Australian National Series Round 2 - Seeding Runs

The second round of the Australian National downhill series is currently underway in the alpine resort of Mount Baw Baw, Victoria. The eastern regions of Australia have been receiving unseasonal amounts of rain and many roads around the race venue are closed.With that in mind, everyone was expecting today’s main practice and seeding runs to be in wet and muddy conditions. However, the sun broke through early in the morning and by the time seeding was underway track conditions were good. The alpine dirt was tacky for the majority of the track and only a few bog holes still existed.


The track itself is around three and a half minutes in length and whilst not overly technical is still a challenge to race. The track starts off with a fast fire road blast, before zig zagging across the hill with a series of switchbacks. The next section is the highlight of the track, a 100m rocky chute that sees riders enter at high speed. Riders have the option of staying inside and tight around the corner or arc around the outside and use the berm that has formed. Plenty of riders struggled with this section in the wet morning practice session, one rider got it so wrong he snapped his frame clean off at the headtube. The track then traverses back out onto a ski field before finishing along single track with ferns at handlebar height lining the edge of the track.


Practice finished with no major incidents and the riders prepared for their seeding run. The junior men were first off and seeded as follows;



After a crash during his final at the previous round Connor was keen to make amends and commented he “wants to win this race after crashing last race”. Troy seeded second and looked comfortable on the bike, his effortless style making him look like he wasn’t even trying. Brandon Yrttiaho continues his momentum from the last race seeding third. Phil Piazza cruised into fourth commenting he “has plenty more in the tank”. There’s no doubt everyone will click up a gear for finals and the times will drop even lower as the juniors fight it out for a position on the National team for the World Championships.

The completion of the Junior seeding runs saw Elite Riders next on course. While the Elite Women’s field is traditionally lower on numbers, the racing is still exciting as the fastest girls in the country battle it out. The top five seeded spread out over 30 seconds, but expect this gap to be much closer tomorrow in their finals runs.



Leonie Picton seeded over 10 seconds ahead of Genieve McKew who impressed with her second place in her first National Race. Holly Baarspul will be eager to improve tomorrow, especially now she has signed with Kona Australia.

Elite Men were the final class down the hill and no one was really sure what to expect as some of the riders that did well in the last round were not present in Mount Baw Baw. This was evened out by the appearance of new faces, such as the Panozzo brothers. Seeding runs for all classes were a testament to the good conditions and the nature of the track, as crashes were minimal. The same rang true in Elite Men with the big names all in the mix.



Other familiar names such as Eichorn, Goff, Panozzo, Fairbanks, Wyber, Watts and Vincent all made an impression on the timing board and seeded well. Rhys Atkinson is looking comfortable on his Specialized and will be a chance for his maiden Elite Men’s victory. Ricky Boyer holds the series leader number plate after his first Elite Men’s victory at the first round in Tasmania and does not want to relinquish it seeding second. Ricky’s seeding run was only the second nonstop run he had done of the track for the weekend. The big man himself, Nathan Rennie, continues his comeback seeding third. Nathan was clearly heard during practice as you could hear him breathing every time he went past! You may note that the Elite times are in fact slower than the Under 19 riders, showing the quality of competition in the junior ranks. Expect that to be the trend after tomorrow’s finals as well. No rain is forecast over night and the track is holding up well so times across the board will drop. Some riders are hoping for a shower over night to keep the track conditions grippy, we will just have to wait and find out!