Park on the same weekend (October 20) - 2 national rounds, one weekend. Together with a National level BMX race on the same weekend the SOPA venue will be abuzz as Australia's best Mountain Crossers and BMX'ers come together in an extravaganza of 2-wheel action. Be there to check out the action!

This XC and DH season sees a return to Adelaide after a long absence with the first rounds (XCO#1, DH#1) being held at Eagle Park (November 3-4). This exciting new venue, built with huge support from the SA Government, will be one not to be missed. See what the hosts from Adelaide say.

"Located only 12km from the Adelaide CBD, Eagle Mountain Bike Park is set to host round 1 of the National Series on the 3rd and 4th of November. Organising the event will be the SA National MTB Consortium a joint venture between Adelaide Mountain Bike Club and Inside Line Downhill Mountain Bike Club. The purpose built venue has been professionally designed and managed by the State Government in collaboration with the local riding community and will feature Cross Country, Short Track Cross Country and Downhill competition. Technically challenging trails along with excellent spectator vantage points will combine for an enormously exciting event. South Australia hosts some of Australia’s highest profile cycling events including international BMX, Track and Road cycling events and Round 1 of the National MTB Series will further reinforce South Australia’s role as the cycling state. "

The second round of XCO and DH and the 3rd round for MTNX round will move to the Gold Coast (Illanbah) (November 24 - 25). This new venue to the national circuit has received great reviews by local Queensland riders at the Sunshine Series. The Gold Coast MTB Club say this about their new venue,

"We would like to invite you to come along to Illinbah Gold Coast Mountain Bike Clubs home base, the hub of multi discipline mountain biking in Queensland for two days of high performance mountain biking at Round 2 of the XCO and DH and round 3 of the MTNX National Series on 24 & 25 November 2007.  Whether you are a Pro or a Novice there is something for everyone with camping and catering facilities on site on the banks of the Coomera River next to the race village. With an elevation of 500 meters the 2.3 km Downhill course is a proven high quality track with international riders often returning to ride.  A pumpin, bumpin MTNX track sits right at the base and in front of race village.  A challenging Cross Country track flows through the hills and finshes at race village. With great spectator advantage points for all four disciplines this will be the place to be in late November. After the dust has settled on Sunday evening come and stay for a holiday and enjoy the world renowed Gold Coast Beaches and Theme Parks in Australia's tourism capital."

The evergreen Thredbo venue (December 15-16) hosts XCO#3, DH#3 and MTNX#4 with chair-lifted DH competition, high altitude XC and a Jacobs inspired MTNX course this event will finish off the year very nicely. Raw NRG's principal said,

"For the 16th year in a row, Raw NRG is hosting a round of the MTBA National Series. The reintroduction of the Olympic format cross country was well received in 06/07 and Thredbo and Raw NRG look forward to producing a similar technical and testing trail. Downhill has always been a specialty of Thredbo courtesy of the chair lifted access and the Cannonball Run is being substantially rebuilt in the spring.  Once again, Glen Jacobs mountain cross course will also be constructed in October. Keep an eye on RawNRG.com.au for online entry and all the race information."

The final rounds of the MTNX series (MTNX#5 and MTNX#6) will be hosted at Blackhill, near Newcastle (January 12 - 13), and yes it is once again a double header - which means great value and lots of action all weekend long.

The final rounds of XCO and DH (XCO#4 and DH#4) will be staged at the ever famous Mt. Beauty (February 2 - 3) just one week after the National Championships in Canberra. The hosts at Mt Beauty have this to say,

"The GRAND FINALE of the series will be hosted by Team Mount Beauty at the Nationally famous BIG HILL MTB PARK. Team Mount Beauty is one of Australia’s most experienced MTB event organizers with over a decade of hosting events of the highest caliber. The courses set by Team Mount Beauty in the Big Hill Mountain Bike Park always offer something for every rider. If you are into teeth grinding climbs we’ve got it, if you want fun flowing or technical X/C descents we’ve got it or if you prefer flat out adrenalin charged Downhill racing we’ve got that too. Add to this the excitement of the Short track raced through the event village. With the event being held the weekend after the National Championships and just 4.5 hours drive from Canberra it’s a great opportunity for riders to travel and compete in two major events. So take advantage of this as Team Mount Beauty will have plenty of stuff happening in the week between the Nationals and Round 4. Keep an eye on the website www.tmb.org.au for more info."

On top of all this action is the first Short Track XC (XCC) series. All the venues that are conducting XCO events will also stage a round of the XCC series. These will be run on the day following the XCO event and for those who have seen them run at Mt. Beauty and the Canberra National Championships know that they are fast, furious and very exciting to race and to spectate.

Of course the 2008 Australian MTB Championships in Canberra (January 24-28), which is sure to gain great media attention due to the ACT hosting the 2009 World MTB Championships (see MTBA website), will also see a revitalized venue at Mt Stromlo one year on from its debut in 2007.

Check out your local bike shop for a National Season primer which will be available early August.

A downloadable pdf with contact details for the hosts is available on the MTBA website and a rider information booklet will also available on the National Series website.

Please contact MTBA for any further information. Thank you for your interest and support of Australian MTB.

 

Document Download:
2007_2008NationalSeries.pdf (PDF - 51 Kb)

2007 Australian Marathon Championship - Results (with analysis)
July 1, 2007

World Champion takes second National Title
 
World Champion, Craig Gordon proved too strong for Australia’s best mountain bike riders won his second Australian Marathon Championships in Coffs Harbour today. The Wollongong rider dominated the field finished the 95 kilometre race in a blistering time of 4 hours and 45 seconds. The 34 year old retains the inaugural jersey he won last year in Toowoomba. Gordon won by 9 minutes and 44 seconds holding off Canberra’s Shaun Lewis and Matthew Fleming (Helensburgh, SYD). Lewis outsprinted Fleming for second place. Early race leader, Ben Mathers from Launceston had a flat tyre which gave him an eventual fourth place.
 
Gordon went into the event as the favourite after claiming the prestigious World Championship in 24 hour solo racing last October. Gordon has earnt a lasting reputation as one of the sports best endurance athletes after he defeated six-time World Champion, Chris Eatough from the USA. Gordon spent three days in hospital after pushing his body tot he limit.
 
“If you do a 24 hour race like I did you just look back and nothing compares,” he commented.
 
Gordon was still elated to win his second marathon national jersey. “If you’re a defending champion it’s always harder,” he said. “It always feels good to win but you never underestimate your opponents.”
 
Mathers lay down the early challenge by leading the field for the first half of the race.
 
“When Ben went up the road I was asking the boys about him. I heard he was a strong road rider. That’s when I decided to go,” said Gordon.
 
Gordon rode most of the final sections of the course alone reaching speeds of up to 60 km per hour. “I love it by myself,” he said.
 
The course received high recommendations from Gordon. “It’s got awesome single track,” he said. “I pre-rode a bit of it but I would say nearly 60 percent of it was single track.”
 
Lewis, 26, was content with second. “It’s one better than last year,” he said. “We knew Craig was too far in front to catch. He just had too much lead.”
 
The women’s race came down to a sprint for the line with Launceston’s Rowena Fry taking eventual honours.  At two hundred metres to go, Fry out sprinted Brisbane’s Jodie Willett to win by 7 seconds. Fry rode an impressive 5 hours 16 minutes and 20 seconds after leading most of the race.
 
“I didn’t mean to take it out hard. I found myself out in front and just thought I’d keep it going while the going’s good,” she admitted.
 
“I was cooked at two hours into it and I just kept pushing through it. I managed to hold on,” she said.
 
The women’s field started before the men’s and by the 50 km mark Fry was leading the women’s race while her partner, Ben Mather, was leading the men’s.
 
“Ben passed me and then got a flat. It would’ve been good to get the double,” she said.
 
Fry is a member of the "Dirt Roads to London" program but was not expected to match the highly ranked Katrina Van Spiegel from Sydney who finished a creditable third. Brisbane's Imogen Smith finished in fourth.
 
Over 415 riders competed in the full, half or quarter distance event.
 
For more information contact:
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au
 

Full results are listed here.

Document Download:
2007MarathonChampsResults.pdf (PDF - 94 Kb)

Canberra Endurance Mountain Bikers head to Australian Marathon Championships
June 27, 2007

Two Canberra riders will feature in the second National Mountain Bike Marathon in Coffs Harbour this Sunday. Ranked number 3 and 6 respectively, Shaun Lewis and James Williamson will be in the starting line up alongside last year’s National Marathon Champion, Craig Gordon from Wollongong.
 
Lewis, 26 and Williamson, 24 will be out to improve on their performances last year. “This year is a new course so you don’t know what’s coming up,” admitted Lewis. Both riders flatted during last year’s 100km race but are hoping for better luck on the 95 km course which starts and finishes near Bonville, just south of Coffs Harbour.
 
Williamson has an endurance pedigree after winning the 24 hour Solo Championships in Canberra last October.
 
Lewis is more focused on the upcoming National Series Olympic Cross Country which gets underway in November this year. The Olympic distance usually aimed at riders racing for two hours.
 
With the winner expected to take four and a half hours there are other favourites such as Victoria’s Murray Spink. Spink won the marathon known as the Otways Odyssey in February.
 
Gordon is still a ‘hot’ favourite after an outstanding win at last year’s World Championship for 24 hours solo in Georgia, USA. Gordon beat six-time winner of the event, Chris Eatough however after finishing spent time in hospital recovering from the ordeal.
 
Well over 400 riders are expected to ride the full, half or quarter distance events getting underway at 7.15 am on Sunday.
 
Photos/vision/interview inquiries:
 
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
Mob +61 (0) 412 773500
sharon@bikemedia.com.au

 

2007 MTBA AUSTRALIAN MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS - update 2
May 28, 2007

ENTRIES STILL OPEN -  There are still places available for the Maxxis Coffs Mountain Marathon.  We have had calls from riders who had heard that the event is full. THAT IS NOT CORRECT  THERE ARE STILL PLACES AVAILABLE.   Hurry, entries close 1st June so log onto www.twowheelpromotions.com.au and enter now.  For more info on the course read the following article.

Course Description - Article written by local rider Trevor Creighton

The 100klm course is the culmination of months of collaboration between Two Wheel Promotions and members of the Coffs Harbour Cycling Club.  The event has received the co-operation of State Forest and is licenced to use National Parks which has allowed organizers exceptional scope to string together an outstanding variety of quality trails.  The majority of the riding will be on well packed forest roads, giving plenty of opportunities for quick, safe passing.  Thabks to the broad support of landholders only around 2% of the entire course is bitumen with around 30% being blissful single track. The topography varies from undulating to hilly, taking in Mt Seaview and Hyde's Peak as it heads south, before swinging slightly inland towards the outskirts of Bellingen.  Mountain goats will  love it and everyone will get a good work-out, but some fast, hard-packed descents should prove ample reward for the well-worked quads.

The course flows through a range of both eucalypt forest and rainforest, as well as more open grassland.  The region has been extroadinarily fortunate to have received excellent rainfall for the past couple of years, which means dust free, well pacled trails and rich green scenery for those with an inclination to take it in.  Good rain on or near the day is always a possibility, so riders from drier areas will need to dust off some wet weather skills that have probably been dormant for a while.

The variety of terrain and sheer abundance of quality riding will doubtless amaze everyone who's never ridden the area before.  All in all, the Maxxis Coffs Mountain Marathon will be an exceptional event.

2007 MTBA AUSTRALIAN MTB MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS - ENTRIES NOW OPEN
April 4, 2007

DON'T MISS OUT

Entries are now open for the Maxxis Coffs Mountain Marathon to be held at Pine Creek Forest, Bonville, Coffs Harbour on 1st July.  Get your entries in early as numbers are limited in the Full Marathon 300 and Half Marathon 200 allowed in a section of the course in National Park .  The quarter marathon does not use this section of the course and we have no limits on the number of riders who can take part in the 25klm.

This is a beautiful part of the country with the course all contained in forest with leafy undergowth and rainforest to give you a fantastic days riding.

Don't be dissapointed by missing out on a place by not getting your entry in early.  Enter now at www.twowheelpromotions.com.au

2007 Oceania MTB Championships - Day 3 - DH
March 26, 2007

World Champ doubles with Oceania win
 
Downhill Elite Women
 
Once again the New Zealand women dominated the Oceania Championships and this time they proved too strong in the downhill for their Aussie counterparts on Sunday. Auckland’s Jennifer Makgill clocked an impressive 7.10.19 to claim her first Oceania title. In her final run, New Zealand’s National Champion, Scarlett Hagen from Queenstown was ten seconds off the pace in a time of 7.20:45. Hagen temporarily moved into second place, until World Junior Champion, Tracey Hannah set a 7.18:23 to split the kiwis and take second place. Hannah’s time was well outside of Makgill’s giving the kiwi her second Oceania medal after winning silver in the Mountain Cross on Friday.
 
Fourth place was taken out by New Zealand’s National silver medallist, Amy Laird from Christchurch which placed her in front of the Australian National Champion, Joanne Fox in fourth. Canberra pair Cara Smith and Claire Whiteman finished in sixth and seventh respectively.
 
The cancellation of the downhill seeding run on Saturday due to weather conditions meant it was difficult for spectators to gauge which riders were expected to perform well. On Sunday the rain disappeared but cold conditions prevailed.
 
The chilly conditions were unfamiliar to the tropical North Queensland rider, Tracey Hannah. “No matter how much you warm up it doesn't make a difference," she said. “My hands and feet are still frozen.”
 
Downhill Elite Men
 
Current World Downhill Champion, Sam Hill did not disappoint fans when he blitzed down the 'Cannonball Run' course in Thredbo on Sunday.  The 21 year old Perth rider made up ground coming down in 6:14.39. Hill now lays claim to back to back Oceania Championships after taking out last year's event in Rotorua.
 
Hill was relieved to have a win in Australia this season after a crash at the National Championships one month earlier robbed him of that title.
 
World bronze medallist, Nathan Rennie’s time of 6.16.78 was respectable however it only secured him second place. After winning the previous two National level races on the same course Rennie knew that would not guarantee him a win. “When you’ve got riders like Sam it’s never going to be easy,” he said.
 
Canberra’s popular downhill rider, Jared Rando recorded a 6.21.12 to make it into third place. Even though it was well outside of his course record of 6.05:42 it proves that track conditions were affected by a full day of rain stopping some of the world’s fastest riders from challenging the record.
 
Mt Beauty’s Liam Panozzo had the fastest run of the day for much of the elite run allowing him a long stay in the ‘hot seat’ until Bryn Atkinson from the Blue Mountains knocked him out. National Series overall winner, Amiel Cavalier from Wollongong did not have enough speed to knock Atkinson out of fourth place. Cavalier and Panozzo finished in fifth and sixth respectively.
 
Under 19 Men Downhill
 
In one of the closest finishes on record at Thredbo, the second and third Under 19 men’s places were decided by officials who had to go to thousandths of a second to separate the pair. A dominating performance by Will Rischbieth got him a clear win with a time of 6.32.43. Officials then checked the timing clocks to decide between Queensland’s James Maltman and New Zealand’s Matthew Scoles for the order for the next two podium places. Seven thousandths of a second was the winning margin eventually giving Maltman second and Scoles third in a remarkably close finish for such a long course.
 
Under 19 Women Downhill
 
Canberra youngster, Caroline Buchanan added another title to her belt by winning the Under 19 Downhill Oceania Championship title. The 16 year old won the elite Mountain Cross title on Friday evening. Buchanan did crash on the downhill course but managed a 7:55.79 in her first Oceania downhill event.
 
In the Australian Open Downhill event run concurrently with the Oceania Championship, Slovakian rider Filip Polc elected to ride in expert men. Polc recorded the fourth fastest overall time of the day with a 6.23.14. At presentations Polc graciously allowed Brisbane’s Randall Huntington to take the title which won him accolades from fellow mountain bikers. The Slovakian was content to lay claim to fourth fastest as a comparison to some of the best downhillers in the world.
 
