Australian Nationals, Round 2: Mt Stromlo - DH Finals
Bluebird skies and relentless flies greeted riders, spectators and event staff for the final day of racing at Mt Stromlo during round 2 of the National Series. With riders well-versed in the course after countless practice runs, and anticipation high for racing in all categories, the event centre was buzzing with excitement.
Full results: HERE
There we have it - another action packed weekend of racing in the dusty Australian Capital.
The next round takes us to Thredbo, NSW from February 6-8 for the XCO and DHI competitions, see the event details HERE
MENTIONS: @benstevens / @RideDirtWake
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 Another sunny day brought predictable conditions - aside from the gusting wind that kept riders low on the exposed parts of the course. |
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| By now most riders had their lines dialled through the rock garden. Morning practice was a last chance to get things right before seeding. |
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| Also a good time to get crashes out of the way - Adam Oates takes a dirt nap, but rides away unscathed. |
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| Zelvycarbon made their way to Stromlo to support their grassroots riders, the Cubit brothers in racing this weekend. Cam (left) chose to race on the Zelvy Highline enduro bike with the same DVO Emerald's up front as his brother Nathan; on the 2.8kg, full carbon Zelvy Preston. While these bikes have spent some time on the National circuit and podiums, they are not yet available to the public due to final R&D. However, Zelvycarbon anticipates a pre-order release before Christmas. |
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| Plenty of opportunity for practice runs throughout the weekend allowed riders to conserve their energy on the morning of racing, taking just one or two runs to get their mindset and take note of any trail wear. |
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| A Bilt Bikes rider navigates the rock garden, in a final practice run. Consistent with round one, MTBA is running seeding and practice consecutively on Sunday, rather than seeding Saturday afternoon as was standard in prior series'. |
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| Chris Kovarik styles it up on a small double up high on the track during practice, looking red hot in his Intense/Fox kit. |
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| Muddy walking it down after a hit flat spotted his wheel in practice. |
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| Said wheel, ready for a quick rebuild before it's time to get into seeding and racing. |
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| Tegan Molloy is the silent achiever - and thus far in the series remains consistent in pace and performance. Anticipation was high this weekend to see her pull it out of the bag and take first place - all eyes will be on here come round 3 in Thredbo. |
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| Stromlo is a trail with a lot of flow outside the rocky sections; allowing riders to pump for speed rather than pedal through much of the top half. Here Michelle crisp launches a step down on her new bike, reportedly loving the YT Tues. |
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| South Australian rider Matt Taylor cranking it through the tunnel, out into the wind, which seemed to be kicking up just in time for racing. |
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| Joel Willis railing a mid-section berm, confident and determined to keep up his performance for the series. |
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| Jackson Frew stomping the rock garden in seeding, leaving it all behind on the trail to prove how deserving he is of the GT Factory team rider title. |
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| A man of endless style, Remy Morton scrubs the last jump of triple treat. |
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| Bruce Moir sends the triple-triple at his first race of the series. His brother, Jack has set the precedent, but Bruce is a strong rider in his own right. Bruce took 16th place amongst a stacked field of elite riders. |
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| Ben Cory soaring through the lower half of the track, looking good for racing, but to then miss out on the podium in 6th place. |
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| Team Lusty's Joel Willis and Remy Morton, pumped for racing after clean seeding runs. |
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| Mum & Bub came along to cheer on Rhys Atkinson - some pre-race love calms the nerves and puts the event in perspective. |
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| Jackson Davis took a spill during practice on Saturday, resulting in a trip to the hospital and a spectator's pass for race day. Number 13 plate is always a tricky one, next time he'll be trading it in. |
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| Troy Weinert, predictably taking the win in his U15s category with a very respectable time of 2:46:56. Here seen sprinting to the finish, with apparently plenty left in the tank. |
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| Sarah Booth, winner of round one hammers through into the triple-triple section during her seeding run. A rear-mech failure during her race run would see her unable to hit all the A-lines in the bottom jumps but still take second by a half-second. Sarah will be hungry for the title when we meet at Thredbo in February. |
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| Danni Beecroft chasing the win, pushing hard on the final sprint to the line. The effort would be worth it as she sets a blistering time of 2:44:35, ahead of Sarah Booth and Tegan Molloy. The comeback from a serious elbow injury has been a long road, but Danni has worked hard to reclaim the top step. |
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| Tim Eaton was on pace all weekend at his local race trail - no flats in his race run would see him improve his 34th place at Mt Taylor to take 7th at round 2. |
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| Flats in seeding and racing for Dave McMillan meant no chance of placing for the Canberra local. Dave has a good history at Thredbo, round 3 will hopefully see better luck for him. |
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| Chris Kovarik takes the hot seat from Team Lusty rider Joel Willis. It was great to see Chris make it out to support the National event, while several big names were absent. |
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| Moir crosses the line, two seconds quicker than Kovarik with a 2:11:50 to take the hot seat and eagerly await the last man down the hill; Graeme Mudd. |
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| The Karver congratulates Jack Moir on bringing the pace to Mt Stromlo. A bright outlook on the new season for Jack, as injury had kept him off the bike for most of the year. |
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| The Junior Men's podium, topped by GT factory rider Jackson Frew, ahead of Remy Morton (Team Lusty) and Mondraker Australia's Josh Clarke. |
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| All smiles on the Elite Women's podium - near identical to round 1 aside from Danni and Sarah have changed places. Consistent performances all around will make for tight racing in the last two rounds of the series. From 1st to 5th: Dannielle Beecroft, Sarah Booth, Tegan Molloy, Kellie Weinert, Michelle Crisp. |
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| The Elite Men's podium, featuring an unprecedented 5th place by Ben Dengate. The Bilt Bikes rider has been on the circuit for a few years now, recently stepping up to elite. From 1st to 5th: Jack Moir, Graeme Mudd, Chris Kovarik, Joel Willis, Ben Dengate. |
Full results: HERE
There we have it - another action packed weekend of racing in the dusty Australian Capital.
The next round takes us to Thredbo, NSW from February 6-8 for the XCO and DHI competitions, see the event details HERE
MENTIONS: @benstevens / @RideDirtWake
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