Results: Oceania Continental Championships 2023

Apr 16, 2023
by Ed Spratt  
The results are in from the Oceania DH Continental Championships, with Sam Hill and Lia Ladbrook taking the 2023 Elite titles.

Lia Ladbrook secured the Women's Elite continental titles as Cassie Voysey crossed the line just under a second off the pace. For the Elite Men, Sam Hill is looking fast this year as he took home the top honours with Iliver Davis in 2nd and Nukeproof teammate Dan Booker in third.

While Sam may have won the continental champ title for 2023 the fast Elite Male rider of the day went to Richie Rude who put down a rapid run to best Sam's time by over four seconds. Richie is on a prototype Yeti DH bike for 2023 as he plans to test his skills out at a number of World Cup rounds this year. The new bike and Richie have already proven they can take the top podium spot and it will be interesting to see how they perform alongside more of the world's best later in the season.

Check out the full results below.


Elite Men

1st. Richie Rude: 2:50.79
2nd. Sam Hill: 2:54.93
3rd. Oliver Davis: 2:55.45
4th. Dan Booker: 2:56.08
5th. Jackson Connelly: 2:56.80


Elite Women

1st. Lia Ladbrook: 3:18.89
2nd. Cassie Voysey: 3:19.97
3rd. Ellie Smith: 3:30.82
4th. Elle De Nooyer: 3:40.50
5th. Arabella Green: 3:48.43



Full Results:
Elite Men:

photo

photo

Elite Women:

photo

More results can be found here.


Posted In:
Racing and Events DH Racing Results


Author Info:
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79 Comments
  • 54 2
 It’s gonna be a Rude awakening in DH
  • 31 2
 Maybe. Maybe not. Richie beat Dan Booker by 6 seconds. Last World Championships, Loic Bruni beat Dan Booker by 26 seconds. Let's see what Rude can do against the top of the Elite field.
  • 2 0
 @ak-77: I think you mean 16 seconds, or more precisely 15.9 seconds
  • 2 0
 @MrNally: oops, you're right. My bad. Not the first time I wish there was an 'edit' button.
  • 29 0
 So good to see Sam Hill up there... but damn, Richie's time!
  • 20 77
flag Muckal (Apr 16, 2023 at 4:26) (Below Threshold)
 Well, there were no other top riders present i guess. I hate to say it, but Sams time is over.
  • 37 1
 @Muckal: mmm, I wouldn't say over, he may not be a dominant force as he was years ago but never write him off, he's one of the best racers of all time.
  • 30 7
 @Muckal: You're cooked mate. It's Sam Hill. The Man famous for going full cave man and clapping out runs that no one can comprehend, let alone compete with. He'll do it again, you wait.
  • 2 7
flag nateb FL (Apr 16, 2023 at 6:35) (Below Threshold)
 Richie 'won' the exhibition class and Sam won elite men?
  • 12 22
flag jimmythehat (Apr 16, 2023 at 8:29) (Below Threshold)
 @bikes-arent-real: Dream on
  • 11 7
 @jimmythehat: prepare for some serious downvotes. The disciples are plentyful.
  • 7 16
flag jimmythehat (Apr 16, 2023 at 9:53) (Below Threshold)
 @Muckal: the more the better, love winding up the deluded fan boys
  • 2 0
 Sam also crashed in his seeding run.. So impressive result for him.
  • 15 0
 Very Australian Oceania Champs this year....apart from that US bloke.
  • 9 0
 Honest question, where were the usual top contenders? No Brosnan, Lucas, Walker, Moir, Fearon, Brannigan, Blenki, no Masters boys?
  • 4 0
 @powturn: Seriously not worth it. They proved themselves at Nationals. If you weren't there you are racing second fiddle.
  • 10 0
 In theory, Oceania’s should be a bigger race than National champs, but it’s not, not even close. At least this years event was better than last year. Sam and Richie raced to gain UCI points for World Cup entry
  • 11 0
 Looks like Richie has dropped Yeti Fox Factory in favor of Jerrys Mad Horses
  • 7 0
 @czyk123, how likely is it that someone from a different continent entering a continental DH race posts the best time of the day?
Hill's win would have been a bit more meaningful if the field had contained the top riders from Oceania.
  • 12 0
 Once upon a time Aussies placed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 at the US Open DH Champs. We had it coming.
  • 2 0
 The Oceania Champs were held in Toowoomba this year, where Jared Graves (and myself) live. Richie comes and stays with Jared to train for a few months (almost) every year. The timing just worked this time around and he raced for UCI points.
  • 5 0
 Way to go Richie! Seems the prototype is a good fit
  • 5 0
 Hell Yeah SAM HILL ! The man is back
  • 6 5
 Damn, lil over 4 seconds over Sam, on a less than 3 minute track and not stacked field. What's the over under for the legend not qualifying for world cups?
  • 3 1
 It’s going to be a challenge for most unprotected riders to make it into the new top 30 final.
Sam’s building pace though, so I wouldn’t put it past him
  • 12 2
 Rude has been living with Jared Graves in Toowoomba the last couple of months. Likely he knew the track better than most of the Aussie competitors!
  • 6 3
 @ponyboy24: its a DH race with 2 days of practice. 4 runs in and the best in the world are on equal footing... That and if youve ever seen a world class field race a local track the burned in lines all change drastically anyway in line with the talent.

