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.
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia
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.
Sharon Payne
Media Manager
Mountain Bike Australia