Cross Country champs sweep up Short Track titles
The final day of the MTB National Championships still has more XC - with Short Track
It's Sunday at the 2021 AusCycling MTB National Championships down at Maydena Bike Park, Tasmania – but there was still some cross country racing to go. The UCI categories (so that's U19, U23 and elite) still needed to go bar to bar on the short track course.
It was a much cooler morning, around 9 degrees, and most of the elite, U23 and U19 women were being marshalled. There were war stories from the previous day, with some riders swapping to dry tyres, and some swapping to muds.
The start was fast, with McConnell forging a lead – and then the rain came again. Zoe Cuthbert was right behind, and with the U23 women mixed in as well, riders like Izy Flint, Kath Hosking and Hayley Oakes were mixing in with Kath McInerney, Em Viotto and Imogen Smith.
McConnell was untouchable, and while the racing in U23 women's and U19 was also really close, the winners were the same as yesterday – with Kath Hosking and Hayley Oakes winning U23 and U19 respectively.
UCI Men at Short Track
With more racers in Junior Men than any other Short Track category, they had their own start and raced in the sunshine on a drying track. Joel Dodds remained around the front of the race, but no one really broke clear the whole race, however Dodds took his second National Title by race end.
With a couple of late sign ups, the U23 and Elite men's field filled out just before the race started. While it was a small field, it was stacked full of talent.
Cam Ivory lead at first, then Cam Wright (with U23 mixed in the race) and then Dan McConnell hit the front, hit the gas, and put daylight in second place.
The fight behind was all U23 – with Sam Fox leading Cam Wright and Matt Dinham. Sam Fox won the battle, taking another national title, and McConnell won the Elite men.
