Here we go, hard to believe it is World Champs time again! A dry, dusty South African track will determine who gets the stripes.
The biggest race on the calendar, the World Championships, is upon us, this year we travel to Pietermaritzburg (there is a mouthful for you!) in South Africa. A track that has been used for World Cups previously and just happens to be Greg Minnaar’s home track…
There’s no denying big jumps and pedaling are two of the defining features of this track. Here Danielle Beecroft sends it during the first day of practice.
There isA�a different schedule for the World Champs compared to a regular World Cup, the Juniors will race on Friday, a full two days before the Elite riders on Sunday. What’s more is there are some practice sessions which are only half an hour long, that means riders will have to be on it to make the most of their time, get a mechanical or have a crash and you will have to wait until the next practice session (if there is one).
Throwing down the horns! It was good to see the Aussie contingent relaxed as they sorted out the track during practice.We spotted a lot of interesting things trackside today…It was good to see Tracey Hannah back amongst it, a horror run of injuries lately has meant her preparation for this race has been less than ideal but remember this is where she won her comeback World Cup!Another one of our Aussie girls in the mix, Caroline Buchanan who just won gold over in New Zealand at the BMX World Champs. She, along with a few others was settling into South Africa with a safari, why not?!Talking about settling, that is something that the dust has to do on the course, it hangs in the air making it quite difficult for riders to breath, especially on this lung busting track!Railing! Check out the look in Peter Knott’s eyes, pin it to win it son!
So with that we start our coverage of the 2013 World Championships, join us as we cheer on the Aussies every step of the way, it is going to be a good week!
