Cannonball Festival 2016 – Australian Open Downhill

The third and final Day of Cannonball did not disappoint. The final day played host to the Australian Open downhill and it gave some exciting racing to finish of a great weekend of racing. Let’s wrap up the event with some images:

The final day of Cannonball 2016 and what a day for it
The final day of Cannonball 2016 and what a day for it
Riders had a couple of hours in the morning to go over their lines after seeding the day before and see what time could be made up
Riders had a couple of hours in the morning to go over their lines after seeding the day before and see what time could be made up

Continue reading “Cannonball Festival 2016 – Australian Open Downhill”

Cannonball Festival 2016 – All MTN and Pumptrack

Day 1 of Cannonball 2016 kicked off with the All Mountain Assault in rather chilly conditions. Once the sun went down the riders took to the pump track. Ben Forbes and Claire Whiteman took out the All Mountain Assault. Remy Morton backed up his last years win on the pump track along with Danni Beecroft.

Don't let the sun fool you it was a cool 4 degrees in the morning for the All Mountain Practice
Don’t let the sun fool you it was a cool 4 degrees in the morning for the All Mountain Practice

Continue reading “Cannonball Festival 2016 – All MTN and Pumptrack”

Cannonball Festival – Day 3 – Thredbo

Cannonball Festival Day 3 - Australian Open Downhill!
Cannonball Festival Day 3 – Australian Open Downhill!

 

Day 3a��the grand finale to wrap up an outstanding weekend of riding and it certainly didn’t disappoint! A legendary track, one that will beat you and your bike up if you don’t pay it respect! That said it is a blast if you get it all right…

Angus Maddern can handle the track, make no mistake of that!
Angus Maddern can handle the track, make no mistake of that!

Troy Brosnan had qualified first the day before so he was the man to beatA� but with such a stacked field of talented riders from Australia and overseas it was anyone’s race to win. In the woman’s Tegan Molloy had qualified first and was set to take the win in all the events she had entered.

Troy Brosnan qualified first but there was no shortage of riders that could win it! Including the one in front of him here, Sam Hill!
Troy Brosnan qualified first but there was no shortage of riders that could win it! Including the one in front of him here, Sam Hill!
Tegan Molloy was on track to take a clean sweep of all  the events after qualifying first.
Tegan Molloy was on track to take a clean sweep of all the events after qualifying first.

With the final practice done and dusted it was time to race! There were a large number of contestants and the majoirty had a great time (there were a few crashes but overall it is a fair bet they still enjoyed themselves in the grand scheme of things).

Dare we say a few old hands of the game?!
Dare we say a few old hands of the game?!
Whoops a daisy!
Whoops a daisy!
It was great to see Jack Moir back riding fast!
It was great to see Jack Moir back riding fast!

As the times dropped and the speeds got faster it was both Tegan and Troy who both took the win. Conor Fearon came in second after a gnarly crash in practice up on one of the big senders. Sam Hill Rounded out the podium. Tegan was joined on the podium by Sian Ahern and Lisa Mathison.

Troy Brosnan won and took  home the cheque for 5K.
Troy Brosnan won and took home the cheque for 5K.
Connor Fearon had a huge dig in the last practice of the day, he walked away with a huge graze. He overcame that and finished 2nd.
Connor Fearon had a huge dig in the last practice of the day, he walked away with a huge graze. He overcame that and finished 2nd.
Sam Hill rounded out the top 3.
Sam Hill rounded out the top 3.
It was good to see a strong field of women, in the end Tegan Molloy took the win but there was some competition for her!
It was good to see a strong field of women, in the end Tegan Molloy took the win but there was some competition for her!

Well this rounds out the coverage from the 2015 Canonball festival, its been a superb weekend organised by Thredbo MTB team with non stop action all weekend long. If you haven’t made it out to this event definitely put it on your hit list.

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Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).

Get more content onA�FacebookA�orA�follow us on Instagram: @downhill247

Cannonball Festival a�� Day 2 a�� Thredbo

Cannonball Festival Day 2 - Flow Cup, Downhill Seeding & Whipoff
Cannonball Festival Day 2 – Flow Cup, Downhill Seeding & Whipoff

Day 2 was another busy day of events beginning with the Maxxis Flow Motion Cup, one run down the 8min Koziosko Flow Trail, this was one for the enduro bikes to come out and play.A�The course over the weekend had become dry, rough and dusty with the pounding of practice.

Rough and dry!
Rough and dry!
The crowd was enthusiastic as always!
The crowd was enthusiastic as always!

