Cannonball MTB Festival Finals

The RockShox Australian Open Downhill finals lit up the iconic Cannonball Downhill track in Thredbo, delivering the headline act of the week. Fast, physical and packed with jumps and rock gardens, the track remains one of the most demanding in the country, and it showed.

Elite Men: Brosnan Finds Another Gear

Troy Brosnan saved his best for last, finding a full five seconds on his seeding time to take the win in commanding fashion. On a track pushing five minutes, that margin is no small feat.

Luke Meier-Smith slotted into second, while Zac Bradley made a statement in the elite ranks, finishing third and announcing himself as one to watch. World Cup regular Dylan Maples just missed the podium in fourth, with Jindabyne local Jackson Connelly rounding out the top five.

Elite Women: Hastings Makes It a Clean Sweep

In the Women’s field, Jenna Hastings capped off a flawless weekend, backing up her seeding win to take the overall victory in finals. It was a composed and powerful ride on a track that demands both strength and precision.

Though it was Madeliene Lloyd in the U17 category who posted the fastest women’s time of the weekend, finishing just over half a second clear of Hastings. Elleni Turkovic wasn’t far behind, 1.3 seconds back from the leader, ahead of Orbea FMD’s Phoebe Gale, who delivered a strong run despite limited track time compared to many of the local riders.

With the depth in the women’s field this year, the racing was tight from top to bottom.

Whips and Titles to Close It Out

From downhill finals, the energy rolled straight into whip-offs. The progression from the younger riders was impossible to ignore, with serious shapes being thrown as the crowd packed in for the final spectacle of the week.

To round out the night, the Kings and Queens of Crankworx were crowned. Ryan Gilchrist dominated the Men’s standings, taking wins in All Mountain and Pump Track and a second place in Flow to seal the title. In the Women’s, it came down to just 60 points between Elleni Turkovic and Sabina Kosarkova, with Turkovic getting the job done thanks to her strong downhill performance.

Another Cannonball MTB Festival in the books, and once again Thredbo delivered.