Day 5 at the Australian National Mountain Bike Championships

All photos: Matt Rousu / AusCycling

Day 5 of the Australian National Mountain Bike Championships was all about XCO, with Elite and age groups going into battle on the trails at Awaba. With more rain, the battlefield was unlike the trails in practice – but that's what makes mountain bike racing so interesting; conditions change and the best are revealed. Rebecca Henderson (Primafloor Mondraker Racing Team) has reinforced her status as Australia’s queen of cross-country, soloing to her 11th consecutive elite XCO national title. In the elite men's race, Cameron Ivory prevailed in atrociously muddy conditions where tyre choice proved a decisive factor in a stacked field.

Henderson's XCO Master Class

Rebecca Henderson was the clear feavourite – with 10 previous Elite National XCO titles, could you bet on anyone else? Having missed Friday's XCC with an ankle injury, some people did whisper that maybe it wasn't to be.

With the race underway Henderson got the hole shot and made her presence felt, it was only XCC champion Zoe Cuthbert who could keep pace on the start loop – even taking the lead for a time. The duo crossed the start-finish arch together with a clear gap to the field.

Cuthbert’s time at the front would be short-lived. Henderson accelerated to take the lead into the singletrack on the first full lap. Thanks to her technical skill, athletic strength and prudent tyre choice, she soon had a gap of 30 seconds, and any injury doubts had been forgotten. 

From there, Henderson’s win was assured. Riding consistently both up and down the slippery slopes, she grew her lead steadily to the end of the race. By the time the race was complete, her margin of victory was over two minutes.

Rebecca Henderson said: “I went with some intermediate mud tyres. I could see that Zoe was on dry tyres and really struggling early in the race when it was more slippery. I know that I’m fit, I’m strong and the slippery conditions worked in my favour also. It’s a privilege and pleasure to be a national champion again. I had to do it pretty hard this week, so I’m really happy to get it done.

“I had quite a small fall on Thursday but with a lot of damage to my ankle … I’m pretty lucky that in all the years I’ve been racing, I’ve been injury and mechanical-free at the national championships. So, it was another hurdle today.

“When the rain came down and I heard people were walking [in the earlier races] – walking was not an option for me today. I was on the fence if I would actually start. On the first lap I was able to see that I could ride everything, and from there, back to race mode.”

Elite Men was on like Donkey Kong

In a race that will be long-remembered for its treacherous mud, Ivory rode with authority to win on his former home trails in front of a large crowd and family and friends.

The race began at a cracking pace, with a select group including defending champion Sam Fox, Scott Bowden, Brendan Johnston, Ivory and youngster Jack Ward emerging at the head of affairs.

After some early mistakes, XCC champion Daniel McConnell rejoined the front group, and at one point took the lead with an aggressive pass through the start-finish zone. However, the race took a dramatic turn when heavy rain began to fall, turning the trails into a veritable mud bath.

Ivory prospered in the tricky conditions, and with two laps to go, pushed the pace to take over the lead, which he would never relinquish. Unlike many of his rivals, the 31-year-old avoided mishap, pressing home his advantage to win by more than a minute from Ward.

McConnell did well to make up lost ground to round out the podium.

After the race, Newcastle-born Ivory revealed how his partner Izzy Flint – who had become the under-23 women’s champion moments before the men's race – inspired a late tyre changed that proved critical.

Cameron Ivory said: "As I was in the start box, [Izzy] crossed the finish line and came straight to me and said, ‘You want these tyres.' And I was like, ‘Okay, let's put them in.’ I had dry tyres on at that stage, and yeah, it was good call.

“The guys just in front of me started making some mistakes and I thought, ‘I'm feeling fine on the descents. Let's start pushing and see what happens,’ and got a little gap and went from there.

“This is at the Awaba Mountain Bike Park with Hunter Mountain Bike Association, and that was my first club. I grew up with a lot of these guys, and to have this race out here in front of some of my family; my best mates were out there, old riding mates, it was awesome.

“I won the national champs back in 2018, and since then, I've wanted the jersey back. I’ve chased it hard. Had a few close years, but to actually do it today on my old local trails is pretty special.”

Results

Elite Women
[��]  Rebecca Henderson (Primafloor Mondraker Racing Team) 1:26:59
[��]  Zoe Cuthbert (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental) +2:12
[��]  Katherine Hosking (New England MTB Club) +4:30

Elite Men
[��]  Cameron Ivory (Launceston MTB Club) 1:30:47
[��]  Jack Ward (Team Bridgelane) +1:08
[��]  Daniel McConnell (Trek Shimano Australia) +1:27

Under-23 Women
[��]  Isabella Flint (Launceston MTB Club)
[��]  Lillee Pollock (Team Bridgelane)
[��]  Anook Simpson (Adelaide MTB Club)

Under-23 Men
[��]  Joel Dodds (Ipswich CC)
[��]  Daniel Aurik (Launceston MTB Club)
[��]  Patrick Flood (RATS CC)

Under-19 Women
[��]  Amelie Burrell (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
[��]  Ruby Taylor (Hawthorn CC)
[��]  Caitlyn Brazier (Western Sydney MTB Club)

Under-19 Men
[��] Harry Doye (Trek Shimano Australia)
[��]  Vinnie Manion (Team Bridgelane)
[��]  Eddie Mungoven (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)

[��]  U17 Women: Alana Fletcher (Bendigo MTB Club)
[��]  U15 Women: Charli Edwick (Gold Coast CC)
[��]  U13 Girls: Amelia Biggs (Kenmore CC)

[��]  U17 Men: Connor Wright (Trek Shimano Australia)
[��]  U15 Men: Benjamin Shaw (Tamworth CC)
[��]  U13 Boys: Lucas Aarekol (Kenmore CC)

Masters Women
[��]  Expert: Maya Taylor (Sutherland Shire CC)
[��]  Women 1: Monique de Abreu (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
[��]  Women 2: Nancy Frew (Central Coast MTB Club)
[��]  Women 3: Roslyn Hurt (Batemans Bay MTB Club)
[��]  Women 4: Nina Wright (RATS CC)
[��]  Women 5: Lisa Dodds (Ipswich CC)
[��]  Women 6: Tara Sutherland (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
[��]  Women 7: Sharon Heap (Gold Coast MTB Club)
[��]  Women 8: Bev Anderson (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)

Masters Men
[��]  Expert: Brooke Anderson (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
[��]  Men 1: Blake Sutcliffe (Sutherland Shire CC)
[��]  Men 2: Nathan Mummery (Stack City MTB Club)
[��]  Men 3: Adrian Jackson (Hawthorn CC)
[��]  Men 4: Andrew Blair (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
[��]  Men 5: Mark Leis (Hobart Wheelers Dirt Devils)
[��]  Men 6: Russell Eggins (Sunshine Coast CC)
[��]  Men 7: Scott McLennan (Traralgon MTB Club)
[��]  Men 8: Ron Richdale (Gold Coast CC)
[��]  Men 9: Roger Cull (Sydney CC)

Full results are online.