He was in Tasmania and Queenstown NZ the month prior racing and training
  • 2 3
 @davetrumpore:

1. It wasn't a world class field
2. He has been in Toowoomba most the Sunmer in the lead up to the EWS events.

If you feel that someone stating some basic facts is somehow a personal attack on Richie Rude, then you can be that guy. Personally I think Richie is an awesome rider.
  • 3 1
 @ponyboy24: what's your point?

There's two days of practice so living there two months earlier doesn't matter for anything

And between Richie and Sam and some guys that finished on the podium at the Enduro World cups I'd call it world class at the sharp end.

YOU are being that guy by looking to knock someone's achievement down a peg with some lame insinuation... Do better
  • 2 0
 Every continental champion is qualified for the world championship. Looking forward to seeing Sam in Fort Bill.
  • 3 1
 No mention of the venue, region, track or even country where this took place? Excellent work PB
  • 1 0
 @watchower @theslayer99 I know he won on his category, I mean to win overall in proper DH races
  • 2 0
 Almost an Dhduro Sweep! Nicely done Richie,Sam,Dan!
  • 2 1
 Can someone please explain me how did Sam win 1st place if Rude was faster?
  • 7 0
 Australian Oceania Champs race. Rude is American so although was fastest can't be Australian champ
  • 1 0
 Not entirely sure if the new Zealanders would be in it but it was a continental champs race
  • 5 0
 @weebleswobbles: Oceania = Australia, NZ, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea...so basically Australia and NZ in reality (at least in cycle sports).

The championships go turn about NZ / Australia, and this generally reflects in the competitors, but usually there are still Kiwi's if in Aussie, and Aussies if in NZ, but doesn't seem to have been the case this year.

Anton Cooper was, last I heard, racing the XC to try to win a jersey for the year, having not won the NZ shirt for the first time in yonks this summer.
  • 1 0
 @handynzl: Yep, Anton won that (followed by Ben Oliver then Cam Ivory) - www.uci.org/competition-details/2023/MTB/70847
  • 1 0
 @handynzl: I figured the New Zealand and Australia but didn't realize the others were
  • 1 0
 @weebleswobbles: thanks for your response
  • 2 0
 @Edendino: most welcome. I'm glad @handynzl cleared up that Oceania also includes Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, cook islands , and papua new guinea
  • 1 0
 @handynzl: yip. XC typically has much bigger/better buy in from the riders (e.g. kiwis travelling to Oz and vice versa) because of the UCI points on offer, as that can be a big leg up on start grid position when they hit Europe. Ranking for DH is of minimal importance, so Oceania's DH is often a pretty low turnout of riders, which is a shame.