For further vision info, photos and interivews.
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
E: sharon@bikemedia.com.au
M: 0412 773500

Elite Men                    
        1    1    Sam Hill (AUS, Mad Catz Iron Horse)    6:14.39
        2    2    Nathan Rennie (AUS, Team Syndicate)    6:16.78
        3    15    Jared Rando (AUS, Giant)    6:21.12
        4    6    Bryn Atkinson (AUS)    6:23.27
        5    10    Amiel Cavalier (AUS, GIANT Bicycles, Shimano, FOX suspension, Spearman Cycles)    6:25.41
        6    44    Liam Panozzo (AUS, SsangYong-fusion Pro Team)    6:27.63
        7    20    Ben Cory (AUS)    6:28.99
        8    21    Timothy Eaton (AUS, Manitou, Blur Optics, Troy Lee Designs, The Bike Shed Canberra)    6:29.71
        9    26    Wyn Masters (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:32.50
        10    22    Craig Yates (AUS, GIANT AUSTRALIA-SRAM-AVID-ROCKSHOX-FOX)    6:33.61
        11    16    Cameron Cole (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:36.55
        12    45    Chris Panozzo (AUS, SsangYong-fusion Pro Team)    6:37.78
        13    19    Ricky Boyer (AUS)    6:38.46
        14    51    James Bashford (AUS)    6:39.49
        15    55    Shane Wode (AUS)    6:40.69
        16    11    Keiran Bennett (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:40.94
        17    23    Ricky Lee (AUS)    6:41.33
        18    61    Andrew Mills (AUS)    6:42.13
        19    50    Alex Swann (AUS)    6:42.19
        20    40    Jon Odams (AUS, bikeculture.com.au , orange/royal , 661 , e13 , dragon , T.H.E)    6:45.59
        21    49    Hayden McGregor (AUS)    6:45.85
        22    37    Adam Dossetor (AUS, Turner, DH Direct, Bilt, Imperial, Raw Nrg, ANOMIA designs)    6:45.89
        23    27    Michael Davis (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:46.30
        24    67    Adam Smithson (AUS)    6:47.86
        25    62    Rhys Atkinson (AUS)    6:49.98
        26    54    Tim Mann (AUS)    6:53.36
        27    65    Gareth Paton (AUS)    6:53.69
        28    52    Tom Richards (AUS)    6:54.91
        29    46    Chris Whitelock (AUS, pinnical cycles. Steve cramer products)    6:55.32
        30    47    Robbie McNaughton (AUS, )    6:56.52
        31    48    Isaac Heppell (AUS,)    6:56.56
        32    24    Dean Robson (AUS, foes,manitou,troy lee designs,magura)    6:57.08
        33    58    Cillian Kennedy (AUS)    6:57.15
        34    59    Hamish Armstrong (AUS)    6:59.70
        35    39    John Farrow (AUS, AppalacheSIC usa)    7:00.00
        36    42    Jarl Jensen (AUS)    7:01.83
        37    56    Thomas Rose (AUS)    7:02.99
        38    66    James McMillan (AUS)    7:03.05
        39    41    Chris Barlin (AUS, SIC USA, Hoots, Appalache)    7:04.10
        40    29    Ben Morrison (AUS, ManitouTroy Lee DesignsUtopia OpticsFoesRaw NRGBlack Phoinex FilmsKick ass KustomCompound)    7:04.19
        41    64    Adam Bashford (AUS)    7:04.71
        42    63    Scott Graham (AUS)    7:07.73
        43    28    Ben Goff (AUS, orange, royal racing)    7:07.82
        44    30    Trevwah Burke (AUS, woodduck`s extreme squid fishing glass bottom boats rides.co)    7:08.34
        45    38    Dean Davies (AUS, Ashgrove Cycles, Neezy Pty Ltd, Health Fusion Natural Therapy)    7:14.83
        46    33    Tom Kerney (AUS)    7:17.62
        47    31    Brenden Wood (AUS, Yarra Valley Cycles)    7:19.93
        48    35    Jimmy Danchaud (FRA, Comite Regional de Cyclisme New Caledonia)    7:22.61
        49    60    Kye Hore (AUS)    7:32.73
    Did Not Start                
            43    Damien Perry (AUS, Inner City Cycles)    
            32    Andrew Dapre (AUS)    
            36    Leger Ouamba (FRA, Comite Regional de Cyclisme New Caledonia)    

Elite Women                    
        1    308    Jennifer Makgill (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    7:10.19
        2    302    Tracey Hannah (AUS)    7:18.23
        3    304    Scarlett Hagen (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    7:20.45
        4    303    Amy Laird (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    7:39.92
        5    311    Joanne Fox (AUS)    7:58.87
        6    307    Cara Smith (AUS, Onya Bike Belconnen, Paton Performance)    8:18.54
        7    306    Claire Whiteman (AUS, Kona Mt-Buller Factory DH teamACT Academy of SportMal Adjusted Bicycles)    8:18.73
        8    310    Rosemary Barnes (AUS)    8:40.82
        9    309    Sarsha Huntington (AUS, FOR THE RIDERS.COM)    8:43.15

Under 19 Men                    
        1    629    Will Rischbieth (AUS, GIANT bicycles, Aldgate Bikes, Drizabone Australia)    6:32.43
        2    627    James Maltman (AUS, SsangYong-fusion Pro Team)    6:33.792
        3    605    Matthew Scoles (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:33.799
        4    601    Tom Patton (AUS, Orange,manitou,TroyLeeDesigns,bike addiction,bluroptics,steve cramer)    6:40.09
        5    614    Joshua Button (AUS, Dee Why beach Cycles, Sign FX Sydney, Mongoose Bikes)    6:41.55
        6    603    Dylan Prohm (AUS, Astrix Sports, Endeavour Cycles)    6:42.40
        7    630    Samuel Ward (AUS, Monza Imports, The Bike Shed Mortdale)    6:44.21
        8    611    Michael Langford (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:46.32
        9    625    Kent Hamilton (AUS, St Ives Cycles)    6:46.57
        10    606    David Scandrett (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:46.612
        11    607    Peter Cooper (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:46.617
        12    631    Joel Reuben (AUS)    6:47.54
        13    609    Joel Daniels (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:48.45
        14    610    Daniel Meilink (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:52.56
        15    602    Matthew Vincent (AUS, DH-Direct, Severe, GLA)    6:53.29
        16    623    Chris Coombe (AUS)    6:54.53
        17    608    Joseph Nation (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    6:57.78
        18    621    James Taormina (AUS, Bike Culture Sydney)    6:58.72
        19    613    Murray Stephens (AUS, Bendigo Cycles)    6:58.99
        20    628    Ryan Meader (AUS)    7:02.29
        21    616    Tim Windshuttle (AUS, Raw NRG Thredbo)    7:06.40
        22    604    Cameron Allonby (AUS)    7:08.37
        23    626    Ben Leaper (AUS, The Bike Shed Mortdale)    7:08.55
        24    633    David Habicht (AUS)    7:14.42
        25    635    Brenton Gowen (AUS)    7:17.24
        26    617    David Gnany (AUS, SPY OPTICS)    7:19.91
        27    619    Tom Maury (FRA, Comite Regional de Cyclisme New Caledonia)    7:24.55
        28    612    Mark Beeksma (AUS, Cycle Logic, Rotec Cycles)    7:26.68
        29    624    Patrick Young (AUS)    7:46.28
        30    615    Mitchell McKinlay (AUS)    7:56.63
        31    634    Dale Lecluse (AUS)    8:34.47
        32    632    Tyson Jones (AUS)    9:54.56

Under 19 Women                    
        1    681    Caroline Buchanan (AUS, KHS, Unit clothing, Crank Bros, Bike Shed Canberra)    7:55.79
        2    682    Holly Kernohan-Smith (NZL, Bike New Zealand)    8:09.30
        3    683    Kelly Hughes (AUS)    8:22.38

Full Australian Open of MTB results are available on the MTBA website.

2007 Oceania MTB Championships - Day 3 - XC
March 25, 2007

Kiwi girls dominate and Aussie men front up in the Olympic event
 
Elite Women’s Olympic Cross Country
 
A six month break from riding did not affect New Zealand's Rosara Joseph as she crushed her competition after not racing her mountain bike for eight months. Rosara rode an impressive 1.59:37 at the Oceania Mountain Bike Championships held at Thredbo on Sunday. The 24 year old did not even see her competition as she took out her second Oceania Olympic Cross Country title.
 
Joseph, a Rhode Scholar, rode the quickest lap recording 22 and a half minutes. Cool conditions suited the UK based, Joseph who remained unchallenged and rode the 5 laps in less than 2 hours, nearly 13 minutes faster than her nearest rival, Australia’s National Champion, Tory Thomas.
“The first lap was really good then by the second and third lap I started to fade a little bit," she said.
 
For the Oxford University law student this was her first mountain bike race since placing 10th at the World Championships in Rotorua last August. "I was a little unsure of my form really," she said. "This is way beyond my expectations.”
 
To rub salt into the wounds, Joseph rode on a borrowed bike after her Giant frame was dinted in transit.
 
In a tussle for second place, Mt Beauty’s Tory Thomas was able to hold off a challenge by New Zealand’s Kaytee Boyd. Thomas pulled away from the kiwi in the fifth and final lap to take a second place. Ex-BMX rider Kaytee Boyd, rode in to claim third place proving that she has the predicted potential to make a top Cross Country rider.
 
New Zealand’s National Champion, Anja McDonald got up as high as third in the early laps but finished the race in fourth place. It was a disappointing race for Australian rider Kate Potter after winning on the same course in December and she had to be content with fifth place.
 
Elite men’s Olympic Cross Country
 
In the men’s Olympic Cross Country the Australian riders dominated with current National Champion, Chris Jongewaard taking out the title by three minutes over Dylan Cooper and Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay. The Adelaide rider was pleased to win his first race since the Nationals Championships a month earlier.
 
Jongewaard rode a blistering average speed of 17.37 km per hour on a tricky and slippery 5.7 km course to finish the seven laps in 2:16:16.
 
The Elite men’s race saw Jongewaard and Taberlay break away from the field until a puncture in the second lap delayed the Tasmanian Taberlay.
 
“It was always going to be between Sid and I,” Jongewaard said after the race.
 
“I wasn’t feeling confident coming into today,” he said. “I haven’t done a lot on the mountain bike.”
 
He was not counting his success until the final lap after his experience in the last event at Thredbo where a flat tyre in the final lap on that occasion wrecked his chance of a podium spot.
 
“This is the start of the season so it will get tougher on from here with the World Cups and then the World Championships later in the year,” Jongewaard added.
 
Canberra’s Dylan Cooper was able to gain a spot and pass Taberlay and did not let him gain any ground. Cooper however never looked like threatening Jongewaard’s lead and finished in second with 2:19:31. Taberlay was not disappointed with third, preferring to ride a little easier after suffering a puncture and a slip in the wet conditions. The best placed New Zealander was Stuart Houltham in 9th.
 
Under 23 men’s Olympic Cross Country
 
In the Under 23 division, New Zealand’s Clinton Avery lead from start to finish, to take out his first Oceania title.. The Commonwealth Games representative completed the 6 laps in 1:58:09 to reverse last year’s placing that saw Australian Shaun Lewis take out the title with Avery second. Lewis looked to have second all sewn up until a wheel problem in the final lap saw the young rider loose about 6 minutes. Lewis finished a disappointing 4th. Second was strong Victorian rider, Daniel McConnell flying the flag for Australia with a ride of 2.01.29. Fellow team-mate Lachlan Norris took a well deserved third.
 
Under 23 women's Olympic Cross Country
 
The Under 23 women raced alongside Under 19 riders such as New Zealand’s rider Samara Sheppard who had an impressive time of 1.24:11 for three laps riding quicker than the Under 23 riders who still had one extra lap to go. The Under 23 winner after four laps was National Under 23 Champion, Lindsay Gorrell and South Australian, Terry Rhodes placed second.
 
For more information or vision details, photos or interviews.
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
E: sharon@bikemedia.com.au
M: 0412 773500


Elite Men                                                                                        Total    Avg    % Fast
    1        3    Chris Jongewaard(AUS, Avanti/Shimano/Jt Cycles)    2:16:16.0    17.37    100.00%
    2        4    Dylan Cooper(AUS, Conceptis.com.au, Ritchey, ACTAS, Scott)    2:19:31.8    16.95    97.58%
    3        2    Sidney Taberlay(AUS)    2:23:54.5    16.53    95.17%
    4        14    Brent Miller(AUS, Kenda/X-Fusion/Titus)    2:26:08.8    16.19    93.22%
    5        7    Murray Spink(AUS, Giant Bicycles)    2:27:25.3    16.02    92.22%
    6        9    Stuart Houltham(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    2:30:11.7    15.80    90.95%
    7        11    James Williamson(AUS, Giant, Ritchey)    2:33:09.3    15.46    88.98%
    8        12    Nick Both(AUS, Flight centre, Scott bikes, Netti, Cratoni, Adidas eyewear, Accelerade)    3:10:59.7    14.85    85.45%
    9    Lapped -1    10    Warren Burgess(AUS, King of the Mountain Cyclery)    2:20:36.5    14.34    82.53%
    10    Lapped -2    15    James Meadley(AUS, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team)    1:58:30.4    14.18    81.60%
    11    Lapped -3    16    Justin Price(NZL, Santa Cruz Bicycles, RNR Sport, Laroma Espresso)    1:39:29.3    13.51    77.76%
    12    Lapped -3    8    Chris Winn(AUS, Yeti, Spoke(n), Smith, SRAM, TruVativ, Fox Racing Shox)    1:41:15.7    13.27    76.40%
    13    Lapped -4    6    Perren Delacour(AUS, Yeti Cycles, Smith Opticals)    0:42:43.7    15.73    90.53%
        Did Not Finish    5    Aiden Lefmann(AUS)    DNF        
        Did Not Start    13    Michael Blewitt(AUS, Cranks Bike Shop, Scott Bikes)    DNS        
                            
Under 23 Men                       
    1        61    Clinton Avery(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    1:58:09.4    17.06    98.21%
    2        67    Daniel McConnell(AUS, SA.com MTB Team)    2:01:29.3    16.59    95.52%
    3        62    Lachlan Norris(AUS, SA.com MTB Team)    2:03:42.9    16.30    93.80%
    4        65    Shaun Lewis(AUS, SA.com MTB Team)    2:05:39.8    16.04    92.34%
    5        64    James Maebus(AUS, Giant Bicycles, VIS, Michelin, BikeNOW, TEC Helmets, MUM)    2:07:52.4    15.77    90.75%
    6        63    Ben Henderson(AUS, Mongoose Bikes)    2:11:27.4    15.34    88.27%
    7        69    Daniel Johnston(AUS, Merida Bikes, Advance Traders, NTIS, Raceface Clothing)    2:12:47.2    15.18    87.39%
    8        68    John Gray(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    2:16:23.5    14.78    85.08%
    9        71    Joey Esterhuyzen(AUS, Western Sydney MTB Club)    2:24:43.1    13.93    80.18%
    10    Lapped -1    70    Glenn Stewart(AUS, Cannondale, Sram, Maxxis, Sugio)    2:01:22.2    13.84    79.67%
    11    Lapped -5    66    Daniel Braunsteins(AUS, SA.com MTB Team)    0:49:12.2    6.83    39.31%
        Did Not Finish    72    Cal Britten(AUS, KONA/MT BULLER FACTORY TEAM, VIS and Cyclepath)    DNF       

Elite Women                       
    1        301    Rosara Joseph(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    1:59:37.9    14.04    80.83%
    2        306    Tory Thomas(AUS, ORBEA, SRAM)    2:12:29.9    12.68    72.98%
    3        311    Kaytee Boyd(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    2:13:30.5    12.58    72.43%
    4        310    Anja McDonald(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    2:14:41.4    12.47    71.79%
    5        307    Kate Potter(AUS, Cotic, A Quick Release Holidays, TORQ Energy, Pace Forks, Bigfoot bags)    2:15:21.8    12.41    71.44%
    6        308    Zoe King(AUS, King of the Mountain Cyclery/Cannondale)    2:17:33.1    12.21    70.30%
    7        313    Emma Colson(AUS, Topbike Tours, Giant bicycles, Euro Eyewear , Geax Tyres)    2:18:17.1    12.15    69.93%
    8        318    Jenni King(AUS, spoke(n))    2:18:25.6    12.14    69.86%
    9        316    Claire Haugh(AUS, Yeti)    2:24:46.8    11.60    66.79%
    10        315    Rachel Rademaker(AUS, www.cyclelink.com.auMerida)    2:25:15.1    11.57    66.57%
    11        319    Jodie Willett(AUS, eDiscovery Tools, River City Cycles)    2:25:58.1    11.51    66.25%
    12        314    Joanna Wall(AUS, A & I Helicopter ServicesMoronis Bikes)    2:26:35.3    11.46    65.97%
    13        309    Katherine O'Shea(AUS, Fitzroy Cylces, PowerBar and Michelin Tyres)    2:27:53.4    11.36    65.39%
    14        312    Erin Greene(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    2:28:34.1    11.31    65.09%
    15    Lapped -1    320    Imogen Smith(AUS)    2:01:19.5    11.08    63.76%
    16    Lapped -1    317    Vanessa Hentschel(AUS, Croydon Cycleworks, Trek)    2:03:14.7    10.91    62.77%
    17    Lapped -2    321    Niki Fisher(AUS)    1:39:04.2    10.17    58.57%
                           
Under 23 Women                       
    1        351    Lindsay Gorrell(AUS, McGee's Cycling Store, TREK, Clarence St Cyclery)    1:59:06.5    11.28    64.95%
    2        352    Therese Rhodes(AUS, Jax Sport)    2:05:28.1    10.71    61.66%
                           
Under 19 Women                       
    1        641    Samara Sheppard(NZL, Bike New Zealand)    1:24:11.6    11.97    68.91%
    2    Lapped -2    642    Kelly Hughes(AUS)    1:25:49.9    3.91    22.53%
        Did Not Start    643    Kate McMillan(AUS)    DNS  

Full Australian Open of MTB results are available on the MTBA website.    
                            

