CANNONBALL FESTIVAL - Day 3 Crimmins and Hannah take Titles

After rain, storms, and then more rain stopped all events on day 2 of the Thredbo Cannonball Festival, riders did what they could while over 100mm of rain fell on the mountain and in the village. Some went back to their accommodation, to put their feet up. Others jumped on their trail bikes and rode the Thredbo Valley Trail in the rain. Some decided to do their own Whip Wars as the sun went down.

Most riders however, went to the pub. And as today dawned with clearing skies, there were many stories from the night before, however most bemoaned the lack of an equal gender split in the sport of mountain biking.

There was a short window of opportunity for practice for both the Flow Motion Cup and Australian Open Downhill race. The lift queue was busy, but reports from the trail were that it was getting better by the minute. Much of the rain had drained, and while there was some mud, there was also a fair bit of traction on tacky soil for a lot of the tracks.

The Flow Motion Cup started first, and despite some great sub-8 minute times early on, it was Thomas Crimmins who beat Chris Panozzo’s time by a good five seconds to win the Pro Men’s race in 7:48.9. The Pro Women’s race was mich tighter, and Sarah Booth found 1.5 seconds of extra speed to win ahead of Claire Whiteman, in a time of 8:55.0.

Full results are posted online.

In the Australian Open Downhill, eyes were looking down the valley at what looked to be a storm front, but also back up the hill to the last section of trail, watching riders pin it down the mountain and over the final jump to the line.

The course mostly continued to dry, but was best called greasy. The track claimed Blake Nielson with a dislocated shoulder, and plenty of other riders touched the ground unintentionally.

Tracy Hannah had a clear win in the women’s race after Tegan Molloy crashed in practice. And it was Thomas’ brother Andrew Crimmins who won the men’s race, with countless people reminding him that he would be shouting tonight. Notably, Crimmins beat Troy Brosnan in 2013, and has this year beat Sam Hill. Plus he’s now beaten his older brother Thomas twice.

Full results are available online.

Words : Mike Blewitt Photos : Robert Conroy