Usually a few New Caledonian's in attendance too, which doesn't appear to have happened this year either
  • 2 0
 Any way we can watch this?
  • 2 0
 Toowoomba mountain biking on Facebook has heaps of clips but otherwise not much
  • 1 0
 Are the Oceanias usually this late in the season? I thought they used to be closer to National Champs early in the year
  • 2 0
 Nice to see Jackson Connelly up there
  • 2 0
 Small turn out. Like a state/club race.
  • 1 0
 Where are the Downhill Southeast results? Pretty interesting podium amongst a strong field…
  • 1 0
 It’s going to be a great season!
  • 10 1
 Still will be a cluster figuring out how to watch it all.
  • 5 0
 @slayersxc17: For the US, subscribe to GCN+ from June 9th to July 2nd (1 month, 3 races) and August 23rd to October 8th (2 months, 5 races). BTW I have not confirmed that GCN+ doesn't start their billing cycle from the first of the month. Most streaming services consider one month to be the start date to the same date the next month. I guess I'll find out in June.
  • 5 0
 @jwon1: I subscribe to HBO Max in the US, which becomes Max in May. Their website states that Max will have the Discovery bike events.
  • 2 0
 @njparider: oh really? I have HBO Max too so that’s good news
  • 2 0
 @njparider: Ha ok. Interesting. Previously it was said that discovery wouldn't have the bike events in the US. GCN+ was your only source. Max might be the better option then.
  • 3 0
 @jwon1: In that case I hope I'm not wrong. But either way, some clarity would help us out. Maybe Pinkbike can put out a definitive guide.
  • 1 0
 @njparider: I do know that the World Champs will be on FloBikes - an entirely different streaming company.
  • 1 0
 @njparider: I dont think max will have it. I think its just GCN in the states.
  • 1 0
 @jtorrento: GCN website looks sketch. This season is in limbo. Hopefully PB will do an article before the UCI season starts, but this looks like the end of straightforward (RedbullTV) viewing in the US.
  • 4 0
 We have been working on something that will hopefully makes things clearer. I’m aiming to have it finished this week so we should be able to share something soon. Let me know if anybody has any specific questions that need answering.
  • 1 1
 @suspended-flesh: the GCN app on my Samsung TV already has placeholders for each 2023 world cup race. So its a new place (and new voices) but straight forward enough for me. I'll miss red bull and warner but I've paid my $50 yearly fee for GCN and so I'm ready!
  • 1 0
 @edspratt: Appreciated!
  • 1 0
 @jtorrento: My (not so smartTV) only knows about the GCN YouTube site when I search for it. I'll keep an open mind....
  • 1 0
 @edspratt: will there be fantasy this year?
  • 1 0
 Richie! Nice!
  • 4 5
 What/where is Oceania? Did I wake up in a 1984 simulation?
  • 30 0
 Flag checks out
  • 2 1
 @spicysparkes:
  • 2 2
 @spicysparkes: LOL. BTW, username checks out - spicy comments with sparks flying!
  • 2 0
 Oceania (UK: /ˌoʊsiˈɑːniə, ˌoʊʃi-, -ˈeɪn-/, US: /ˌoʊʃiˈæniə/ (listen), /-ˈɑːn-/)[5] is a geographical region that is described as a continent in some parts of the world. It includes Australasia (includes New Zealand), Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
  • 1 3
 Is it also Richie first DH win?
  • 13 0
 He was Dh Jr. World champion in 2013, so I don’t think so.
  • 5 0
 Richie is a past DH world Champ in juniors, he's won DH races before.
  • 1 4
 @TheSlayer99: Win a Dh is not to mean to win in his category... Is simply the fastest that day...
  • 3 0
 @PauRexs: what are you smoking?
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