2007 Oceania MTB Championships - Day 2 - U19 XC
March 24, 2007

Van der Ploeg dominates in Oceania U19  mens XCO

In the morning the Under 19 Olympic Cross Country riders headed out into heavy rain. Mt Beauty’s Paul van der Ploeg delivered yet another dominant display to claim the Oceania Championships Under 19 Men’s Title over five laps of a grueling Thredbo course.
 
In driving rain van der Ploeg led the field by almost two minutes after just one lap and, while his lap times gradually increased in comparison to Canberra’s Nathan Hass’s consistent laps, the reigning National Champion was never worried.
 
Hass was himself well clear of Peter Braunsteins, who spent the early laps in a battle for third with leading New Zealand rider Connor MacFarlane.
 
New Zealand’s national champion, James Williamson, suffered in the wet conditions and was only able to finish 7th.
 
While the New Zealanders presented a polished team in their matching Silver Fern uniforms, they were unable to make any kind of dent on the outstanding performance of van der Ploeg, who remains unbeaten in the under 19’s over the Australian season.
 
With fine conditions expected tomorrow the Elite Olympic Cross Country will get underway. The downhill race will be run now as a final run with the track expected to be slippery.

Mountain Bike Downhill seeding cancelled from cold
 
Weather conditions at Thredbo caused cancellations of the Downhill seeding run. UCI Chief Commisaire, Derek McCarthy made the decision at 2.54 pm to cancel the ranking run for all the elite and Under 19 riders with the temperature at 8.3 degrees and with the wind chill factor or minus 3.
 
“Already since we made the decision the temperature has dropped one degree. The decision was made on safety with a cold front coming through and they are predicting snow,” he said, ” said McCarthy. By late afternoon the temperature plummeted to 2 degrees. Several elite riders had done practice runs in the rain but all agreed with the decisions.

Under 19 Men       
 1  601 Paul Van Der Ploeg (AUS, Felt Bicycles, SRAM, Hutchinson) 1:50:06.1
 2  606 Nathan Haas (AUS, Orbea Australia, Actas ) 1:51:52.1
 3  604 Peter Braunsteins (AUS, Richmond cyclery ) 1:52:32.0
 4  610 Conor MacFarlane (NZL, Bike New Zealand ) 1:54:13.1
 5  607 Benjamin Dyball (AUS) 1:55:49.3
 6  613 Jordan Blake (NZL, Bike New Zealand ) 1:56:56.1
 7  609 James Williamsonnz (NZL, Bike New Zealand ) 1:58:52.2
 8  603 Daniel Hallam (AUS, Greg Swain (Coach).Advance Traders.Merida.Nerang Mountain Bike Club) 1:59:33.7
 9  611 Scott Green (NZL, Bike New Zealand ) 1:59:40.9
 10  615 Alex McGregor (NZL, Bike New Zealand ) 2:00:37.5
 11  605 Luke Knox (AUS, Bendigo Bank Academy of Sport Villawood ) 2:03:02.7
 12  602 Robbie Hucker (AUS, Cannondale maxxis mountain bike racing team , sram,sugoi,enervit,giro) 2:03:44.2
 13  612 Ashley Hough (NZL, Bike New Zealand ) 2:04:23.4
 14  616 Jonathan Coates (AUS) 2:05:45.9
 15  608 Jarrad Burrell  (AUS, Kalamunda Cycles ) 2:08:18.5
 16  614 George Bennett (NZL, Bike New Zealand ) 2:13:08.4

Full AOMB results for Day 2 XC are available on the MTBA website.

2007 Oceania MTB Championships - Day 1 - MTNX
March 23, 2007

 
MOUNTAIN CROSS WOMEN CRASH

The first official event in the UCI Oceania Mountain Bike Championships kicked off in Thredbo today with the men's and women's Mountain Cross finals.

Top riders from Australia and around the world including New Zealand's World Junior Downhill Champion, Cameron Cole and Australia's National Series winner, Terry Scarr put their skills to the test.

In Mountain Cross groups of four riders go head-to-head through a series of double jumps, table tops, rollers and tight berms, before sprinting to the finish line.

Unlike traditional courses where the first rider out of the gates usually wins, this course features a multi-line track forcing riders to use tactics and line choice to get them on the podium. 

The final four in the women’s race was a trans-Tasman affair with two Aussies and two Kiwis in the starting gates. Australia's National Mountain Cross champion Caroline Buchanan took the lead early and was a clear winner, but all the action took place in her wake.  A collision between Sarsha Huntington and Scarlett Hagen a double jump made way for earlier crash victim Jennifer Makgill to steal second place.  Huntington reclaimed her bike to take third spot for the Aussies with the current Elite New Zealand Champion, Hagen in fourth.
 
Buchanan was oblivious to the mayhem, “I heard lots of people coming down. I didn't know who was up and who was down so I just kept riding.”
 
The 16 year old Buchanan was a little concerned about competing against overseas riders, “I was worried about the Kiwis. I’ve never raced them before,” she admitted. Even though the Kiwi riders moved into second place it was the Brisbane rider, Sarsha Hungtington, who concerned Buchanan the most.
 
New Zealand's Jennifer Makgill was elated to win on her downhill bike. When asked about the crashes Makgill took it in her stride. "It's four cross, luck was on my side today," she explained.
 
The elite men's final was a full New South Wales line-up with Alex Lloyd, Luke Strom, Bryn Aitkinson and Terry Scarr all chasing a first place finish. The two favourite New Zealand riders, Cameron Cole and Wyn Masters were eliminated in the quarter final leaving it to the Aussies to battle it out for podium honours.  Lloyd and Scarr were side-by-side from the start, until Scarr pulled his foot allowing Lloyd to go on and win.  Hot favourite Luke Strom couldn't regain any ground on Lloyd and finished in second place. 

"I felt pretty confident. I've been training fairly hard this week. I knew Terry was the one to watch out for," explained Lloyd.
 
Second placed Luke Strom's race did not go according to plan. “I had a bad start. The other guys had a bit of a lead over me. .I was trying to chase down Alex to try and make a move and get in front. He was too far ahead I couldn't make the distance," admitted Strom.
 
Strom admitted he had been concerned about the presence on New Zealand rider, Cameron Cole. “Cameron's a junior world champion fast downhill and an ex- BMXer rider and a really fast four cross rider," said Strom. 'I think Cameron was pretty unlucky being so close to Bryn on the finish line. It was unlucky for him to go out in the quarters."
 
All eyes will be on the potential Olympians competing in the Olympic Cross Country on Sunday.  The final event on Sunday boasts a world class line-up with World Champion Sam Hill and Nathan Rennie, the bronze medallist up against World Junior Champion Cameron Cole from New Zealand.
 
Elite Men
1. Alex Lloyd (St Clair, NSW)
2 Luke Strom (East Blaxland, NSW)
3. Bryn Atkinson(Blue Mountains, NSW)
4 Terry Scarr (Raby Bay, NSW)
 
5th Jared Rando (Canberra)
6th Shane Wode (Cairns)
7th Ricky Boyer (Blue Mountains)
8th Timothy Eaton (Canberra)
9th Randal Huntington (Brisbane)
10th Cameron Cole (New Zealand)
11th Wyn Masters (New Zealand)
12th Tim Dunn
13th Mitchell Scarr
14th Adam Nicholson
15th Shannon Rademaker
16th Adam Dossetor
17th Thomas Rose
18th Ricky Lee
19th Richard Levison
20th Nathan Rennie
 
Elite Women
1 Caroline Buchanan (Canberra)
2 Jennifer Makgill (New Zealand)
3 Sarsha Huntington (Brisbane)
4 Scarlett Hagen (New Zealand)

2007 MTBA Australian MTB Marathon Championship
March 19, 2007

MTBA is excited to announce that Brisbane based Two Wheel promotions have been appointed hosts of the  the 2007 MTBA Australian MTB Marathon Championships names the Maxxis Coffs Mountain Marathon.

Set in the beautiful region of Bonville at Coffs Harbour its the ideal location for the Championships with easy driving distance from either Sydney or Brisbane with an Airport or train travel for those coming from further distances.  There is ample accomodation from backpackers through to 5 star luxurious Resorts.

Number are capped to 500. Special permission to use this course has been obtained but for only 500 riders between the full and half Marathon.  Additional riders can take part in the 25klm Marathon.  DON'T MISS OUT GET YOUR ENTRIES IN EARLY.

New Course & Venue
Pine Creek Forest, Bonville - 15 minutes south of Coffs Harbour. We have been working hard with all the authorities at Coffs Harbour to bring you this fantastic new course all set in the beautiful rainforest of Pine Creek Forest at Bonville.  This is pure mountain bikers heaven with 95% of the course off road with lots of flowing singles, fire trails. Ride from Bonville through the forest nearly to Bellingen and back to the start at Bonville. Course Map & profile coming soon.

Directions
From North - Travel down to Coffs Harbour CBD and then keep travelling South on the Pacific Highway for 13km and turn RIGHT, Glennifer Rd (just before the overpass - you will see Bonville School) then travel along Glennifer Rd for 6.5km to the staging area.

From South - Travel North along the Pacific Highway past Urunga turnoff for 14.5km then turn LEFT at Glennifer Rd, you will see the Bonville School and keep travelling along Gennifer Rd for 6.5km to the staging area. Follow the signs.

Registration
Saturday 30th June from 2pm-8pm at the Plantation Hotel, 88 Grafton St, Coffs Harbour (main road through Coffs Harbour - Look for the purple building). N.B. There will be no Registration on Sunday morning before the race

Riders briefing
Will be at the race staging area at Glennifer Rd, Bonville
Saturday 30th June - Information in power point presentation during Registration on Saturday.
Sunday 1st July for Full Marathon (6-45am), Half Marathon (8-45am) and 25km Recreational ride (9-30am)

Entry
Entries open:  1st APRIL 2007
Entries close: 1st JUNE 2007 (OR UNLESS FULL)

Race categories and cost
2007 MARATHON CHAMPION - FULL MARATHON: $110-00 per rider
Open Male & Female winners awarded  the prestigious MTBA medallions and Australian Cycling jersey.
Age Champions will receive the  prestigious MTBA medallions
NB -  No rider under the age of 18yrs is permitted to take part in the Full Marathon Championship
Supporting events:  HALF MARATHON 'COFFS SOFT' (age divisions as above except 16-29 yr men. 16-29yr women) $79.00
and 25KM RECREATIONAL - Riders from 14years can take part in this event. $69-00

Each rider receives a race pack which consists of Official T-Shirt, Official Biddon Bottle, Course Map with checkpoints, first aid & water stations marked.

KIDS MIN RACE - Price to be advised (different race pack from above)

More Information
Libby & Bill
Two Wheel Promotions
PO BOX 204
Canungra, Qld 4275
Mobile: 0417 752 714
Telephone: (07) 5543 5122
Fax: (07) 55435 144

Email: info@twowheelpromotions.com.au

2006/2007 National MTB season closes
March 2, 2007

The final round of the XC and DH national season concluded in Mt Beauty and with it the final national standings have now been determined. Check out the rankings listings for the all the race categories.

XC Elite Men:
1st 278 Sid Taberlay
2nd 223 Dylan Cooper
3rd 220 Aiden Lefmann

XC Elite Women:
1st 290 Tory Thomas
2nd 200 Kate Potter
3rd 191 Zoe King

XC U23 Men:
1st 147 Lachlan Norris
2nd 87 Ben Henderson
3rd 51 Cal Britten

XC U23 Women:
1st 112 Rebecca Henderson
2nd 65 Therese Rhodes
3rd 50 Lindsay Gorrell

XC U19 Men:
1st 320 Paul Van der Ploeg
2nd 211 Robbie Hucker
3rd 179 Daniel Hallam

XC U19 Women:
1st 160 Kelly Hughes
2nd 80 Holly Tranter
3rd 65 Cailin Carrier

DH Elite Men:
1st 258 Amiel Cavalier
2nd 163 Adam Smithson
2nd 163 Dave West
3rd 150 Rick Boyer

DH Elite Women:
1st 240 Claire Whiteman
2nd 176 Caroline Buchanan
3rd 168 Joanne Fox

DH U19 Men:
1st 275 William Rischbieth
2nd 223 James Maltman
3rd 168 David Hetherington

MTNX Elite Men:
1st 233 Terrence Scarr
2nd 187 Alex Lloyd
3rd 160 Luke Madill

MTNX Elite Women:
1st 305 Caroline Buchanan
2nd 226 Sarsha Huntington
3rd 175 Julia Boer

MTNX U19 Men:
1st 240 Michael Jobson
2nd 145 James Maltman
3rd 129 Tom Patton

MTNX U19 Women:
1st 210 Alice Minahan
2nd 160 Courtney Taylor

Cavalier Comes Downhill the Quickest
February 25, 2007

 
Amiel Cavalier ended a stellar season by winning the fourth and final round of the National Mountain Bike Downhill in Mt Beauty today. The young Wollongong rider rode a 3.15.21 a full 2 minutes quicker than Mt Beauty downhiller Liam Panozzo. Third was professional downhill rider Jared Rando from Canberra only a half a minute behind. Blue Mountains’ rider, Rick Boyer was fourth.
 
In his first year as an elite rider, Cavalier has taken out the National Series title which proves his World Champion status as a junior was well earned. Adam Smithson (Newcastle) had a disappointing run finishing in eleventh place but with enough points to stay in second place in the series. Adelaide’s Dave West finished just after Smithson in 12th place and finished third on overall series points.
 
Emma McNaughton from Newcastle blitzed the women’s downhill field to finish in a respectable 4.05.47. Second was Claire Whiteman from Canberra and third was National Downhill Champion, Joanne Fox (Sydney).
 
Whiteman claimed the overall National Series for a second year running and fellow Canberra rider, BMX rider Caroline Buchanan claims second overall. Joanne Fox takes third lace in the series.
 
In the Under 19 men’s race James Maltman (Stretton, Brisbane) rode one of the fastest times today in his age group and had the fourth fastest time overall.
 
Daniel McConnell ( Bruthen, VIC) outsprinted Sid Taberlay (Hobart) to take out the Short Course Cross Country race today. Third was National Champion in this discipline Paul Rowney, The veteran rider was involved in a crash on the first lap but rejoined the leading riders.

Check out the results pages for the results from the DH and XCC races.

TABERLAY TAKES TITLE ROWNEY RIDES INTO SECOND
February 25, 2007

Sid Taberlay from Tasmania proved he was one of Australia’s best mountain bike riders by winning the fourth and final round of the National Series in Mt Beauty today. The 27 year old Athens Olympian was one point off the series lead occupied by Sydney rider Aiden Lefmann. Taberlay now claims the overall Series Leader and was not the only Olympian in the chase for top places. Sydney Olympian and now a veteran, Paul Rowney proved his class by a second place even giving Taberlay a challenge in the downhill sections of the course. The 36 year old Sydney rider finished one minute ahead of Canberra rider, Dylan Cooper.
 
