We hit up one of the all time classic Australian race venues, Thredbo, for round two of the National Series. Even without the racing, a combination of blue skies and endless chairlift runs meant that riders were smiling all weekend long.
Our man on the scene RF Photographics gives us a run down of the weekend, a few points to note;
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:
Continue reading “Cannonball Festival 2016 – Australian Open Downhill”
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.
Continue reading “Cannonball Festival 2016 – All MTN and Pumptrack”
After a long summer of MTB action, Thredbo played host to its final raceA�event for this season, The Red Ass NSW State Series Round 1. Timed nicelyA�between the end of Australian National Series and the beginning of theA�World Cup season it was a great opportunity for local racers to settle intoA�the enjoyable atmosphere that is state racing.
Race day was looking to be spot on after yet another perfect day in theA�NSW Alps for practice on Saturday. However, come Sunday cloud hadA�rolled in and filled the valley, providing a concerning outlook for the day.A�Thankfully, the dull conditions didna��t last long with the cloud lifting aroundA�mid morning. Riders were blessed with spectacular views as the chair rideA�to the top lifted them out of the ominous cloud ban into perfect blue skies.
Seeding and racing were both run on Sunday, with the seeding actionA�kicking off at 11:30am. The track was in great condition with the openA�sections drying up and the forest holding some moisture after the recentA�rain. Riders were kept on their toes by the varying conditions for their raceA�runs.
At the pointy end of the Elite Mena��s racing it was a close battle betweenA�Brent Smith, Oliver Zwar and Joel Willis. The final standings saw Oliver Zwar,A�take it by a nose over A�Brent Smith with Joel Willis in a close third. Zwar wasA�in great form, carrying on from his fifth place standing at the BrightA�National Championships.
In the Elite Womena��s race it was Kellie Weinert taking the win, a well deservedA�effort after a solid season of National racing. Sian Aa��hernA�stepped up from juniors this weekend to land herself on the second spot of the podium, in front of Sarah Booth.A�Once again it was another excellent weekend of racing up at ThredboA�and a very competitive start to the NSW state series.
Words and images: Ben Stevens Photo, follow them on Facebook or Instagram @benstevensphoto
Get more content onA�FacebookA�orA�follow us on Instagram: @downhill247
We headed to Thredbo over the weekend in the picturesque Snowy Mountains for the third round of the MTBA national series. The track is one of the longest, roughest and gnarliest going around, for this round a few changes had been made – the corners and berms were built up which allowed extra speed to be carried across the track. Of course this meant new ‘pseudo’ doubles were being found by riders with their new found speed. This didn’t come without consequences – talk to Curtis Keene who couldn’t race after smashing countless wheels over the weekend. Even more worryingly was Troy Brosnan who crashed and dislocated his shoulder, with the World Cup season getting closer this was an unneeded set back, we know TB though, he will bounce back! Continue reading “Thredbo – Australian National Round 3”
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…
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.
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).
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.
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.
Words & images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
Get more content onA�FacebookA�orA�follow us on Instagram: @downhill247
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