What a race! The top four positions were taken out by current or former World Champions and fifth place went to the reigning Australian National series, wow! Sure Graves maybe former Four Cross World Champion but he is no slouch on a downhill bike!
To recap the results are below:
Elite Men:
1. Troy Brosnan 5:31.54
2. Sam Hill 5:33.87 + 2.33
3. Jared Graves 5:34.63 + 3.09
4. Ben Cory 5:38.76 + 7.22
5. Rhys Atkinson 5:42.15 + 10.61
Elite Female:
1. Tracey Hannah 6:15.73
2. Claire Whiteman 6:56.24 + 40.51
3. Michelle Crisp 6:59.05 + 43.32A�
4. Holly Baarspul 7:25.46 + 1:09.73
5. Trudy Nicholas 7:27.98 + 1:12.25
Under 19 Men:
1. Joey Vejvoda 5:44.66A�A�
2. Tom Crimmins 5:45.34 + 0.68
3. Connor Fearon 5:49.13 + 4.47
4. Jack Moir 5:53.69 + 9.03
5. Henry Blake 5:55.05 + 10.39
Under 19 Women:
1. Danielle Beecroft 6:54.70
2. Ella Scanlan-Bloor 8:21.03 + 1:26.33A�
3. Gemma Greentree 10:32.41 + 3:37.71
Sunday started off with a short practice session before finals, no one was quite sure what to expect as they headed off up the chairlift. Thredbo had received quite a downpour on Saturday night but the consensus was that the track would be able to hold up to a large quantity of water before the track became significantly slower, so most riders left the spikes in the pits. First run revealed a few slippery rock sections but overall the track was in good condition for racing, if anythingA�the water helped tack up the dirt through the corners, delivering extra grip for the riders.
It was clear during practiceA�just how demanding Thredbo was on both, bike and rider, flats wereA�the mostA�common occurrence along with other various mechanicals. For riders, fatigue fromA�such long demanding runs, meant people were riding more ragged then normal, crashing and/or nursing injuries due to crashes. It’s a fine line between getting the track dialed and the speed right for a full run without going too hard and prematurely wearing yourself out before finals.
Just before racing commenced thunderstorms echoed throughout the valley, chairlifts and lightning don’t mix so riders were sent up to the top of the hill as a precaution. If the thunderstorm had got any closer the chairlift would have been stopped. Interesting to note some riders had taken this into account and had laid down faster then normal seeding times, in case this counted as their final run if the race was cancelled. On the other hand though, some riders had taken a slower seeding run to have an early race run toA�avoid theA�thunderstorms forecast forA�later in the day.
First off down the hill were the Junior Women, unfortunately only three riders contested this class, hopefully this number will rise as the series goes on. First place went to Danielle Beecroft with a time that would have placed her second in Elite Women, impressive. As the Junior Womens’A�class finished and the Under 19 Mens’ classA�started so did the rain, at one stage it looked like a serious downpour was on it’s way but as quickly as it started it stopped. While this was happening, two of the more fancied riders completed their race run just before the rain started. Both Connor Fearon and Henry Blake had seeding runs that meant they would be coming down the hill a lot earlier than usual. Connor came into view first, he wasA�on a blinder of a run, he immediately took the hot seat with a time of 5.49.13. Struggling to breath Connor due to theA�sickness he was experiencing all week he explained how he had caught the rider in front of him. He caught himA�at the ‘Snakes and Ladders’ section of the track but his voice was so hoarse that when he tried to yell he couldn’t make any noise, turns out Connor rode behind this rider across the hillA�before passing him inA�the next section.
As for Henry he finished shortly behind Connor in a time of 5.55.05, good enough for fifth place. This is a good start to the season for Henry, who is a very capable rider and while he is sometimesA�considered a dark horse expect to seem him up in the top five again.
Racing continued and it looked like Connor might have caused an upset until first year Under 19 rider Tom Crimmins charged down the hill. With Thredbo being one of his local tracks Tom was a good chance of doing well, watching him in practice revealed he indeed had some sneaky lines.
Winner of the first race of the season in Under 19’s was Joey Vejvoda, Joey was an Australian juniorA�representative at this years world Championships in Champery. We had a chat with Joey to see how much racing he had been doing since returning home; “not much at all just been doing road racing, riding my bike, staying fit, nothing major since Worlds.”A�
WithA�the Junior categories completed it was time to move onto the Elite categories, starting with the Women. In the end, Tracey Hannah returned to her winning ways byA�taking first place, over 38 seconds ahead of second. Holy Baarspul flatted in her seeding run and then had more difficulties in her final run, she would eventually finishA�outside of the top 5.A�
For the main race of the day, Elite Men, the rain again threatened to ruin proceedings but just as it had all day it started then stopped! Rider after ride would come down setting a time that would just grab them the hot seat before a new wave of seriously faster times would start. This happened right up until the last riders of the day! Ben Cory set a time over three seconds faster then Rhys Atkinson as Sam Hill worked his way down the track.
When SamA�came down he had smashed Ben’s time by around five seconds! This left two riders to come and still no one was sure how this was going to end.
Next down the hill was Sam’s team mate, Troy Brosnan, he looked fast but we needed the timing to confirm if he had gone quicker then Sam. He had, by just over two seconds, Troy was struggling to talk he had given it everything in his run. This left only one rider to come, Jared Graves, a demanding track like Thredbo suits a fit rider such as Jared, even though, by his own admission, he has only been back riding downhill “for ten weeks”. He was close but not close enough, third was a great return to downhill though and shows he is on his wayA�backA�to being a race win contender once more.
Shortly after racing finished the the Blue Mountains copped a heavy rain but everything had been run and won by then. What a race! Lets see what the next round at Mount Buller can serve up.