Taberlay claimed a total of 278 points while Cooper moved into second place overall with 223 points ahead of Aiden Lefmann moved back to third spot with 220 points after finishing eleventh in today’s race.
 
Yet another title was claimed by Mt Beauty rider, Tory Thomas when she won today taking out the overall series lead. The 28 year old backed up her National Championships win last month in Canberra and her National Marathon win in September by taking the lead in the final of 4 lap course. Thomas reeled in early leader, Niki Fisher from Canberra to win by one and a half minutes. Third was Sydney rider Kate Potter who moved herself up in the series points to finish second overall in the series and Zoe King was relegated into third spot after finishing in 5th spot today.
 
Melbourne’s Commonwealth Games rider, Emma Colson, returned to form taking out a 4th place in today’s race after overtaking Zoe King in the second lap.
 
The Under 23 leader Lachlan Norris in the mens race stayed ahead of other contenders and takes the national series title while Canberra’s youngster Rebecca Henderson took out the overall Under 23 women’s division at the age of 15.
 
Results for all the XCO events are found in the results page .
 

2007 Oceania Championships race schedule announced
February 20, 2007

SBS Coverage of 2007 MTBA Australian MTB Championships
February 18, 2007

The 2007 MTBA Australian MTB Championships were staged over the Australia day weekend in Canberra at the $7m Stromlo Forest Park. The 2007 event eclipsed all other National Championship with over 1100 competitors. Relive the drama and check out the site which will host the 2009 UCI World MTB Championships - 11am SBS Today (Sunday 18th February 2007)

Volunteer at the National Series finals
February 17, 2007

Team Mount Beauty is looking for people who are interested in volunteering as a course marshal for the fast approaching National Series round in Mount Beauty. If you are interested in helping please contact Iain Moore on 03 5754 1231 or email info@tnb.org.au. Volunteers will receive a lunch from the on site caterers plus a T-shirt to wear and keep. All Volunteers will also be entered in to a lucky draw for cash giveaways.
 
Regards,
 
Iain Moore
Event Manager
FELT- HUTCHINSON
MTBA National Series Round # 4
PH:      03 5754 1231
MOB:   0419 504 088

National Series Finals - Mt Beauty 24/25 February - Update 2
February 14, 2007

 
Early bird entry to the FELT-HUTCHINSON MTBA National Series Round # 4 in Mount Beauty has now expired. Entry at the standard fee is still available online until Midnight on Tuesday 20th February. Visit www.tmb.org.au to enter. You can also download an entry form and post it to us as long as we receive it by last mail on Friday 23rd February. Payment can be made by cheque/money order or credit card.
 
Don’t forget to enter the SRAM Short Track event to be held on the Sunday. 
 
We have had a lot of enquiries about a Downhill practice session on the Friday afternoon. Therefore we have decided to include a practice session on the Friday and transport will be provided. A small fee of $ 10.00 will be collected to cover the cost of the transport and will be payable at registration. Both the X/C and D/H courses will be open to ride in the week leading up to the event for those enjoying an extended stay in Mount Beauty. 
 
If you haven’t done so already visit www.tmb.org.au and check out the video footage of both courses.
 

National Series Finals - Mt Beauty 24/25 February
February 2, 2007

 
The dead line for EARLY BIRD ENTRY to the FELT-HUTCHINSON NATIONAL SERIES FINALS for XC and DH in beautiful Mount Beauty is fast approaching (early bird entry closes at midnight on Sunday 11th February). Save some $ and get your entry in soon. This is the GRAND FINALE of the Series for both XC and DH and the series champions will be crowned. This event will undoubtedly be one of the best events on the 06/07 calendar. Maybe you’re a contender for the series title, want to improve your national ranking or ride for fun and enjoy the atmosphere of a big MTB event. Mount Beauty is a “must do” and if you have never been you won’t regret coming and discovering one of the best MTB destinations in Australia.
 
If you are looking for accommodation there is still plenty available. Please check out the following event sponsors for your accommodation requirements.

Svarmisk Apartments
 
Located right next to the race site are these brand new eco-sensitive modern apartments, designed for outdoor enthusiasts. Featuring lockable sports stores (attached to each individual apartment) accommodating up to 6 bikes. Each of the stores has light & power - great for late night race preparation!!!
 
After a long hard day training or racing in the mountain bike park enjoy the deep soak balcony hot tub or get the adrenaline pumping as you watch mountain bike vid’s on your own flat screen LCD TV….
 
Supermarket, bakery, restaurants and café all within a 1 minute ride.
 
Apartments booking fast - don’t miss your opportunity to stay in the hippest place in Mount Beauty. Visit www.svarmisk.com.au or call for bookings 03 5754 4544
 
Bogong Village
 
Bogong Alpine Village nestles in the foothills of the Victorian Alps 15 minutes drive from the mountain bike park midway between Mt Beauty and Falls Creek.
Twenty six houses, originally built for workers of the Kiewa hydro-electric scheme, sit on the side of the valley overlooking the picturesque Lake Guy in beautiful European seasonal gardens surrounded by the Alpine National Park.

A stay in the village can be as adventurous or as relaxed as you like. The Alpine Village Belle Cafe, Bar and shop situated in the heart of the village is open Thursday through to Monday inclusive from 11am to 4pm.

For bookings or enquires call 03 5754 1131 or visit www.bogongvillage.com

For all you other accommodation requirements call the Visitor Information Centre for a referral on 1800 808 277 or visit www.visitmtbeauty.com

You can also call Mount Beauty Property Sales on 03 5754 1144 or Alpine Valley Real Estate on 03 5754 4449 for assistance with your accommodation requirements.

2007 Australian MTB Championships - Day 5 - XCC
January 30, 2007

Is Rowney out of Retirement?
 
Legendary mountain bike rider, Paul Rowney did not let retirement get in the way of gaining another national title in Canberra on Sunday. The 34 year old Olympian unleashed his talent and took the lead in the final stages of the short course event. Rowney admitted he surprised himself, “I’ve done a month of training before this. It’s great to win the open men’s.” 
 
Chris Jongewaard, was drained from his Olympic cross country win the previous day and could not maintain the pace ending up in third place while fellow Adelaide rider, Shaun Lewis tried hard to pull Rowney back. The track had become slippery and many riders slid on the dirt.  Lewis placed second in the open men’s race, a remarkable achievement for an under 23 year old.
 
Dellys Starr was not going back home to the USA without a national jersey this year. The 2006 National Olympic Cross Country Champion showed her determination early in the race leaving the early leaders in her wake. Starr pushed into the headwind while the remainder of the women's field stretched out in the windy conditions. Tory Thomas claimed second place. Naomi Williams rode smart and stayed in front of local youngster Rebecca Henderson who finished a creditable fourth.
 
Top 3 Results
 
Elite Men
1st Paul Rowney
2nd Shaun Lewis
3rd Chris Jongewaard
 
Open Women
1st Dellys Starr
2nd Tory Thomas
3rd Naomi Williams
 
U19 Men
1st Paul Van der Ploeg
2nd Peter Braunsteins
3rd Benjamin Dyball
 
Sport Men
1st Mark Richards
2nd Bradley Morton
3rd Brett Bellchambers
 

National Championships, Sunday DH
January 28, 2007

Graves leads the world’s best downhillers
 
Jared Graves found two seconds was enough to win the prestigious national downhill title in Canberra today. Riding against the world’s best, the 24 year old from Toowoomba had a clean run to finish in 3.19.86. The 2005 Silver World medallist Graves has focused on his specialty of mountain cross and this win is his first national title in downhill. "I was pretty disappointed with my mountain cross race so this makes it better," he said.
 
Defending National Champion, Nathan Rennie (Gold Coast) could not repeat last year’s win but claimed second with 3.22.05. Rennie, currently ranked third in the world was too fast for Canberra based Jared Rando who finished a creditable third with 3.24.21.
 
World Champion, Sam Hill from Perth was unlucky when he slid out in the final section finishing in eighth. Brisbane's Chris Kovarik qualified second fastest behind Sam Hill in the seeding run but a flat tyre in the final run took away his chance of a podium.
 
The quickest time in elite women’s race was taken out by Julia Boer from Canberra however being Hungarian meant she could not take a national placing of Australian Woman DH Champion. Another veteran rider, Joanne Fox from Sydney claimed the national jersey in a superb run of 4.12.74. The 34 year old was followed by two Canberra riders, Claire Whiteman and Cara Smith who placed second and third  (4.17.72 and 4.17.99 respectively).
 
Under 19 women’s winner Caroline Buchanan rode a 4.17.61 which would have given her a podium position in the elite women’s race.
 
Western Australian rider, Mitchell Delfs dominated the under 19 men with a 3.12.77 which would have placed him in the top 10 of elite men.
 
Hot and dusty conditions once again prevailed but the racing was some of the best in canberra for a long time.

The results are found here.

Document Download:
NationalsDH_Sunday28.pdf (PDF - 164 Kb)

Adelaide's Cross Country Duo but Thomas takes Triple Titles
January 27, 2007

 
 
Chris Jongewaard and Shaun Lewis made it a South Australian double when they placed first and second respectively in the National Olympic Cross Country Championships today in Canberra. Jongewaard took elite men’s title and Lewis the Under 23 title.
 
An early lead by Jongewaard looked like it could be a repeat of his Commonwealth Games performance where he faded in the final stages but this time he stomped home. The 27 year old from Adelaide (Parra Hills) rode away from the field in the first lap managed  six laps of the eight km course in 2.14.06.
 
Coming off the back of the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Jongewaard's top form was evident. Now Jongewaard is now split between a decision to pursue a lucrative road racing career or mountain biking. “I’ll be doing road half of the year and the other half on the mountain bike,” he said.
 
With the annoncement today that the World Mountaiin Bike Championships would be in the same location, Stromlo Forest Park in 2009, riders like Jongewaard may be tempted to remain in mountain biking. “Winning here has thrown a spanner in the works," he said. With the World Championships  in Australia for only the second time, riders like Jongewaardds may be tempted to make an Australian team.
 
Lewis finished 2 minutes behind Jongewaard. Third was Victorian, Murray Spink. Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay, started well but was unable to defend his national title finishing in seventh place,  Local favourite, Dylan Cooper found the going tough finishing tenth after suffering cramps on top of an existing rib injury.
 
Tory Thomas proved herself again at national level by taking out another title. The 28 year old from Mt Beauty in Victoria was determined to win the Olympic distance cross country.
 
"I just really wanted to win today," she admitted. Her motivation came from narrowly missing selection in the last Commonwealth Games and World Championships.
 
Thomas also holds the  national marathon title and the 24 hour solo title.
 
Local rider, Niki Fisher, enthralled her home crowd by leading early in the four lap race. Fisher lost the lead to Thomas but held off the strong Kate Potter. Only a minute separaed the top three with last year's defending champion, Dellys Starr only 30 second from Potter in fourth place.
 
Tomorrow many of the elite cross country riders will line up for their second chance at a national title in the short course event.
 
World Champion, Sam Hill has qualified the fastest in downhill seeding today iin a time of 3.22.30. The final run could be any of the the top riders in the world like Nathan Rennie, Chris Kovarik, Jared Graves or Canberra's Ben Corey or Jared Rando. Elite women could be a local affair with Caroline Buchanan, Claire Whiteman or Sara Booth in reach of a national title on the day.

Document Download:
XCNationals2007.pdf (PDF - 176 Kb)

And the Winner is - Australia! (2009 UCI World MTB and Trials Championships)
January 27, 2007

Mountain Bike World Championships head 'down under' in 2009 - Cycling Australia Media Release

The Management Committee of the UCI (International Cycling Union) at a meeting overnight in Belgium confirmed Canberra as the host city of the 2009 Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships. The Championships will be staged from September 1 to 6, 2009 and are expected to attract more than 30,000 visitors from up to 40 countries.

UCI Vice President, Ray Godkin OAM, said the UCI was impressed by Australia’s passion for mountain biking and the quality of the proposed venue – Canberra’s new $7.5 million world-class Stromlo Forest Park - where the Australian Mountain Bike Championships are currently being contested.

“Australia has a proven track record of hosting world class events and we are confident Canberra will deliver an outstanding World Championships,” Mr Godkin said.

The event will involve more than 750 of the world's top riders who will compete in the four mountain bike disciplines of Cross Country, Downhill, Four Cross and Observed Trials for the honour of being crowned World Champion.

Cycling Australia President Mike Victor said being awarded the right to host the Mountain Bike World Championships is a major coup and will not only highlight the talent of our elite mountain bikers but the excellence or our sporting organisers.

“The World Championships will put mountain biking well and truly in the spotlight both nationally and internationally and showcase Australia's emerging dominance in a cycling discipline that continues to go from strength to strength,” Mr Victor said.

Canberra Off Road Cyclists (CORC) and Apis Events have joined forces to host and manage the 2009 World Championships. MTB World Events, the CORC-Apis joint venture company will oversee the planning, organisation and running of the 2009 UCI World Championships.

CORC president Anthony Burton said it was a historic achievement for the ACT to host the World Championships and a major vote of confidence for the local mountain biking community.

“It's a perfect chance to highlight Stromlo Forest Park and Canberra as the number one mountain biking venue in Australia and a must-see facility for riders around the world,” Mr Burton said. “We are perfectly positioned to deliver a highly successful World Championships."

Stromlo Forest Park is Australia's most advanced, purpose-built mountain bike park with cutting edge courses designed by renowned international course expert Glen Jacobs.

2007 Australian MTB Championships - Day 3 - MTNX
January 26, 2007

Mountain Cross rider shines after fires
 
Caroline Buchanan has come out of the fires and is now a shining light in her sport of cycling. When the fires burnt out 500 homes around Canberra, Caroline was just 13 years old. Her family home was destroyed and the family lost everything only managing to save her bikes and trophies
 
Today is a different story. Buchanan won the Mountain Cross Nationals this year repeating her stunning performance from last year. She won on the area near her home that had been burnt out by the fires.
 
The government assisted in making the 1000 hectares that was once a pine forest into a state of the art forest park with multiple facilities. The Canberra Mountain Bike Club, CORC got involved and now Mt Stromlo Forest Park is the perfect training and racing facility for mountain bike riders like Caroline.
 
The first national event on these courses is being run this weekend with an official announcement expected tomorrow on the bid to hold the 2009 World Mountain Bike Championships.
 
Winning the elite men’s race was a welcome relief for Luke Madill. The 26 year old from Penrith finally succeeded in breaking a five year drought. “I’ve made the finals every year but this time it worked,” Madill said. “I knew I could match Jared’s speed,” said Madill. World Cup winner, Jared Graves FROM Toowoomba was unlucky with a crash in the second straight and finished fourth.
 
The Olympic discipline of cross country continues tomorrow with the elite men and women’s race starting at 10.30 am.

MTNX results are found in the results pages of this website.

2007 Australian MTB Championships - Day 3 - XC
January 26, 2007

XC was the main event of the day with all XC women classes (other than Elite and U23) run as well as U15, U17, Master, Super-Master, Sport and Expert men run in hot temperatures.

The results for these classes are found in the results pages of the website.

2007 Australian MTB Championships - Day 2
January 25, 2007

Another hot day in Canberra but even more competitors stream into the Nation's Capital to contest the largest MTB Championships ever.

As a result of the anticipated entry numbers being significantly exceeded several changes to the schedule are needed.

DH Practice:

a) Group A DH registration will conclude at 10am Saturday.
b) Group B DH registration will conclude at 1.30pm Saturday
c) Saturday's Group A and Group B practice is compulsory
d) No registration for DH will occur after 1.30pm Saturday

DH Group A Seeding
Group A seeding will now commence at 4pm Saturday

DH Group A Finals
The finals for Group A will now commence at 3pm Sunday

Presentations
a) Friday XC presentations will occur at 2.30pm for all of Friday's XC classes
b) Friday MTNX presentations will occur around 8pm
c) Saturday XC presentations will occur at 3pm for all of Saturday's XC classes
d) Sunday Group B DH presentations will occur at around 12.30pm for all DH Group B classes
e) Sunday XCC presentations will occur at 2.30pm for all XCC classes
f) Sunday Group A DH presentations will occur at around 5pm

Competition starts on Friday with the XC discipline.

