Newkirk and Meier-Smith on top at Mt Buller DH

Words and photos: Matt Rousu

A dry and dusty International DH track at Mount Buller was the epicentre of the Australian Downhill mountain bike scene over the weekend. Around 350 athletes battled rocks, blown out corners, super fast straights and big road gaps for a chance to win a National Round.

The event was held in conjunction with Round 1 of the prestigious Vic DH Series (VDHS) and the Mansfield/Buller Cycling Club. The crew at VDHS have been running Downhill races since the start of downhill back in the 90s and the popularity of their events continue to grow every year. Thanks to the National Gold tier ranking of the event we saw a stacked field of pro and junior racers who are chasing points for potential World Cup/World Champs selection.

Current World Cup stars such as Luke Meier-Smith, Anna Newkirk (USA), Jackson Frew, Cassie Voysey, Hayden Stead and Oliver Zwar competed against old and new talent such as Sam Hill, Elise Empey, Josh Button and Jackson Connelly not to mention a plethora of local talent. The buzz that Sam Hill was back racing DH (The first of many in 2023 we are told) was electric, although not fully fit post shoulder surgery the man is a joy to watch on the DH bike.

With so many riders on track during practice it was difficult for anyone to achieve a full run on Saturday, the dust when following other riders made it almost impossible to see the track features. Practice was split between A and B riders in the afternoon to give everyone a fair chance, however, some big crashes caused delays and kept the medical staff busy. Healing vibes to all who went down.

A big lightning show overnight kept the mountain air cool and crisp on Sunday morning as riders lined up for a couple of practice runs just after dawn. The U17, U19 and Elite categories all had a seeding run first off which put 30 riders into the final later in the afternoon, it gives a real competitive and exciting vibe right from the start of the day.

Luke Meier-Smith and Elise Empey would qualify first in Elite while Kael Foale and Sacha Mills besting the U19 fields. The Masters, U15, Sport, Expert and Short Travel classes get 1 shot at glory before the U17, U19 and Elite send it in reverse order (fastest qualifying riders start last) while the spectators cheer. All in all it’s a great format and makes race day super exciting especially with precise live timing (with splits!) from Alpine Timing.

When the dust had finally settled, Luke Meier-Smith would dominate the day, the only rider to race a sub 3min time. The new Giant Glory Advanced DH has obviously melded well to Luke’s riding style! Hayden Stead and Josh Button would come closest to Luke’s time while Jackson Connelly and Tim Eaton rounding out the podium in 4th and 5th.

The USA's Anna Newkirk would smash the elite women’s field by over 4 seconds, it seems the 2019 Jnr World Championship bronze medalist is really enjoying her time down under for the Aussie Summer. Cassie Voysey and Elise Empey were close for 2nd and 3rd while Rachel Hore and Arabella Green would round out the top 5. In the U19s Kael Foale and Sacha Mills would back up their qualifying with wins!

Full results can be found via Alpine Timing.

A fantastic way to start the 2023 season here at Mt Buller, the DH scene is thriving and with plenty of events on the calendar we can expect the Australian squad to have a bright future! As Luke Meier-Smith would say “How good is Downhill!”