Carlson and McConnell are eMTB champions!
An eMTB National Championships? That's right, and for the 2nd year in a row it's been a big hit.
Photos: Nick Waygood
It's no secret that eMTBs are so hot right now, but that's also true in the competitive scene. Those classy Europeans have had eMTB events or categories for a few years, and there is even an eMTB Enduro World Series category, plus a World Championship event!
The eMTB Australian National Championship is shaped like the World Championship race, using a modified lap of the Olympic Cross-Country course, designed to really push the abilities of the riders, and the bikes.
Last year's national champion Josh Carlson would be the man to beat in the men's race, and Olympian and current XCO National Champion Bec McConnell was touted as the hot favourite for the women's event.
While Carlson lead the whole race in a manner befitting a professional rider who spends the majorty of his riding time on an eMTB, there was still a good battle behind. Rohin Adams came in 2nd place and Danny Taugge in 3rd. With just 11 starters in the men's race, there's still plenty of room for this discipline to grow.
"That was a brutal and steep race," said Josh Carlson after the race. "I had a really good run today, I pushed hard on the first lap and gauged what everyone was doing. It was a hard race just to finish, to manage your bike, manage your battery and manage your body."
Carlson has raced just about every discipline, and is really enthusiastic about the eMTB races that are now growing in popularity.
"It's moving from a participation event to a race category, and I'm very happy to come away with the win in this race."
The women's event had pretty low numbers with just 3 starters, but Bec McConnell showed she wasn't there to mess around, aboard her Mondraker eMTB. Whether it was a way to see the modified XCO course at race speed, or marketing for Mondraker, either way it worked – as McConnell rode away with another national title to her name, in a time not much slower than Carlson.
Isabella Hosking was 2nd and Beverley Anderson was third. You can find the full race results online.
There was no Adaptive MTB race due to no entrants.