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That background!
That background!
Or that one!
Or that one!

Tom Crimmins took the pro men win and Tegan Molloy once again won the pro woman.

It was Giant Australia's Tom Crimmins who took the win.
It was Giant Australia’s Tom Crimmins who took the win.
Tegan Molloy took the win in the female class.
Tegan Molloy took the win in the female class.
Tandem fun!
Tandem fun!
So much going on in this pic!
So much going on in this pic!

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The next event on the cards what the ODI Whip Wars, with riders throwing down the biggest, most stylish whips and any different tricks being awarded $50 notes if the crowd approved. Connor Fearon was the one judged to have the best whips on the day taking them past 90 on all occasions but really closely followed by Mayhem Dave McMillan. Also throwing down some of the biggest whips on the day.

Whips!!!!!
Whips!!!!!
Well it wasn't all whips...
Well it wasn’t all whips…
The 'import' rider of the weekend was Luca Shaw and he put in a good showing!
The ‘import’ rider of the weekend was Luca Shaw and he put in a good showing!
Remy Morton with a classic T-bar!
Remy Morton with a classic T-bar!
Train it in...
Train it in…
Connor Fearon took the win, not hard to see...
Connor Fearon took the win, not hard to see…
One legger from David 'Mayhem' McMillan.
One legger from David ‘Mayhem’ McMillan.
The crowd loved it!
The crowd loved it!
Whoops!
Whoops!

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Never too young!
Never too young!

Stay tuned for Day A�3 action with the Toyota Australian open downhill to come.

Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).

Get more content onA�FacebookA�orA�follow us on Instagram: @downhill247

Cannonball Festival – Day 1 – Thredbo

Back in Thredbo for one the biggest mountain bike events on the Australian calendar!
Back in Thredbo for one the biggest mountain bike events on the Australian calendar!

Day 1 of the biggest downhill orientated mountain bike festival in Australia certainly lived up to its name. Kicking off the events for the weekend was the SRAM Dual Compressor, a 4X style knockout competition.A�Not to be confused with dual slalom, riders don’t have to stay in lanes they are free to go where ever they want, and of course rubbing is sometimes racing.A�The course offered up a variety of features from flat cut grass corners to berms, inside lines and kickers everywhere for the riders to scrub.A�Racing was close with many close battles witnessed.A�Taking out the pro men was none other than Blake Nielsen and taking out the Pro Woman was Tegan Molloy.

There was some great racing during the dual compressor.
There was some great racing during the dual compressor.

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The riders really got into the racing.
The riders really got into the racing.

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Tegan Molloy took the win in the women's class.
Tegan Molloy took the win in the women’s class.
Blake Nielsen took the win in the men's class.
Blake Nielsen took the win in the men’s class.
Subsequently everyone wanted a piece of the action!
Subsequently everyone wanted a piece of the action!

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As the sunset and the lights came on to host the Rockshox Pumptrack Challenge.A�A freshly built course modeled after the courses seen in Rotorua and Whistler, made by the guys at Dirt Art.A�The course performed brilliantly allowing riders to tip into the corners at max angle and gain huge speed out. The riders raced against the clock with the top 5 progressing to a shootout to decide the winner. Again it was close racing with Remy Morton taking out the winA�and once again Tegan Molloy took out the pro woman.

Work was done to get the pump track dialed!
Work was done to get the pump track dialed!

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As the sun went down the riding heated up.... (sorry that was a shocker!)
As the sun went down the riding heated up…. (sorry that was a shocker!)
The head to head format is always fun!
The head to head format is always fun!

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Thomas Crimmins having fun!
Thomas Crimmins having fun!

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The crowd was kept entertained whether there were riders on track or not!
The crowd was kept entertained whether there were riders on track or not!
David McMillan stylish as  always.
David McMillan stylish as always.
Timmy Eaton going through the whoops!
Timmy Eaton going through the whoops!

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Remy Morton took the win.
Remy Morton took the win.

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Never too young!
Never too young!
To the victor go the spoils!
To the victor go the spoils!

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For full results see Thredbo MTB

Stay tuned for Day 2 & 3 action with the Maxxis Flow Motion Cup, ODI Whip Wars and Toyota Australian open downhill to come.

Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).

Get more content onA�FacebookA�orA�follow us on Instagram: @downhill247

Cannonball Festival – Thredbo

Foot out flat out! With the precipitation about it meant some parts of the track were a bit slippery.
Foot out flat out! With the precipitation about it meant some parts of the track were a bit slippery.