2006/2007 National Series final (Mt Beauty) entries open
January 24, 2007

ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE GRAND FINALE OF THE 2006/07 MTBA NATIONAL SERIES
 
ONLINE ENTRY WITH A SECURE CREDIT CARD PAYMENT is now available on the Team Mount Beauty website http://www.tmb.org.au FOR ROUND # 4 OF THE MTBA NATIONAL SERIES BEING HELD IN MOUNT BEAUTY FROM FEBRUARY 24TH – 25TH 2007.
 
Take advantage of the EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT and enter before Sunday 11th February 2007. 
 
Go to http://www.tmb.org.au to download an entry form if you prefer to pay by cheque/money order.
 
Team Mount Beauty in partnership with FELT-HUTCHINSON and SRAM will host the MTBA National Series round # 4 in the nationally famous location of Mount Beauty. This will be the GRAND FINALE of the series for both Cross Country and Downhill and the series champions for season 06/07 will be crowned. This event will undoubtedly be one of the best MTB events of the season and shouldn’t be missed if you are into racing your MTB or just like to get out and ride for fun and enjoy the atmosphere of a big MTB event.
 
The courses set by Team Mount Beauty in the Big Hill Mountain Bike Park always offer something for every rider. If you are into teeth grinding climbs we’ve got it, if you want fun flowing or technical XC descents we’ve got it or if you prefer flat out adrenalin pumping Downhill racing we’ve got that too. There’s stacks of stuff to do after the days practice or racing is over too and the people of Mount Beauty love it when MTB events come to town which creates a great atmosphere.
 
The XC Short Course will be held on the Sunday before Downhill racing on a track setup in the race village. The course itself is only a few hundred metres long consisting of mostly wide track all the way. The racing is fast, furious and very exciting to watch.
 
Check out www.tmb.org.au as we are hoping to have some video of the courses on the website soon. Also on the website will be course maps, elevation profiles, course statistics and all your event updates and info.
 
DON’T MISS OUT ON AN AWSOME MTB EVENT. ENTER NOW AT HTTP://WWW.TMB.ORG.AU

Madill makes series but Scarr takes lead
January 14, 2007

 
BMX rider Luke Madill(Penrith, SYD) beat National Mountain Cross Series leader Terrance Scarr (Raby Bay, SYD) to take out the final event today in Newcastle. The 25 year old had the best start and was ahead of Scarr after the second turn. Both stayed out a crash between eventual third place Czech rider, Filip Polc and fourth placed Adam Nicholson (Brisbane). Madill rode consistently throughout the day winning his quarter final and semi-final and won the final by clear margin.
 
The series overall win went to Scarr with Alex Lloyd( St Clair, SYD) in second and Madill managed enough points to move himself up into third place overall.
 
Two-time World Champion in Mountain Cross, Jill Kintner from the USA impressed spectators by riding both the men’s and women’s events. In the men’s motos or heats, Kintner managed to secure first place beating top rider, Adam Nicholson. However a crash in the quarter final of the men’s program saw her progress no further.
 
In the women’s final the World Champion was challenged by young Canberra rider, Caroline Buchanan. Kintner won with Canberra pair Buchanan and Julia Boer in second and third respectively.
 
“Caroline certainly has improved,” said Kintner. “I was pretty pumped to see her come close. We had seven girls so it’s getting better.”
 
Buchanan won all three rounds and had ample points to take the series leader title. Second in the series was Sarsha Huntington (Bulimba, BRIS) who had a crash earlier in the day but placed fourth in the final. Julia Boer finished in third place overall.
 
Over 100 riders competed in the series final with riders from Spain and Croatia making it an international field.
 
 Results are available in the results pages.

World Champion to ride with Mountain Cross Men
January 14, 2007

 
Dual World Champion, Jill Kintner (USA) will race the final national round of Mountain Cross in Newcastle tomorrow. The 2005 and 2006 World Championship plans to use the Hunter Valley event to get some practice before a busy overseas season. The 25 year old is looking to make her Australian base in the Blue Mountains and Sunday's event is her first in Australia since winning the rainbow jersey in Rotorua in August.
 
With her focus on preparation for a tough overseas schedule, Kintner made an official request to race in the elite men’s division. After deliberation, Mountain Bike Australia allowed her the opportunity to race with the elite men. Although Kintner wanted to race entirely in the men’s field, officials declined that request only allowing her to race against the men in the motos or heats.
 
Kintner will be mixing it with Australia’s best mountain cross riders including the elite men’s series leader, Terrance Scarr (Raby Bay, SYD). The elite men’s race will prove exciting enough with the five top ranked riders within reach of the lead in this final race. Attention is on the series second placed, Alex Lloyd (St Clair, SYD) and 2005 World Junior Downhill Champion, Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong). Bribane’s Adam Nicholson in fourth position and has been gaining extra practise on the Newcastle track. A few riders could upset the rankings with BMX star Luke Madill (Penrith) out to repeat his win in the previous round at Thredbo. Also Spanish rider Ivan Oulego may be keen to repeat his third place in Thredbo.
 
With a World Championships jersey, Kintner will prove tough for national series leader Caroline Buchanan (Canberra) to beat however. The fifteen year old, Buchanan leads with a comfortable 240 points after winning all three of the previous rounds. Brisbane’s Sarsha Huntington (Bulimba, BRIS) has been the fast improver this season placing second in two of the earlier rounds.
 
Racing gets underway at 11.30 am with eliminations starting at 2pm and final expected from 3pm.
 
Current National Series rankings going into the final round include:

Elite Men
1 Terrence Scarr (Raby Bay, SYD) 168
2 Alex Lloyd (St Clair, SYD) 144
3 Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong) 110
4 Adam Nicholson (The Gap, BRIS) 105
5 Rick Boyer (Blue Mountains) 91
6 Luke Strom 85
7 Alex Cameron (Liverpool, SYD) 80
7 Luke Madill(Penrith, SYD) 80
9 Christopher Panozzo (Mt Beauty, VIC) 75
10 Randal Huntington 68
 
Elite Women
1 Caroline Buchanan (Canberra) 240
2 Sarsha Huntington (Bulinba, BRIS) 178
3 Julia Boer 120
4 Michelle Hall 93
5 Grace Ireland (Sydney) 48
 

What will you be doing on Australia day?
January 12, 2007

Many of Australia's top mountain bike athletes will be in Canberra for the 2007 MTBA Australian Mountain Bike Championships, so why not join them.  The 5-day MTB festival includes the Olympic MTB discipline - Cross Country, the gravity defying Down Hill, the excitement and thrills of Mountain Cross and the ballet of Bicycle Trials.

Entry is only available by pre-registration through the on-line portal ( http://www.ticketmatesmtbnationals.com.au), but the availability of accommodation in Canberra is drying up so make your plans early. The on-line entry closes on January 21.

Come and spectate at Australia's most advanced purpose built MTB park and cheer on our international MTB athletes as they do their thing on the cutting-edge courses designed by renown MTB course designer Glen Jacobs. Enjoy the atmosphere, the excitement, and admire the courage of the riders of all abilities as they test themselves against each other and against the elements at Mount Stromlo Forest Park - January 23 - January 28.

Entry is free, but a small parking fee (to charity) will apply.

Check out the Mount Stromlo Forest Park preview by Adam McCloud from FreeWheel magazine here: http://www.freewheel.com.au/features.html

See you there.

Update 3 for schedule for 2007 MTBA Australian MTB Championships
January 8, 2007

The third updated schedule for the races at the 2007 MTBA Australian National MTB Championships being staged in Canberra january 23-28 is now available.

The  latest changes include:

- Shifting the Friday MTNX time lines 1 hour earlier
- Shifting the DH practice times on Friday 1 hour earlier

Get the new schedule here: http://www.nationalseries.com.au/events/details.asp?IntContId=768&IntCatId=3

These changes were made due to the expected late finish of the MTNX finals which would have needed artificial light to stage. The move 1 hour earlier means that this is not required. The DH practice was moved in concert so that Group B practice still had some gate practice times in MTNX before the heats commenced

Olympic Cross Country riders return to Thredbo
December 18, 2006

Elite Women's Cross Country

European based cross country rider, Kate Potter (#306 Manly), caused an upset in the third round of the National Mountain Bike Series today at Thredbo. Potter made the winning move just before the final lap to pass early leader, Tory Thomas (#301) from Mt Beauty, VIC. A surge of energy from Potter was too much for the current series leader, Thomas. In the early laps Thomas looked like she had the race sewn up until she found the climbing sections difficult with an old injury. Thomas suffered serious injury in 2005 when she was hit by a car and was told she would not ride again. Second place by Thomas scores her enough points to maintain the series lead.

Renee Fortunato (#304) from Sydney (Yowie Bay) placed third after riding consistently over the four laps of the new 5.75 km long course. Fortunato was the highest placed rider who is part of the "Dirt Roads to London" program, an Australian Sports Commission initiative to develop female cross country riders for the London Olympics in 2012.

The most impressive ride was by 15 year old Canberra rider, Rebecca Henderson (#307) who rode herslf into fourth spot in the elite women's field. Henderson blitzed the under 23 field and with one more race in the series will stay the series leader.

Fellow Canberra rider Niki Fisher (#324) found the technical course to her liking finishing fifth her best to date in the series. Launceston's Rowena Fry (# 305) crashed during the final stages of the race receiving stitches in her knee but managed to finish a creditable sixth. Jill Burston (#309 Perth)and Joanna Wall (#322 Bendigo) finished in seventh and eighth respectively but it was a disappointing race for second in the series, Zoe King(#302 Manly) who placed ninth.

Elite Men's Cross Country

Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay (#2) from Tasmania stamped his claim on the first cross country race in Thredbo since 2001. Taberlay lead from start to finish after claiming the quickest lap of the day of 16.51. After six laps and an overall time of 1:47.37, Taberlay took the win in his stride.

"I just powered up the hill in the first lap and didn't see anyone after that," Taberlay said.

Adelaide based Chris Jongewaard (#9) had the unluckiest ride of the day after riding five laps in second position then trouble struck. Jongewaard missed a feed on the final lap before suffering a flat tyre causing him to drop six and a half minutes. Jongewaard finished a disappointing ninth place. Jongewaard was passed by the trailing trio of Dylan Cooper (#3 Canberra), Aiden Lefmann (#1Sydney) and team mate Lachlan Norris (#6 Bendigo) who finished second, third and fourth respectively. A third place by current series leader, Lefmann maintains his series lead by a slim margin of two points. Taberlay trails closely behind on 198 points. Cooper was 2005 series winner and is looking to return to the top spot again with one more series race remaining in Mt Beauty, VIC in February.

Next cross country event is the National Championships on Mt Stromlo, Canberra in late January.

RENNIE ROMPS TO WIN THREDBO DOWNHILL
December 17, 2006

Elite Men
World bronze medallist, Nathan Rennie (#17) from the Gold Coast proved he is one of the best mountain bike downhillers in Australia by winning the third round of the National Mountain Bike Series at Thredbo today. Current National Champion, Rennie qualified third fastest but was not knocked out of the hot seat by the two faster qualifiers, Canberra's Ben Cory (#8) or Wollongong's Amiel Cavalier (#1). Course record holder, Jared Rando (#23) from Canberra in his first race back in Australia placed second but will not challenge any series leaders. The current series leader, Amiel Cavalier secured a podium third and maintains a comfortable series lead with 178 points.
 
Rennie was ranked in 17th position coming into the race and has moved up the rankings but will not have a chance of taking out the series after racing only the first round in Lithgow. Racing there was unexpectedly cancelled due to delays on the course and his slower qualifying run was recorded.
 
Adam Smithson (#2) from Newcastle finished in seventh but he stays in contention with third placing in the series. Dave Wesr (# 4) placed fourth again in this national race and now moves into second place.
 
 
The National Championships in Canberra in late January is the next event with the final in the national series in Mt Beauty, VIC in February.
 
Elite women
 
An upset in the women’s downhill race saw veteran downhiller, Joanne Fox (#310) from Sydney take the win over the race favourite, Newcastle’s Emma McNaughton,(#305) by a clear four seconds. After being convinced by her husband at the last minute to ride up with elite women, Fox was elated but exhausted at the finish line. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to win today,” she said. “The first thing I’m going to do is have something to eat, I’m starving!”
 
Third was last season’s overall leader, Claire Whiteman from Canberra who qualified second fastest. Another Canberra rider, Caroline Buchanan (#301) from Canberra placed fourth and just barely maintains the series lead by one point over Claire Whiteman.
 
Brisbane’s James Maltman sorted out earlier mechanical problems to win the Under 19 division today.
 
The third round of the downhill at Thredbo saw record entries to date for a national series downhill with 340 riders.

Olympic and Games riders take to Thredbo slopes
December 16, 2006

 
Olympic Cross Country racing return to Thredbo tomorrow as part of round three of the National Mountain Biking Series. After five years the ski slopes will once again see riders like Olympian, Sid Taberlay (#2) from Tasmania and fellow Commonwealth Games star, Chris Jongewaard (Adelaide) racing at altitudes over 1350m. A win from Taberlay will see him take the series lead due to the absence of current leader, Aiden Lefmann. The 2005 Series Leader, Dylan Cooper (Canberra) is currently in third spot with fellow Canberra rider, Shaun Lewis sitting poised in fourth. Jongewaard is ranked on equal eighth and a podium placing could mover him into contention.
 
Lachlan Norris from Bendigo leads the Under 23 division with Ben Henderson from Canberra close behind. Henderson’s younger sister, Rebecca has had stunning performance this season and at just 15 years of age is leading the Under 23 division in the women’s series.
 
Women’s elite racing is being dominated by Victorian, Tory Thomas. However two riders being developed as part of the “Dirt Roads to London” program, Zoe King and Renee Fortunato are sitting in second and fourth respectively. Caroline Jackson, a former English champion is third on the points tally while Rowena Fry from Launceston has consistent rides to place fifth overall.
 
The course in Thredbo has received good reviews by cross country riders with a vertical rise of 200m every lap. Elite women complete four laps and get underway at 9.30 am . The elite men and under 23 division will race for six laps of the 5.75 km course starting at 12.45pm.
 
Cross Country riders take a back seat on Sunday as many of the world's best downhill riders take to the ski slopes in round 3 of the National Series. World bronze medallist, Nathan Rennie from the Gold Coast will race current series leader, Amiel Cavalier from Wollongong.
 

Canberra's XC Hopefuls
December 14, 2006

After answering an advertisement in the newspaper ten months ago, Claire Haugh will now be racing her mountain bike this weekend in Thredbo. The 26 year old Canberra rider responded to an Australian Sports Commission talent identification search and this weekend rides in third race of the national series on the slopes of Thredbo's ski village. Haugh is part of a group of 14 females identified with potential to prepare for the cross country event at the London Olympics in 2012 which is known as the “Dirt Roads to London” program.

This Saturday morning, Haugh will race on the new Thredbo Cross Country circuit which has been resurrected for the first time in five years. Haugh has used her local advantage which has allowed her to ride the course several times before many of the interstate riders even see it.

“Last weekend, the course was marked out. I did one practise lap and was happy because I only had to put my foot down once!” claimed Haugh.
Racing four laps of the course still has challenges for Haugh. “It’s tough in the hills. There’s about 200 metres of climbing each lap and it’s pretty darn steep,” she commented.

Haugh will be up against current national series leader, Tory Thomas from Mt Beauty in Victoria. Another “Dirt Roads to London” rider, Zoe King (Manly) is currently second in the rankings. The youngest rider in the program, Gracie Elvin from Canberra, will also race in Thredbo. The 18 year old will leave her ‘schoolies’ celebrations on the Sunshine Coast to race in the under 23 division on Saturday.

Leading the Under 23 category is another young star from Canberra, Rebecca Henderson. Henderson at only 15 is not part of the same program but has spent a few days in Thredbo this week as part of the Roostmaster training camp run with Australian Cross Country coach, Damien Grundy.

Racing in the cross country gets underway on Saturday morning at 9.30am with the women's field and the elite men start at 12.45 pm. The warm-up to the weekend is the mountain cross on Friday evening and Sunday's program is the full schedule of downhill racing.

2007 National Championships, Stromlo Park, Canberra
December 9, 2006

Registrations are now open for the 2007 Australian Mountain Bike Championships involving four mountain biking disciplines: cross country, downhill, mountain cross and trials.

The pinnacle of Australia's mountain biking national season will be hotly contested on the newly established courses of Mt Stromlo in Canberra from January 24 to 28.

This premier competitive mountain bike event in Australia will be staged at the new purpose-built $6 million Stromlo Forest Park and is expected to attract more than 1,500 competitors and 10,000 supporters and spectators over the four days of competition.

