McCONNELLS on XCO Top Step - Bright Champs
The show carries on, following on from a huge performance on the hill yesterday from the downhill competitors, is the remainder of the XCO categories, including U23 and Pro.
As competitors kick into gear in the mass-start line, the next and final show of the Bright National Championships is on. Big names are scattered through the day – from Reece Tucknott, Dan McConnell, and Cam Ivory in the mens, to Bec McConnell and Zoe Cuthbert in the womens categories.
As conditions remain dry on the mountain, competitors continue to lap the course at full pace, with Cam Ivory and Dan McConnell trading places in Elite Mens, and Bec McConnell establishing a solid lead in the Womens.
In the U23 Womens, it was Zoe Cuthbert who took the win ahead of Katherine Hosking with 2 minutes separating the two. We caught up after the race to have a chat;
"It was really amazing, I got to mix it up a little bit with the Elites, which always makes it special for me!" Cuthbert says.
Bec McConnell established a sizeable lead in Pro Womens, taking the win by 4 minutes after 5 laps. Peta Mullens takes second, with Kathryn McInerney in third.
"It was really good out there, it was really hard to know where I was at, if I had a decent size gap or not but everything went really well and was able to have a smooth race!" McConnell says, as Cuthbert sprinted for the finish.
In U23 Mens, Cameron Wright took the win by 37 seconds, ahead of Sam Fox in second and Matthew Dinham in third.
In Pro Mens, we saw Dan McConnell and Cameron Ivory trade places in the fight for first, and with the seventh and final lap, McConnell was able to put 33 seconds into Ivory, taking the win and the double McConnell podium. Reece Tucknott takes third.
"I'm really happy with it, I always knew it was a hard race here, with 7 laps of this course it's pushing the top of the limit for us, but yeah it's a long hard slog out there but I'm really happy to come away with the win here.",
"It's really good to [have Bec] win, there's a reason she's ranked fourth in the world at the moment. I think she's just on a different league at the moment so I'm really excited for her for the rest of the season." McConnell continues.
And just like that, we wrap up a huge week here in Bright, Victoria for the MTBA 2020 National Championships! Mediaman Waygood signing out.