Last weekend Thredbo Resort, situated in the breathtaking Snowy Mountains, recently held the second ever Cannonball Festival. There was some big money up for grabs and a variety of events over the three day weekend to cater for not only the big names in attendance but also the recreational rider. In preparation for the event, the Thredbo MTB team had made a few alterations to some of the tracks and had the legendary Cannonball DH race track in form to offer some great racing. However, there was nothing they could do to keep the wet and wild weather at bay. But that certainly didn’t put a dampener on things.

Thomas Crimmins was on fire on Thredbo's twisty trails and took the win in the Flowmotion Cup, second in the Australian Open DH and was ultimately crowned King of the Cannonball 2014. Keeping it in the family, it was brother Andrew Crimmins that won the Australian Open DH.
Thomas Crimmins was on fire on Thredbo’s twisty trails and took the win in the Flowmotion Cup, second in the Australian Open DH and was ultimately crowned King of the Cannonball 2014. Keeping it in the family, it was brother Andrew Crimmins that won the Australian Open DH.

Local rider and current DH world champion Tegan Molloy had an unlucky weekend. She crashed during practice on Sunday morning which put her out of the Australian Open DH. This made it easier for Queenslander and world class racer Tracey Hannah to take the win in the pro female category.

The dual between current junior world champ Tegan Molloy and Tracey Hannah never eventuated but we at least got to see Tegan riding for the a reasonable part of the weekend. Here Tracey shows a corner what's up!
The dual between current junior world champ Tegan Molloy and Tracey Hannah never eventuated but we at least got to see Tegan riding for the a reasonable part of the weekend. Here Tracey shows a corner what’s up!

After the race we caught up with Andrew Crimmins to have a chat about the race.

Downhill 24/7 – Hey Andrew! Congratulations for the win!

AC – That was crazy. I definitely thought Sam was gonna be faster than what he did but … I’m on top spot!

DownhillA�24/7 – We didn’t see you much on the mountain… were you hiding your lines!?

AC – I wasn’t really hiding lines. Sunday morning I wanted to see what the track was like so I let other people ride first to see if it was gonna chop up or gonna stay dry. I definitely knew the track so that was a bit of an advantage I guess. I didn’t really have to do so many runs considering it was pretty wet.

DownhillA�24/7 – And mate, what about the Flowmotion Cup? You didn’t race it?

AC – I planned on racing if Flowmotion Cup was on Saturday but just because I didn’t really want to do two races in a day. I wanted to save my energy for the downhill.

Andrew Crimmins prepping and getting his ride sorted, it appears he had his lines sorted as well taking the win in the traditional downhill race.
Andrew Crimmins prepping and getting his ride sorted, it appears he had his lines sorted as well taking the win in the traditional downhill race.
Chris Panozzo, 2nd place in the Flow Motion Cup.
Chris Panozzo, 2nd place in the Flow Motion Cup.
Kelly Weinart was crowned Queen of the Cannonball with consistent results over all events.
Kelly Weinart was crowned Queen of the Cannonball with consistent results over all events.
Sarah Booth won the Flow Motion Cup in the female pro Category.
Sarah Booth won the Flow Motion Cup in the female pro Category.
Blake Nielsen won the RockShox Pumptrack Challange by putting his 4X expertise to good use!
Blake Nielsen won the RockShox Pumptrack Challange by putting his 4X expertise to good use!

 

What a shame that due to a massive storm the Whip Wars event was cancelled, it was one of the most anticipated events. Anyway we did have a bit of fun...
What a shame that due to a massive storm the Whip Wars event was cancelled, it was one of the most anticipated events. Anyway we did have a bit of fun…
Sam Hill gets asked to sign all sorts of things...
Sam Hill gets asked to sign all sorts of things…
This didn't faze him though and he kept the situation under control!
This didn’t faze him though and he kept the situation under control!
And by about now the nerves are kicking in if they haven't already!
And by about now the nerves are kicking in if they haven’t already!
The rain didn't dampen the spirits that's for sure! David McMillan at the pump track.
The rain didn’t dampen the spirits that’s for sure! David McMillan at the pump track.

All in all, a good weekend with a multitude of different types of racing!

Images and report: Ronnie Fabrizio Grammatica (www.ronniegrammatica.com) follow on facebook.com/ronniegrammaticaphotogrpahyA�or Instagram @ronniegrammatica

Get more downhill action onA�Facebook.com/downhill247A�or follow us onA�Instagram:A�@downhill247

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