On the back of winning Cycling Australia's highest honour for cycling events for the 2006 SCOTT 24hr Australian Mountain Bike Championships, CanberraOff-RoadCyclists (CORC) and Apis Events will again join forces to host the nationals

Mountain Bike Australia Executive Officer, Tony Scott said "Australia's top riders will contest the nationals with an eye on winning the Australian title in their respective discipline. "

"Success at the pinnacle of Australian MTB competition will open up the possibility to be selected on the Australian team to contest the World MTB Championships, which in 2007 will be held in Fort William, Scotland," Mr Scott said.

CORC president Anthony Burton said while the elite categories will attract Australia's best riders, the event is open to all riders from junior (under 15) through to masters and super masters in the over 50's.

"You don't have to be a professional rider to compete in the nationals," Mr Burton said.

Planning for the event is well underway and riders cannot only expect a challenging, and exciting event but they can also enjoy a weekend of riding with friends at a world-class mountain bike facility ten minutes from a major city.

The nationals will also provide an excellent opportunity to race on the course, designed by the internationally renowned Glen Jacobs (Sydney2000) that is also the proposed home of the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships.

CORC and Apis Events, who form the provisional organising committee for the world championships, will discover during the national titles if Canberra's bid has been successful. If successful in its bid for the world championships Canberra would play host to the most significant mountain bike event of 2009 and have the capacity to attract in excess of 120,000 visitors and spectators.

"Fingers crossed we will be celebrating more than just national titles over the Australia Day long weekend." Mr Burton said.

Call for Volunteers at 2007 National MTB Championships
December 7, 2006

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to be a part of 100% mountain biking heaven
by volunteering for the 2007 Australian Mountain Bike Championships.

Volunteers are urged to be part of Australia’s pinnacle MTB event, to be hotly contested on the
newly established courses of Stromlo Forest Park, Canberra over the Australia Day Long
Weekend - January 24 to 28.

You can enjoy the unique and exhilarating chance to witness Australia’s best riders in full flight -
what better way to be part of the experience than being an official volunteer?

Volunteering is an integral component of every mountain biking event and your support is
essential in delivering not only a successful but memorable national championships.

Volunteers are needed to fill a variety of roles for the week prior to the event, the week of the
event and the week following.

Volunteers will perform a wide range of important tasks including course marshals, parking and
traffic control, race and event installations, administration, timing, merchandise sales and general
duties.

Volunteers will be recognized in a number of ways through our rewards initiative to reflect their
level of contribution to the 2007 Australian MTB Championships.

This premier competitive mountain bike event in Australia will be staged at the new purpose-built
$6 million Stromlo Forest Park and is expected to attract more than 1,500 competitors and 10,000
supporters and spectators over the four days of competition.

Planning for the event is well underway and riders can not only expect a challenging, and exciting
event but they can also enjoy a weekend of riding with friends at a world-class mountain bike
facility ten minutes from a major city.

Volunteering strengthens existing bonds with the local community and provides opportunities for
volunteers to apply their expertise in a variety of ways. Volunteers are hardworking and have
great fun in donating their spare time in sport they are passionate about promoting and
developing.

For more information about volunteering for the nationals and/or to register your interest visit
www.nationalseries.com.au or contact event coordinator- eventcoord@apisgroup.com.au

MEDIA CONTACTS
APIS Events Name: Karrie-Anne Lawson
Office: 02 6206 0000
Mobile 0418 669 549

CORC: Name: Anthony Burton
Mobile: 0434 612 011

MTBA announces National Level Commissaire Course
December 7, 2006

MTBA will be conducting a Commissaire course in conjunction with the 2007 National Championships between 24th and 28th January 2007 inclusive.

We now invite you to nominate to attend  this important course. Space is limited to 10.

To be eligible for selection you  must be able to provide us documented evidence of considerable experience in managing at least state level MTB events for the past 2 years.

Each nominee must send to MTBA a personal CV regarding his/her experience and a supporting document from the nominee's club.

Nominations close 8th January 2007. If more than 10 nominees are received the successful nominees will be based on experience, and need. Successful nominees will be notified by the 12th January 2007.

The course is provided free of charge by MTBA. The successful nominees are responsible for travel costs to and from Canberra but MTBA will cover accommodation (on a twin share basis) and meals.

The course will consist of 2 days intensive class-room/on-site inspections followed by hands-on management of aspects of the National Championships.  Successful nominees are expected to be available for the entire course (all 5 days) and will not be permitted to participate in the National Championship events themselves, ie will not be permitted to enter any races.

Further information can be obtained from Tony Scott via the contacts page of this website..

Young Cavalier takes win in elite downhill
November 27, 2006

Amiel Cavalier (#5) stamped his claim on the elite men National Series today when he won the second round of downhill. The 18 year old from Wollongong won on the Glenorchy circuit in Hobart in a time of 3.07.52. Cavalier qualified the quickest rider in the first of the two runs in 3.07.38. This is Cavalier's first win ever in the elite division in a national race after dominating the junior ranks for many years The 2005 World Junior gold medallist, Cavalier said, "Yes it's good to be up with the elite men now."

Rick Boyer (#12) from the Blue Mountains (now based in Canberra) was the second fastest and shows his return to a podium position after serious leg injury several years ago saw him sidelined.

Adam Smithson (#3) from Newcastle claimed third place after a 3.12.65 run placed him in the hot seat for most of the final runs until Boyer raced down faster by 3 seconds. Cavalier now leads the ranking in the National Series taking it away from Brad Kelly (#1) from Sydney who finished the race in a respectable ninth place. The best local riders were brothers Simon and Stuart French who finished in 19th and 20th respectively. Simon French designed the downhill course which saw spectators line the final jumps and berms near the finish line.

Current World Junior Downhill Champion, Tracey Hannah (# 323) was a clear winner in the elite women's race. The 18 year old Cairns rider was 40 seconds in front of Claire Whiteman (#303) from Canberra. New rider in the National Series, Julie Martin (#309) from Adelaide was third. BMX rider from Canberra, Caroline Buchanan finished in fourth but remains the series leader overall. Joel Bain (#609) from Perth won the Under 19 division.

You can check out the full results here.

The next round will be in the snow resort of Thredbo in mid-December.

Taberlay and Thomas take mountain wins
November 27, 2006

Local favourite, Sid Taberlay (#6) won convincingly today in the six lap elite men's race at the second round of the National Mountain Bike Series in Hobart. The 26 year old Athens Olympian passed early leader Dylan Cooper (#2) in the second lap to eventually win by three minutes. Taberlay rode the quickest lap of the day in a scorching 17 minutes and 37 seconds which secured his eventual win. Second was the winner of the first round at Yellowmundi last month, Aiden Lefmann (#1). A strong finish by Commonwealth Games rider, Chris Jongewaard (#25) from Adelaide saw him in third. Lachlan Norris (#8) finished in fourth and also won the under 23 category. Canberra rider, Shaun Lewis (#4) finished in fifth.just one place ahead of fellow rider, Dylan Cooper. Cooper was the early leader but stayed in contention to place sixth overall.

In the elite women's race, Tory Thomas (#302) was stretched to her limit by two English riders today but finally won. The 28 year old Victorian rider and Caroline Jackson (#303) an ex- British rider swapped places at the front for most of the race. Another British ranked rider, Kate Potter (#321) worked her way up through one of the largest fields in women's cross country to come second. Jackson placed third just 1 minute 20 min behind the leader. Thomas pulled away during the last of four laps so as not to repeat the finish at the last round where she was out-sprinted on the line by Zoe King (#301). Thomas was a favourite to win after recent form saw her win the National Marathon Championships in Toowoomba.

Local favourite, Rowena Fry (#306) from Launceston placed seventh. Fellow "Dirt Road to London" rider, Renee Fortunato (#314) was the highest placed finisher from that talent identification program in fourth. The youngest rider in the field, 15 year old Rebecca Henderson (#310), surprised spectators by finishing in 8th place and taking the win in the Under 23 division.

You can check out the full results here.

Cadel Evans named 2006 Australian Cyclist of the Year
November 26, 2006

Victorian cyclist Cadel Evans has been named the 2006 Australian Cyclist of the Year and awarded the Sir Hubert 'Oppy' Opperman Medal at a gala event at Melbourne's Arts Centre.

In 2006 Evans equalled the highest overall placing ever by an Australian at the Tour de France finishing the three week epic in fifth place. During the season he also won a stage and overall honours in the Tour of Romandie and finished the year ranked fourth on the UCI ProTour rankings. Evans was also named the cyclingnews 2006 Australian Male Road Cyclist of the Year his first in that category. For three years since 1997, Evans won the Male Mountain Bike Cyclist of the Year award. This is the first time ever a mountain bike rider has taken out the major award.

Female BMX Cyclist of the Year

Renee Junga (Brisbane) - Junga topped the UCI Continental rankings for 2006 and reached the semi finals at the World Championships. She is Australia's top ranked female on the World Standings in sixth position. Junga received a standing ovation at her first public appearance since the crash at the World Championships which have left her paralysed.

Male BMX Cyclist of the Year

Kamakazi (Brisbane) - The Australian Champion, Kamakazi is the top ranked rider in the UCI Continental standings and is ranked number four in the world. He was a semi finalists at the World Championships in Brazil.

Sportscover Junior Male BMX Cyclist of the Year

Todd Pascoe (Townsville) - Pascoe's performances saw him finish on top of the UCI Continental rankings and make the quarter-finals at the World Championships.

Sportscover Junior Female BMX Cyclist of the Year

Melissa Mankowski (Perth/Sydney) - Mankowski was a finalist in the Junior Championship Class at the World Championships where she finished fourth. She also topped the UCI Continental rankings and claimed the gold medal at the National Championships.


Male MTB Cyclist of the Year

Sam Hill (Perth) - Hill produced a thrilling run at the World Championships to claim the gold medal in the elite downhill. He was consistent throughout the year picking up two World Cup wins in Great Britain and Austria to finish second overall in the World Cup Series. He won the NORBA Series and finished the year as the number one ranked downhill rider in the world.

Female MTB Cyclist of the Year

Katrina Miller (Gold Coast) - Miller's final year of international competition saw her again challenging on the international stage. She won the 4X at the Mont St Anne World Cup (CAN) and was second in both the German and Brazilian rounds to finish the Series ranked fourth overall.

Sportscover Junior Male MTB Cyclist of the Year

Daniel Braunsteins (Kew, VIC) - Braunsteins is the Australian Short Track Champion and was second in the cross country at the Australian Championships and Oceania Championships. At the World Titles in New Zealand he placed sixth.

Sportscover Junior Female MTB Cyclist of the Year

Tracey Hannah (Cairns) - Hannah had an exceptional year in 2006. She was the series champion and won up two rounds in the elite division of the NORBA series and ended her season with a gold medal winning ride to be crowned Junior Women's Downhill World Champion.

SBS Television Coach of the Year

Scott Sharples (Blue Mountains) - 2006 marked the culmination of five years of exceptional work by Sharples. At the World Championships in New Zealand his riders claimed gold, bronze, fifth and sixth in the men's elite downhill and gold in the junior women's downhill. Scott has steered Australia to the position of the world's number one ranked men's downhill nation.

Event Merit Award

SCOTT 24 hour Mountain Bike Championships won the pretigiuos award. It attracts 2,700 participants to Canberra along with 5,000 supporters making it the biggest mountain bike event in the Southern Hemisphere.

The full list of finalists is available on the Cycling Australia website - 2006 Australian Cyclist of the Year Awards Finalists

Ride-test the 2007 National Championship courses
November 15, 2006

Yes, you have heard all about it - $6.5m of ACT government money, Glen Jacobs design and Canberra Off Road Cyclists know-how - all have contributed to the development of the venue of the 2007 National MTB Championships.

Now you can come and test-ride the courses that will be used then at the 2006 Brindabella Challenge. The Brindabella Challenge 2006 is a multi-sport event here in Canberra that, over two big weekends, hosts a very large number of cycling events all around the nation's Capital.

DH

On the same track as will be used for the National Championships in 2007, the first chance to ride it, freshly finished by Glen Jacobs, an entry fee of just $70 ($55 for CORC members), and a fantastic event will make it a well worth event to race. 9th and 10th of December

4X

On the 9th of December riders will be able to hit up the 180,000 tonnes of dirt freshly moulded into the biggest 4X track in Australia, the track for the Aus. National Champs in 07, and a Glen Jacobs masterpiece, for $30.

XC

There will also be a XC race on the 07 Nats track, with all categories from the CORC club series being run, and points being awarded towards that series. $30 entry ($15 for CORC members).

There are also a number of Skills sessions being run, as well as social rides and a National Series Trials competition.

A full list of all the MTB parts of the '06 BC can be found here.

Mountain Biking a Highlight at Cyclist Awards in Melbourne
November 15, 2006

World Champion Sam Hill, 21 from Glen Forrest in Perth is one of three finalists in the Australian Cycling Awards for Mountain Bike. The awards will be presented on Friday 24th November at the Arts Centre in Melbourne.

Hill produced a thrilling run at the World Championships in New Zealand in August to claim the gold medal in the elite downhill. He was consistent throughout the year picking up two World Cup wins in Great Britain and Austria to finish second overall in the World Cup Series. He won the American NORBA Series and finished the year as the number one ranked downhill rider in the world. Hill is no foreigner to the awards after winning the last three consecutive years with the last two years in elite and in 2003 as a junior.

Hill is up against Jared Graves, 23 from Toowoomba in Queensland who claimed victory in the Four Cross at the Willingen World Cup in Germany and was second in the Brazilian round. He also placed fifth in both the Vigo (ESP) and Mont St Anne (CAN) rounds.

Olympic Cross Country rider, Chris Jongewaard, 27, from Parra Hills in Adelaide is also a finalist. Jongewaard won the Mountain Bike Australia Cross Country Series and was second at the Australian Championships in Mt Beauty in January. At the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne he delighted the Aussie fans with an early attack that saw him lead for most of the race before finishing fourth across the line. A photo of Jongewaard at the finish of the Commonwealth Games is also up for a photographic award by photographer, Mikkeil Godfree.

Newly retired, Katrina Miller, 31 from Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast the only finalist is the female mountain biker of the year award. Miller’s final year of international competition saw her again challenging on the international stage. She won the Four Cross at the Mont St Anne World Cup (CAN) and was second in both the German and Brazilian rounds to finish fourth in the World Cup Series.Miller has won the Women’s Mountain Bike Cyclist of the Year Award an outstanding five times previously in 2005, 2003, 1999, 1998 and in 1997. She has recently retired and is just about to officially open her new bike shop in Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast called ‘Bikes and Beans’.

Sportscover Junior Male Mountain Biking Cyclist of the Year have two finalist with another Western Australian downhiller, Ben Bell, 17 from Dwellingup as one of them. Even though a junior, Bell raced downhill with the elite field in the American NORBA series finishing second in Round 2 and fourth in the Round 3. He represented Australia at the World Championships and finished ninth.

Cross Country rider Daniel Braunsteins, 18 from Kew in Victoria is the second junior male finalist. Braunsteins is the Australian Short Track Champion in Cross Country and was second in the Olympic Cross Country at the Australian Championships and Oceania Championships. At the World Championships in New Zealand he placed sixth.

Tracey Hannah, 18, from Cairns in North Queensland is the only finalist for the Sportscover Junior Female Mountain Bike Cyclist of the Year Award. Hannah had an exceptional year in 2006. She was the National Series champion and won up two rounds in the elite division of the American NORBA series and ended her season with a gold medal winning ride to be crowned Junior Women’s Downhill World Champion in Rotorua in August. Hannah also received the same award for the past two years.

Australian downhill coach, Scott Sharples from the Blue Mountains is one of four finalists for the SBS Television Coach of the Year Award. After five years of exceptional work by Sharples his riders claimed gold, bronze, fifth and sixth in the men’s elite downhill and gold in the junior women’s downhill at the World Championships in Rotorua in August. Sharples has steered Australia to the position of the world’s number one ranked men’s downhill nation.

A range of awards will be presented culminating in the presentation of the prestigious “Sir Hubert Opperman Medal” to the 2006 Australian Cyclist of the Year. For further information go to www.cycling.org.au

2007 National Championships Schedule Announced
November 14, 2006

The 5-day schedule for the 2007 National Championships, hosted for the next 3 years in Canberra, is available now. This draft schedule is subject to change without notice but will be confirmed in early December.

