Team Relay at Maydena
The Team Relay kicks off the racing at World Championships - so why no crowd at Maydena?
Head to a Mountain Bike World Championship event and you realise how important the Team Relay is. 5 riders from each nation (with a fair split across categories) go head to head on the course, aiming for the fastest overall time.
Who goes first? Who goes last? Who needs the race speed experience on the course? It's a lot for teams to manage. In 2018, Australia lead for a long time, with Nino Schurter finally overtaking a very young Zoe Cuthbert on the final lap. It's a true spectacle.
So why didn't it draw a bigger crowd here in Tasmania at the National Championships?
Well firstly, it's a National Title, not a World Title. Plus it's on a Wednesday, on a small island. But with just 5 teams racing, it's not a huge showing. Some have said that so far it really looks like the XCO categories were looked over here at the AusCycling National Championships at Maydena Bike Park. The coming days will see if there is any truth to that.
While The Trek-Shimano Australia team lead for more than half of the race, their final rider didn't have the fire power to hold off the storming VIC MTB Series Team or the Duke Flanders Racing team, who were first and second respectively, while Trek-Shimano Australia team came 3rd.
