This weekend saw everything set up nicely for Thredbo to host the latest round of the Downhill series and for me to watch some National racing, on what I now call my local trails. With the weather forecast looking perfect for the weekends racing I was definitely keen to get on mountain for all three days of action. Friday started off pretty slowly with everyone getting through registration, setting up in the race village and taking some easy runs to check out what the course was looking like this year. 

Being mid summer and a lack of decent rain over the past few weeks the track was dusty and loose, keeping riders on their A game to stay upright while searching for race pace. 

Practice definitely had a casual feel on day 1. With lots of local riders only having to work out lines on the new parts of track, added to mix it up from the track used at the Cannonball festival, otherwise looking like they were just out for a bit of fun with their mates.  

Starting out early on Saturday the mood had changed a little from the fun of Friday, to riders getting stronger ideas of what race lines they were planning on using for race day. Many riders taking rest stops along the way to discuss each section and what lines worked best.  

This gave me a good chance to do the same in regards to working out what angles and lighting was going to suit best for photos during the race.

Saturday afternoon’s heat seemed to get the better of lots of riders packing it in early and getting some R&R in before the big day of racing ahead. There was a real buzz around the village on Sunday morning with spectators and riders alike getting excited for the afternoons seeding runs and racing. 

Practice was open from 8:30 letting all riders make sure everything was in check for the race. With the track being so demanding, most riders choosing to go with only two practice runs, before seeding, to make sure they didn’t burn them selves out. 

In the Women’s Elite, local Tegan Molloy set the standard qualifying a long way in front of the other racers. A time which was reflected in her race run seeing her take the win over 30 seconds in front of her rivals.

Andrew Crimmins lay down the gauntlet, for the under 19 Men’s, with a seeding run over 10 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor Remy Morton from Qld. The race runs saw every rider in the top 5 better their times, however Crimmins backed up his seeding run and held onto the top spot narrowly to Max Warshawsky in second place and Jackson Frew in Third.

Last up for the day was the Elite Men’s race and the competition was fierce. Troy Brosnan set the quickest time of the day in his seeding run, marking himself as the man to beat. Thomas Crimmins and Graeme Mudd gave it all they had, both improving on their seeding times, only to see Brosnan also improve his time and take the win.  

The whole weekend at Thredbo was Awesome. The crew at MTB Australia and Thredbo MTB’s combine efforts produced a fantastic weekend of racing.

Full results at http://mtb.subaru.com.au/national-series/results/