Tony Scott, Executive Officer of MTBA, said, "The Nationals presents some significant logistical hurdles to overcome in trying to host 4 MTB disciplines in the one location on the one weekend. What we learned at the 2006 Nationals, held in Mt. Beauty for XC and Thredbo for DH and MTNX, was that having more than 2 days to run all the competitions for each discipline was very advantagous and was well recieved by the participants."

He continued, "This year we have attepmted to mimic that in Canberra at the new Mt. Stromlo MTB facility, and by hosting the nationals over the Australia Day weekend.  This has provided us some extra holiday time to allow all the disciplines and all the race categories in them to shine in their own right."

More information will be available on a dedicated national Championships website shortly.

Document Download: 2007 Nationals Schedule (PDF - 42 Kb)

Buchanan wins Second National Series but Men's Final Ends Early
October 22, 2006

In an unprecedented decision by officials in the first round of the National Mountain Biking Series the men's final run down State Mine Track at Lithgow was cancelled. The decision saw elite men and under 19 riders unable to complete their final run today. Record numbers of riders and with delays in accessing one section of the track to assist injured riders the officials were concerned for riders' safety with fading light.

World bronze medallist, Nathan Rennie (Gold Coast) qualified in tenth place and had no chance of improving his position or breaking his course record of 2:58. Brad Kelly (Sydney) qualified the fastest in the seeding run of 3:05.59 and was the eventual winner. Bryn Atkinson (Victoria) was second fastest and received second overall. Adam Smithson (Newcastle) and Dave West (Adelaide) qualified third and fourth respectively. The 2005 World Junior Champion, Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong) qualified fifth fastest.

The women riders made their final run before the track was closed. Caroline Buchanan (Canberra) won her second National Series race in one week. It was the young Canberra rider's first foray into downhill racing. Buchanan won in 3:55.71 with two other Canberra riders to share the podium. Second was Cara Smith in 3:57.49 and third was Claire Whiteman in 3:59.61.

Whiteman was the highest placed Australian in 17th place at the recent World Mountain Bike Championships in Rotorua in August. Both Whiteman and Smith had crashes in the switchback section of the track but finished the final run. Whiteman had qualified the fastest of the day with 3:47.64.

Buchanan is better known in BMX racing but has tested hew new sport of downhill racing. "Now when I look at BMX tracks they look easy," she said.

Chief Commisaire, Grant Medlock made the decision at 5.15 pm. "The decision was based on the injured rider's safety and the number of competitors yet to go down the track," said Medlock. "It's the first time I've had to make that type of decision. In the 20 years of mountain biking it's the hardest decision I've had to make."

Tony Scott, the CEO of Mountain Biking Australia added, "There is a technical rule that allows the winners to be recorded from their qualification times."

President of the Central Tablelands Mountain Bike Club, Craig Flynn said, "The weekend was great. I was disappointed with the end. We have club races up here all the time but it's obvious at National level that many riders were pushing that little bit extra."

Check out the DH results here

Olympic Cross Country Sprints Decide Winners
October 22, 2006

Two sprint finishes decided winners in the elite races of the Olympic Cross Country at Yarramundi today. Women's winner by a tyre width, Zoe King (Manly) passed National Marathon Champion, Tory Thomas (Mt Beauty), to win the first round of the National Series. The 29 year old slipped past Thomas on the finish line after Thomas suffered cramps in the final of four laps.

In a repeat performance in the men's race, Aiden Lefmann (Harbord) beat Canberra's Dylan Cooper by a bike length. Cooper, 27 lead for the first two of six laps and had the fastest lap of 21 minutes 11 seconds. The 23 year-old Lefmann surged in the final two laps to pass mid-race leader Matthew Fleming(Helensburgh). Cooper passed Lefmann in the final kilometre but in the final 200 metres Lefmann outsprinted Cooper. Matthew Fleming placed third just 14 seconds behind Cooper. Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay was in the top placings throughout the race a finished a creditable sixth.

"I'm just stoked," Lefmann said. "Like Zoe (King) I was just looking for a top 10 finish. Then it all went better than I thought!"

Third in the women's race was United Kingdom's Caroline Jackson (Mt Waverley) now based in Melbourne.

For the first time ever in mountain biking history in Australia the number of women competing exceeded the number of elite men. Fourteen women from the "Dirt Roads to London" program run by the AIS raced at their National Series event. The winner of the elite women's race, Zoe King is part of the program.

One elite rider, Garron Hutchison-Menzer from Chatswood was airlifted to hospital on a Careflight helicopter and his condition is unknown at this stage.

Check out the full XC results here

BMX Olympic hopeful wins Mountain Cross
October 21, 2006

Beijing Olympic hopeful Alex Cameron (Macquarie Fields) won the first round of the National Mountain Bike Championships at Sydney Olympic Park today. The BMX rider raced in his first mountain cross race to beat the more experienced Luke Strom (Blaxland).

"I didn't know what to expect but it's a lot like BMX but bigger," he said. "I was surprised I made it through to the final after I had a flat front tyre just after the start in the quarters. I nearly went over the bars!"

Cameron had been coaxed by track designer, Brett Barnes to attend and rode a borrowed mountain cross bike. Fellow BMX club rider, Terry Scarr (Campbelltown) and last year's winner Alex Lloyd placed third and fourth respectively. The two mountain bike hopefuls, bronze World medalist, Nathan Rennie (Gold Coast) and former World Champion, Amiel Cavalier (Wollongong) were eliminated in the quarter and semi-finals respectely.

National Mountain Cross Champion, Caroline Buchanan, won in convincing style in the finals. After a crash in last year's event the young 15 year old was determined to make amends. "I wanted to win. Last year Katrina (Miller) and I fell," I won all my heats and I was always first into the first corner. I'm really excited that the Nationals are going to in my home town, Canberra." Second was Sarsha Huntington (Brisbane) and third was Julie Boer from Canberra. Last year's winner, Grace Ireland made the finals and finished in fourth place. Buchanan will prepare for the BMX Olympics in London as she is too young to race in Beijing's Olympics.

Check out the Mtn Cross results here

National Mountain Bike Series gets underway
October 19, 2006

The National Mountain Bike Series gets underway with both Mountain Cross and Olympic Cross Country this weekend. The first Downhill National Series kicks off on the following weekend at Lithgow.

Mountain Cross starts on Saturday at Sydney Olympic Park on the Monster Track and has attracted many BMX riders that are training towards the Beijing Olympics in 2008. National Mountain Cross Champion, Wade Bootes (Gold Coast) will be out to prove his "Bradbury finish" was no mistake. In the National final in Thredbo, all four riders crashed just metres from the finish, Bootes won when he carried his bike across the line. Currently ranked 5th in the World, Bootes will be up against fellow BMX riders as well as mountain bike riders like Amiel Cavalier, former World Downhill Champion.

Alex Lloyd (St Mary's) is back to defend the title this year. "I'm not sure if I should worry about Bootes. I know the track well and just love the atmosphere," he said. With four riders in the final line up, riders like Luke Strom and Ricky Boyer, both from Blaxland could have an impact. The women's race is wide open with Sydney sider, Grace Ireland (Mt Annan) out to defend her title from the current National Mountain Cross Champion, Caroline Buchanan (Canberra). Finals get underway at 4 pm on Saturday afternoon with over 25 000 people expected to head to Sydney Olympic Park for the weekend's Festival of Cycling.

The National Series continues on Sunday with the Olympic Cross Country at Yarramundi, at the base of the Blue Mountains. Top Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay (Hobart) leads the field alongside fellow Olympian Josh Flemming's brother, Matt (Helensburgh). Canberra's Shaun Lewis and Dylan Cooper could team up and Newcastle's Adam Freemen will rider with the elite.

The elite women's race will prove interesting with National Marathon Champion, Tory Thomas(Mt Beauty) continuing to defy all odds. Thomas was told by specialists in 2005 that she would never ride again after being hit by a car in Melbourne. Thomas will face tough competition from fellow Victorian, Jenni King (Box Hill). Local favourite, Kimberley Fleming also has course knowledge on her side. The biggest challenge these experienced riders could face are the girls identified in the national talent search known as "Dirt Roads to London". Twenty-five girls have been selected to train towards the London Olympics in 2012. New South Wales riders like Renee Fortunato (Hurstville), Lindsay Gorrell (Aylmerton) and Leonie Aisbett (Woonona) are expected to stamp their claim on the podium spots.

Women's racing gets underway at 9.30 am and the elite men start their two hour race at 12:45pm.

On-Line Entry for October National Series events
October 3, 2006

On-line entry web sites have been announced by the event hosts:

MTNX#1 (Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Sydney)
https://commerce34.pair.com/tzone/events/wsmtb/NatMXSeries/index.php

XC#1 (Yellowmundee Regional Park, Richmond, NSW)
https://commerce34.pair.com/tzone/events/wsmtb/NatXCSeries/index.php

DH#1 (Lithgow, NSW)
http://www.ctmbc.net/06national.html

2006/2007 National Season Rider Information Booklet
September 23, 2006

The 2006/2007 National Season Rider Information Booklet will give you a potential participant, the information you need to know about the season. As always late changes to schedules, timing and such may happen and so it is important to always consult this website for the event you are attending to see the most up to date information.

Download the information booklet (PDF - 601Kb)

Bennett Sets up for Marathon
September 6, 2006

Previous mountain bike Epic winner Tim Bennett (Perth) won the Scott Hill Climb today in Toowoomba (QLD) beating Sydney rider Nick Both (Turramurra) and Canberra's Shaun Lewis placed third. The 30 year old bike shop owner from Kalamundra, Perth still claims it is a different race to tomorrow's inaugural National Marathon Championships.

"Nick was catching me today but tomorrow is more serious," Bennett said. After winning in 2004 and then placing 10th last year, Bennett is keen to make his mark this year. "I didn't travel from Perth for nothing," Bennett stated. "This is the premier endurance event in Australia."

The chance to win a National title has added extra incentive for the top riders. "It will be nice to look back one day and tell family and friends about it. Then I will have a jersey to prove it," Bennett said.

Bennett is joined this year by his wife, Jo who is an accomplished athlete in Ironman and adventure racing.

Nick suggests that this longer distance will suit Jo. "It is so much like what she trains for in Ironman and she won't need to get off the bike to run after it either!"

The women's Scot Hill Climb was won by Brisbane's Imogen Smith in a tight finish with Perth's Jo Bennett just a bike length behind. Third was Naomi Hansen from the Sunshine Coast. Smith also thinks this year's National Marathon race of 100km will be the more competitive than last year's Epic where she placed second. "All the top girls are up from down south," she stated. " Smith will use her experience in the event. "I plan to eat and drink better. Generally just ride a little smarter," she said. "In a race like this the fittest will win."

Racing gets underway at 7.30 am from Preston Peak Wines.

Check out the full results (PDF - 61Kb)

2006/2007 National Season Finalised
June 1, 2006

The national series for the 2006/2007 season has been finalised. Once again the season sees 4 high quality venues conducting events from October 2006 through to February 2007.

The season kicks off with the much anticipated MTNX#1 at Sydney Olympic Park, which last season saw over 200 riders coverge on the first purpose built and permanent MTNX course in a major city. This season the event (October 21) is going to be event bigger and it will be held in conjunction with the Sydney Festival of Cycling. The following day (October 22) sees XC#1 being staged at the very well known Yellowmundee Regional Park near Richmond by Western Sydney MTB Club.

DH#1 will be hosted by Central Tablelands MTB Club at their awesome course at Lithgow the following weekend (October 29).

National level mountain bike competition will see a welcome return to Tasmania (November 25-26) with the Hobart Dirt Devils hosting XC#2, DH#2 and MTNX#2 at the now well respected Glenorchy Mountain Bike Park, whose Glen Jacobs designed courses were very favorably received last season. With a promise of better and weather resistant DH transport this season we are certainly looking forward to another visit to the Apple isle.

Thredbo (December 16-17) hosts XC#3, DH#3 and MTNX#3 with chair-lifted DH competition, high altitude XC and a Jacobs inspired MTNX course this event will finish off the year very nicely.

The final round of the MTNX series (MTNX#4) will be hosted at Blackhill, near Newcastle (January 7), and the final rounds of XC and DH (XC#4 and DH#4) will be staged at the ever famous Mt. Beauty (February 24-25).

Amongst all this is of course the Australian MTB Marathon Championships (Toowoomba, September 3), the Australian Solo 24hr MTB Championships (Canberra 7-8 October) and the Australian MTB Championships in Canberra (January 24-28), the subject of some recent media attention due to the possibility of the ACT hosting the 2008 World MTB Championships (see MTBA website).

Look out for the new season logo and the updated national season website that will be live from September 1.

Please contact MTBA for any further information. Event details will be added as they become available, so check back here often.

Check out the full series calendar

Commonwealth Games Riders Race Final Race in Australia
February 18, 2006

Canberra's Dylan Cooper won the final round of the National Series at Mt Buller today. The Canberra rider repeated his winning streak that made him last year's overall leader. "My form is coming a bit late," said Cooper after riding the course in under 2 hours. "I knew I could make a lot of time in the downhill. I wanted to get a gap."

Current Series leader and Commonwealth Games contender, Chris Jongewaard, took out the National Series win after having a comfortable lead of 86 points. Jongewaard was unable to ride in the final race after suffering a gash on his right knee in practice the day before.

"They said it was mainly a flesh wound. They're going to keep it open just in case some infections start up. I'll get it stitched up in the next few days," explained Jongewaard. I'll be back on the bike and back into training and preparations for Commonwealth Games," he said on the sideline. During the first lap, Commonwealth Games rider, Sid Taberly broke his rear brake mid way through the first of two laps and rode wi thout it to finish 12th overall but claimed 4 th place in the overall series.

Women's Commonwealth Games rider, Dellys Starr from Melbourne dominated the women's field to take the win from Mt Beauty rider, Tory Thomas. "I can't believe I won," said Starr. After the heavy burden of training and the recent dea th of her brother in an aircraft crash, Starr has managed to stay focused on the Commonwealth Games.

Third was Niki Fisher and Commonwealth Games aspirant, Claire Baxter placed a respectable 4th.

A nagging knee injury kept away the other women's Commonwealth Games rider, Emma Colson, while Sydney-based Josh Fleming will prepare for the Games with local races.

Two Alice Springs brothers, Daniel and David Johnston took out bo th the the Under 19 and Under 17 divisions respectively for the National Series.

The Mt Buller race is the last Australian Mountain Bike race before the Games, as a thletes will now prepare for the Oceania Championships in Rotorua on 3-5 March. Then they will return to Australia to fine-tune their training and equipment to suit the course at Lysterfield.

The elite men's team could be Australia's best chance of a medal at the Commonwealth Games if they ride as a team. Jongewaard said, "We'll be looking out for each other Sid's definitely a good guy to work for. I've worked wi th him many times before. We're just trying to get the best result for Australia."

The reserved Taberlay said, "Chris and I are pretty good chances. Chris has just had an injury. We'll see how that goes. There's probably a few stitches required so hopefully it won't upset things too much."

"It's going to be a race where we definitely need bo th of us there working as a team to be able to win the race," confirmed Taberlay.

The riders were positive but realistic on their chances of winning medals at the Cross Country event in Lysterfield.

"Hopefully if all goes great we should be in for a medal," said Taberlay.

According to National Mountain Bike Cross Country coach, Damien Grundy, "The Australians still have strong competition from Britain and Canada, Liam Killeen (England) and Geoff Kabush (Canada)."

"The Australians all have the capacity (to win) and so do 3 or 4 other riders," he said.

The Commonwealth Games Mountain Bike race is on Thursday 23 March at Lysterfield.

Check out the full results

Last Race on Home Soil for Commonwealth Games Mountain Bikers
February 15, 2006

Australia's Commonwealth Games Mountain Bike riders will have their final Australian race at Mt Buller this weekend. Five members of the Australian Cross Country team will line up on Saturday in one of the highest quality cross country fields to grace the slopes.

Over 300 competitors from as far away as Cairns, Perth and Hobart will race on Saturday in the Cross Country race or on Sunday in the Downhill race. Mt Buller is a vital race being the fourth and final race in the National Series for both Cross Country and Downhill.

The Commonwealth Games riders will use the tough Mt Buller circuit as preparation for the Oceania Championships in Rotorua on the 3 - 5 March.

