Day 1 at the Australian National Mountain Bike Championships
Day 1 of the Australian National Mountain Bike Championships is in the bag, with Adaptive Downhill and Pump Track titles decided.
Photos: Matt Rousu and AusCycling
On Wednesday March 13 the Australian Mountain Bike National Championships really got underway in the Lake Macuqarie region, with both Adaptive Downhill and Pump Track national titles being contested.
Adaptive Downhill
The first titles to be crowned at Awaba were also the first-ever Australian champions of adaptive downhill racing. 15 adaptive riders lined up to test their mettle in the fairly blown out conditions down the purpose-built adaptive trail. Kudos to host club Hunter Mountain Bike Association (HMBA) for getting on the tools for this one.
In the men's 1B category it was former motocross racer Daniel McCoy who took the win. This category is for 2-wheeled e-bikes. The Queenslander has previously raced adaptive events in the USA and New Zealand, but had been waiting to compete in his home country.
Daniel McCoy said: “It’s a great thing, for sure. To compete in those events and see what it could be in Australia, and come and compete in the first one that they’ve had … to see how many athletes are here with a disability, is just incredible – and so many more people that [will] come next year."
Renee Junga became the first female national champion in the discipline, beating local rider Coleen Boyes by 11 seconds in the women’s 2B category for recumbent e-bikes.
“It’s great to be recognised," said Renee. "The sport’s only in its infancy. There’s just more and more people getting adaptive bikes and it’s just going to keep growing. It’s great to be recognised and have something to strive for.”
Adaptive cross-country has been part of the Australian National Championships since 2017, but 2024 is the first time adaptive downhill had been raced at the Australian National Championshiops. The significance wasn't lost on Paralympian Grant Allen, who won the men’s 2B event.
“It’s something that’s pretty special and meaningful because it’s really the start of something," Grant said. "We all collectively as a group of athletes here have a unique opportunity to forge a path for younger people who are coming through, and people who don’t even have a disability. To be at the forefront of it is a great honour and something that means a lot.”
[��] Patrick Best (Mersey Valley Devonport CC) – Men 1A
[��] Daniel McCoy (Sunshine Coast CC) – Men 1B
[��] Forrest Campbell (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club) – Men 2A
[��] Grant Allen (Port Adelaide CC) – Men 2B
[��] Renee Junga (Gravity Girls South Australia) – Women
Pump up the Jam
The Pump Track National Champs took place right near Redhead beach, Ryan Gilchrist (Coffs Harbour CC) and Elleni Turkovic (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club) have walked away with the 2024 National Titles.
While Gilchrist handily topped qualifying, in the quarter final AJ Donald lay down a blistering lap of 10.676, forcing Gilchrist to respond with an even more brilliant 10.543. That's bloody close!
When the final came around, defending champ Jayce Cunning had a faultless run with a scorching 10.742 seconds. It all came down to Glichrist at this point, who dug deep into his Carb Corner reserves to fuel a 10.508 run – winning the gold medal.
“We're in such a beautiful place in the world, and we're able to race against such high-calibre athletes and I'm really, really proud to be doing it for Yeti Shimano and the sport of pump track,' Ryan said post race. “I feel like my roots are in mountain biking and BMX and I feel like this is a great amalgamation of those two disciplines and being able to put it all together.
“Racing in Austria last year in the 2023 Pump Track World Championships, I got myself a top-five result. Being able to bring it here and be able to represent the Australian national champion jersey and hopefully represent it at Worlds next year is going to be very special for me.”
In the women's event, 16-year-old Turkovic posted the fastest qualifier with a lap of 12.454 seconds, almost a full second faster than her nearest rival. As such she progressed to the big final by seeing off Bella Schofield, while on the other side of the draw, Connor Mielke bested defending champion Zoe Cuthbert by just 0.12 seconds – some close combat for the two multi-discipline athletes. Zoe did win Novice Trials on the weekend!
Connor Mielke posted 12.805 seconds in the final – the only other woman to go under 13 seconds – but Turkovic would not be denied, laying down 12.531 to take gold.
“I love the pump track; go to it often, so it's cool to take out that win," said Elleni Turkovic. “In practice yesterday, the sun just glaring in your eyes. And the tight berms [are difficult]. It's a hard park.”
RESULTS
Pump Track – Open Women
[��] Elleni Turkovic (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club)
[��] Connor Mielke (Greenvalleys MTB Club)
[��] Zoe Cuthbert (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
Pump Track – Open Men
[��] Ryan Gilchrist (Coffs Harbour CC)
[��] Jayce Cunning (Hinterland BMX Club)
[��] Billy Smidt (San Remo BMX Club)
