We’re up here in the Victorian High Country at Mount Buller for the 2025 Australian Mountain Bike Championships, Friday was the first big day of racing with XCC and DH seeding. It was a dusty and quite warm day up here in the mountains…
The Short Track (XCC) was a 2-minute flat-out loop that had a couple of punchy climbs and one little descent, so it was full gas the whole time. Every category was stacked with riders, and there were 12 races throughout the day with athletes ranging from 12 to over 70 years of age! An amazing circuit that had stunning views and also raced through the village.
In the Elite Women category, we would see Rebecca Henderson battle it out with Izzy Flint and Zoe Cuthbert for the first half of the race. Henderson put the watts down on her new Factory Orbea Oiz and rode away to a solo victory! Flint would claim her first-ever Elite medal with a Silver, and Cuthbert would take the Bronze. Behind them was a great battle between Kathryn McInerney and Katrina Dower, who would exchange places multiple times. McInerney would take 4th and Dower 5th in the end. Ella Menigoz would take the U23 Women’s title by 14 seconds over Ruby Dobson.
The Elite Men was a closer race with a big group settling in at a fast and lung-busting pace. Riders were constantly jostling for position, and an unlucky touch of bars would send Brent Rees into the barriers with Sam Fox during one of the final laps. Fox was able to remount quickly and claw his way back onto the podium with a 5th place. Toby Stewart and Tasman Nankervis would sprint to the line for the Bronze medal, Nankervis incredibly taking it with a dead flat rear tyre. That left Jack Ward and Scott Bowden to sprint for the win! Bowden would make a crucial error on the final corner, giving Ward a comfortable sprint win—his first Elite title! Harry Doye rode with the lead pack of Elites to take the U23 XCC crown!
While all this was going on, the DH racers were tested against the clock for their qualifying runs on the International DH track. It’s been super dusty, loose on track, and with a few new S-bends and off-camber sections added, the track has more of a technical challenge for the Australian Championships. After 3 days of training, a lot of riders are tired, but the usual suspects showed up when tested against the clock. Luke Meier Smith had the fastest time of the day with a 2:58, just over a second faster than Troy Brosnan. The battle of Jackson’s continues, with Connelly and Frew slotting into 3rd and 4th, while mega all-rounder Ryan Gilchrist rounded out the top 5 a few seconds further back. Victorians Zac Bradley and Hudson Tarling would go 1-2 in U19 Men.
Sacha Mills qualified fastest in the Elite Women, while Sian A’hern had a huge crash halfway down the track, tweaking her shoulder in the process. She would recover and roll down into 2nd some 6 seconds behind—fingers crossed she’s able to race tomorrow. Ashleigh Weinert, Zali Miklas, and Bella Schofield were all quite close behind! U19 defending champ Elleni Turkovic would secure the fastest overall time of the day with a 3:30.609.
Saturday is all about the DH!!! Who will take the crown of National Champ?!