After winning on the Commonwealth Games course in December, both Chris Jongewaard (Adelaide) and Claire Baxter (Melbourne) confirmed their spots on the team. The second Games spots were secured by Sid Taberlay (Hobart) and Dellys Franke (Melbourne) after they took out the National Championships at Mt Beauty in January. Emma Colson (Melbourne) and Josh Fleming (Sydney) were the best ranked Australians and they secured the final 3rd places when selectors named the 6 rider team on 3rd February.

Athens Olympian, Josh Fleming will be the only team member not in attendance at Mt Buller or the Oceania race, instead preferring to do his training in and around Sydney to prepare for the Commonwealth Games. After Mt Buller, the other team riders head off to Rotorua to race against their New Zealand opponents and other riders wishing to check out the course which will also be the same for the World Championships in August this year. The team then returns home in time for their Commonwealth Games Cross Country race on Thursday March 23.

Emma Colson was slightly emotional on hearing the announcement of her Games spot. "It was because it was the culmination of all those years of effort," said Colson after setting her sights on the Games back in October 2004.

Leading the Elite Women's Series by 68 points, Colson is looking to securing her second consecutive National Series title. "I'm looking forward to putting a score on the board for the National Series," said Colson.

Colson is hoping to turn the tables on the misfortune in her last race at Mt Buller. "Last year at Oceania's (Championships) three of us took a wrong turn, hopefully we won't do that this time," she said.

Elite Men's Series Leader, Chris Jongewaard is not expected to loose his commanding 86 point lead however, Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay has done his maths and wants to take second in the series. "I just want to beat Murray (Spink) he's only 4 points in front of me at the moment," he said. The experienced Taberlay could be difficult for Spink to outride however Taberlay has never ridden the challenging Mt Buller loop before. "I've always been overseas," he stated.

Comm Games Selection Announced
February 5, 2006

The mountain bike team includes two Olympians, Sid Taberlay and Josh Flemming plus Chris Jongewaard, who conquered the Lysterfield circuit to earn selection. Claire Baxter, Emma Colson and Dellys Starr have been selected for the women's mountain bike.

Women

Claire Baxter (24, VIC)
Emma Colson (37, VIC)
Dellys Starr (26, VIC)

Men

Josh Fleming (30, NSW)
Chris Jongewaard (26, SA)
Sid Taberlay (26, TAS)

Find out more about these athletes

Mt Buller Entry Forms Up
January 31, 2006

Entry forms for the final round of the National XC and DH Series at Mt Buller are now available. For a full events schedule, info and forms, visit out Events section

The 05/06 national MTNX series concluded in Armidale on the weekend
January 31, 2006

The 2005/2006 national MTNX series has concluded in Armidale on the weekend. The series winner for Elite men is Luke Strom (248pts) just ahead of the winner of the Sydney Olympic park round 1, Alex Lloyd (225pts) and in third place is Dennis Beare (188pts).? Luke finished 10th overall in last year's Norba series with several top ten results.?He's been working with Stepahne Girrard (the French coach of Villoux, Minaar etc) and they decided together Luke should now focus on MX - and the results show.

In Open women, the clear leader is Emma McNaughton (360pts) over ACT rider Claire Whiteman (185pts) and BMX'er Caroline Buchanan, the newly crowned Australian Nnational MTNX Champion.

Tom Patton had a very consistent season, and a s a result took out the Junior men class on 233 points followed by Ashley Grundy (176pts) and Graeme Mudd (145pts).

And lastly, but by no means the least, Randal Huntington was a close winner of the Sport Men class on 245 points just in front of James Collins (210pts) and in 3rd place Bruce Watman (130pts).

You can view the full results here

Aussie Champ Back on Track
January 22, 2006

Top ranked Downhill Mountain Biker, NATHAN RENNIE has won the only title that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career, an Australian one.

RENNIE claimed the National Downhill title in Thredbo today with a time of 6.07.24. After years overseas, winning World Cups and World Championships, the National title is now his. Rennie is ranked 4th in the World and has been recovering from an attempt at World Record Jump of 121 feet.

But it wasn't such a great run for local favourite JARED RANDO who clocked the fastest time on the course in yesterday's qualifying round.(6:05:42). The Canberra rider blew a tyre in the first corner handing RENNIE the win, RANDO coming in a disappointing 73rd.

I guess first place is exactly how I wanted it, but I really didn't think I was going to win. But I'm pretty happy, it's just unfortunate that Rando got a flat tyre, so who knows if he would're beaten my time, said RENNIE.

It was a Queenslander trifecta with Toowoomba boy JARED GRAVES taking second place with a time of 6:08:88, and proving how important fitness in this type of riding. The world silver medallist has been training on the BMX tracks racing the Champion Bike Series. I crashed but not in rhe same spot as last time. I took a totally different line, said Graves.

Gold Coaster CHRIS KOVARIK grabbed third with a time of 6:09:21.

2005 National Downhill Champion, Michael Hannah from Cairns had a mechanical problem and finished in 13th place.

His sister Tracey Hannah took out another National Title in Downhill and was the only woman to go under 7minutes. Her time of 6:46:67 would have secured her 17th place in her comparative age group of Under 19 men.

Western Australia took out the top two spots in Under 19 with Ben Bell beating fellow rider Joel Bain. Queenslander, James Maltman dropped a chain on the course and finished a disappointed third place.

Downhill rider now prepare for the final Round of the National Series in Mt Buller in February.

Check out full results here

Mountain Cross Mayhem
January 21, 2006

Stacks and crashes are synonymous with mountain biking but it's not every day you see 4 Australian finalist carry their bikes across the line.

There was uproar in the elite men's final in the National Mountain Cross championships at Thredbo last night with all 4 riders running across the line to claim their places. After coming down on the final jump it was Wade Bootes(#15) who retrieved his bike from the tangle and lifted it to the line. An ecstatic Bootes tossed his bike the finish and claimed his first National title in Australia Mountain Biking. Each rider took the lead throughout the 400m course until Graves and Bootes collided causing Madill and Robinson to crash as well. BMX's High Performance Team rider, Michael Robinson(#42) ran across the line for second. BMX National Champion, Luke Madill(#27) also landed in the dirt to take 3rd place. World Silver Medallist, Jared Graves(#5) was the unluckiest rider and picked himself up to finish at the end of the field.

I think it's one of the best races ever I think I're had, said Bootes a veteran both BMX and Mountain Bike.

I think it's the first time as well, winning a race running across the line, he added.

Bootes was not concerned about the crash in the final run. Ah, no I think that's racing you know, people crash all the time, he stated.

At the finish I'm like Damn! said Bootes smiling after the race.

World renowned course designer, Glen Jacobs said, That's what it's designed to do. Everyone should have a chance.

The women's race saw World Champion Mountain Cross Champion, Jill Kintner(# 304) take out first place but not the title. The American was happy to relinquish her place to the first Australian, 15 year old Caroline Buchanan(#303). Tracey Hannah (# 305) secured herself a silver medal. BMX World Silver medallist Renee Junga became the bronze medallist after finding going tough after a crash earlier.

Results:

Iron Horse National MOUNTAIN CROSS Championships
Friday 20th January, 2006

Elite Men:
1. Wade Bootes Gold Coast QLD
2. Michael Robinson Brisbane QLD
3. Luke Madill Penrith NSW
4. Jared Graves Toowoomba QLD

Women:
1. Jill Kintner California USA
2. Caroline Buchannan Canberra ACT
3. Tracey Hannah Cairns QLD
4. Renee Junga Brisbane QLD

Riders qualify this morning for tomorrow's finals of the National Downhil championships.

Check out full results here

New National Titles goes to Adelaide and Perth
January 16, 2006

Chris Jongewaard from Adelaide won by an insurmountable margin in the inaugural Short Track Cross Country Championship at Mt Beauty today. Jongewaard broke away from the field out of the blocks and never looked like being challenged. The new style of racing suited the 26 year old who had just finished the Bay Criteriums in Victoria.

"Doing the Bay Crits (criteriums) definitely helped me here as it was the same sort of effort required here today. Sid and I worked well together, he said. Second was Athens Olympian, Sid Taberlay from Tasmania, who could not repeat his performance yesterday when he claimed the national title in the Olympic Cross Country.

In a sprint finish, Melbourne's Chris Winn overtook Canberra's Dylan Cooper in the final turn to race him to the line taking a surprising third.

Taberlay and Jongewaard have proved their places as the two hot contenders for the 3 man Australian team in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March. Jongewaard will have a much deserved rest for a couple of days before starting the Tour Down Under in Adelaide. Taberlay will tackle the legendary Wildside race in Tasmania later this month.

Perth's Jill Burston surged ahead in the early laps of the newly designed course. The 25 year old waited until the 4th lap to make the break from early leader Rosemary Barnes from Canberra. A strong effort by Melbourne's Niki Fisher put her second,10 seconds down on Burston but just 1 second ahead of third placed Tory Thomas from Mt Beauty. Thomas surprised many with two bronze medals in both Championship races after being hit by a car in March this year which left her with life-threatening injuries.

Burston surprised many of the east coast riders and was not considered a threat after finishing 9th in the Olympic Cross Country Championships on Saturday. "It's good to know you can mix it with the top girls," she claimed. The short criterium style of racing suited riders like King and Burston as well as the spectators. "Having the crowd around was different to the Cross Country (Olympic), said Birstpn, "when you only see them every 20 minutes. If you're going to blow up in this one you're in full view," she added. Family members and supports came from neighbouring Benambra where Burston was born.

The junior men's race was hotly contested with the top three changing lead until the final lap when Daniel Braunstiens from Kew got a 3 seconds lead from the two local riders, Cal Britten and Paul Van Der Ploeg, who finished second and third respectively.

Full results available here.

Taberlay and Starr Win Title and Look Towards Commonwealth Games Berth
January 15, 2006

Melbourne's Dellys Starr has taken out the National Championship title at Mt Beauty today. It was not certain until the final downhill run that Dellys could regain her lead after a crash damaged her wheel rear derailleur.

Second was Claire Baxter also from Melbourne who has already put herself up for Commonwealth Games selection by winning the Lysterfield event in December. The most worrying time was when Baxter passed her during one her stops. I passed her just before the last descent, she said.

I knew I had to get in front of her. I just hoped my equipment was going to last, she said. Third went to Mt Beauty's Tory Thomas who was pleased to be on the podium after being hit by a car over a year ago and being told she would never ride her bike again.

The 2005 National Champion, Emma Colson was visibly disappointed with her fourth place after being second earlier in the race.

Athens Olympian, Lisa Mathison from Brisbane finished in 6th and won the first Australian jersey for the Under 23 division.

The men's race was more predictable with Sid Taberlay from Tasmania winning the National Championships at Mt Beauty after passing last year's National Champions Chris Jongewaard in the second last lap. The Athens Olympian most certainly looks to have secured his berth in the team with top performance at the World Cup races last year. Adelaide's Chris Jongewaard relinquished his hold on the jersey and finished in second spot after leading for the first four laps.

Taberlay sang the praises of Jongewaard's early lead. I knew Chris was going out hard. He was going strong in bits, he said. Taberlay did not class the course as tough but said the high temperatures had made it tougher. The experienced Taberlay has taken his build up in his stride. My focus wasn't to win. I am going better than I did at Lysterfield, he added. Sydney's Josh Fleming third finish today now has selectors discussing his placement on the 3 man team for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March. Fleming rode the Athens Olympics and placed second in the first selection race on the Games course in Lysterfield.

Fourth place was taken out by Brisbane's, Mark Frendo who doubles up with a win in the Under 23. Frendo passed Daniel McConnell from Bruthen, Victoria when he had two flat tyres in the last lap. Riders now line up in the 50 metre dash this evening and on Sunday the elite men, elite women and junior men will have the first National Title for the Short Track Championships. Racing starts at 2.10 pm. Next National Series event is the final round in Mt Buller in February.

Full results available here.

GT Mountain Cross went off with a bang
January 15, 2006

The GT Mountain Cross went off with a bang at the Blackhill track in Newcastle over the weekend of January 7 and 8, 2006.

With a record number of entries (Just under 100) and a huge supportive crowd, the racing had packed classes in all categories. Unfortunately, car trouble prevented GT International rider Jill Kintner from racing; however that didn't stop GT Australia's Emma McNaughton from not only winning on the day but also wrapping up the National Series Championship for 2005/06! Congratulations Emma on a huge season, one that isn't over yet!

GT International rider Bryn Atkinson, travelling with Kintner, missed the start and last years winner of the GT Mountain Cross, Luke Madill, was unable to attend due to BMX commitments. That left it up to GT Australia's Adam Smithson to fly the flag and represent at his home track.

Smithson had some unfortunate luck during qualifying; however he made it through to the eliminations only to crash out hard in the semi final. The spill left him more than rattled and he was only able to walk properly again on the Wednesday after the event! Still, big props go out to Smito for going his hardest!

In the end, it was Alex Lloyd, winner of the opening round in Sydney that took line honours over Luke Strom (also riding a GT) with Dave Inabinet taking third.

Once again, a huge event has gone down in Newcastle, a Mountain Cross spectacular that GT Bicycles Australia is proud to be part of.

Well done to all of the riders, event organisers, media and supporters that make these events possible!

Nationals Back to Canberra
January 6, 2006

MTBA thanks all the clubs and promoters who submitted bids to host the 2007-2009 nationals. The quality of the submissions was excellent and made the task for the MTBA executive to select a venue very difficult.

However, after going through an exhaustive selection process, MTBA has awarded the 2007-2009 Australian National Championships for Cross Country, Downhill, Mountain Cross and Bike Trials to Canberra and the hosts, Canberra Off Road Cyclists (CORC).

"The National Championships are set to return to the national capital for the first time since 1999 and this is fantastic news for the sport of mountain biking and cycling in Canberra CORC President, Mr Anthony Burton said today.

The Executive Officer for MTBA, Tony Scott, said "Canberra is an awesome location to stage the nationals. It is centrally located to Sydney and Melbourne, has nationally connected direct airflights from most major state capitals, has a wide variety of accommodation options, has a wealth of alternative cultural activity opportunities and will be conducted on a purpose built mountain bike park, funded entirely by the ACT government."

He added, "The current ACT Government has earmarked $6.5m in the development of the Mt. Stromlo area, devastated in the 2003 bushfires. The development includes buildings for event management, power, water and sewerage and telecommunications and the design and construction of mountain bike trails for all the disciplines. This, in conjunction with the fact that internationally respected course designer Glen Jacobs has been engaged to develop and manage the conceptual and design aspects of the mountain specific tracks and trails, suggests that the venue will the best ever in Australia."

Scott noted that the combined participation of the Mount Beauty XC nationals, the Thredbo DH and MTN X nationals and next week's Bike Trials nationals to be staged at Port Elliot in South Australia, would be close to the largest nationals ever held which was also staged in Canberra in 1999.

He concluded, "MTBA looks forward to working with the ACT Government and the host club, Canberra Off Road Cyclists, currently Australia's largest and most active MTB club, in ensuring that the 2007 Nationals (and beyond) are the best and biggest ever."

More information can be obtained from MTBA: info.mtba@mtba.asn.au or from CORC: president@corc.asn.au

UCI points at MTBA National Championships
January 1, 2006

MTBA announces a more streamlined process in the awarding of points for the calculation of World Ranking gained at the Australian National Championships being held in Mt. Beauty (XC, January 12 - 15), Thredbo (DH and MTNX, January 19 - 22) and Bike Trials (Port Elliot SA, January 28 - 29).

UCI World ranking points awarded down to 20th place for DH and MTNX and 10th place for XC in Elite (male and female) will be automatically put forward to the UCI so long as the rider has either a valid Cycling Australia OR a current MTBA membership. Previously, only a valid Cycling Australia license holder could be awarded UCI points.

Tony Scott, Executive Officer for MTBA said, "This will help our riders gain very valuable UCI points which will add to their international ranking by contesting the Aussie national championships. Riders, thinking about possible national team selection, will have the points now allowing them to work towards selection in the knowledge that their effort at the nationals was rewarded."

Scott added, "As far as international competition is concerned, the status quo still remains, a rider must have an internationally endorsed Cycling Australia license to use the points at any World Cup, NORBA or other race listed by the UCI."

"This simple but sensible arrangement has come about due to the continuing development of the relationship between MTBA and CA", he concluded.

For further clarification contact MTBA.

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