Day 4 at the Australian National Mountain Bike Championships
Seeding is one thing, race day is another. Wrapping up the action from the Downhill National Championships.
Photos: Matt Rousu/AusCycling
On the day all about downhill, reigning Elite Men's National Champion Luke Meier-Smith (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) defended his title in while 2022 champion Ellie Smith (Commencal Bikes) regained the women’s crown.
For the women's race Ellie Smith was the favourite, having set the fastest time in seeding despite having a crash. The 23-year-old from the nearby Central Coast felt very much at home on the Awaba trails. Smith blitzed the course in a time of 4:05.18, a full 12 seconds quicker than her crash-marred qualifier and 14 seconds clear of silver medallist Elise Empey.
“It feels so amazing to get my second national championship, and it's really special because this is my home downhill track," said Ellie Smith. "[I felt] a lot of pressure coming into the race, but super stoked I could get it done. [For] seeding yesterday, I just tried to have a smooth run and unfortunately laid it down in a pretty silly spot. So, that definitely got the nerves a bit high for today. But, I just got myself sorted, got my head in the game, and put down a good run when it mattered. I couldn't be more happy.”
In the elite men’s field, Troy Brosnan had qualified fastest yesterday in 3:26.58, but you could throw a blanket over the top four: Luke Meier-Smith, Jack Moir and Remy Meier-Smith were all within three seconds of Brosnan’s time.
Luke Meier-Smith knew he needed to leave nothing to chance: as much as an hour before his start, the 21-year-old from the NSW North Coast had already arrived at the start area and was deep in meditation, putting his mind and body in the zone. The early starters came and went, and although times improved across the board, none came close to the sub-3:30 run that would be needed to challenge the podium.
Remy Meier-Smith was heading for a scintillating time with the fastest third split, but he ultimately faded off the podium with an unlucky slow puncture. Next was Lake Macquarie local and former enduro world champion Jack Moir, who set a blistering run of 3:26.40, the first to beat Brosnan’s qualifying time. Moir’s stay in the Hot Seat was fleeting, as Luke Meier-Smith came flying into the finish bowl with a scorching 3:25.62.
All eyes turned to see if Brosnan could steal away the gold. But, the two-time junior world champion couldn’t improve on Friday’s effort, which triggered joyous celebrations from Luke Meier-Smith, who had earned another year with the Australian flag on his sleeve.
Luke Meier-Smith said: “It’s huge. I didn’t know if I could do it this weekend. I definitely felt the pressure of having the sleeve last year, so I had to find it within myself to put a run down. It’s a super tough course. If you don’t put it together in the rock garden you lose seconds, and down the bottom you’ve got to be super patient with a lot of tight turns.
“It’s huge to have the sleeve and represent Australia on the world scene is pretty amazing.”
All results
Elite Women
[��] Ellie Smith (Commencal Bikes) 4:05.18
[��] Elise Empey (Synergy 37) +14.23
[��] Ashleigh Weinert (Greenvalleys MTB Club) +31.08
Elite Men
[��] Luke Meier-Smith (Giant Off-Road Factory Team) 3:25.62
[��] Jack Moir (YT Mob) +0.78
[��] Troy Brosnan (Canyon CLLCTV Factory Team) +1.58
U19 Women
[��] Elleni Turkovic (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club) 4:11.87
[��] Bella Schofield (Central Coast MTB) +24.96
[��] Georgia Henness (Jindabyne Cycling Club) +26.13
U19 Men
[��] Cooper Northey (Alpine Cycling Club) 3:36.65
[��] Ethan Aleckson (Greenvalleys MTB Club) +3.66
[��] Zac Bradley (BSX (Bicycle Supercross) Inc.) +3.99
[��] U17 Men – Oliver Colthup (Toowoomba MTB Club)
[��] U15 Men – Brock Adams (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club)
[��] U13 Boys – Kobe Shepheard (Northern BMX Club)
[��] U17 Girls – Tilly Boadle (Red Hill Riders MTB)
[��] U15 Girls – Luca Defina (Tathra MTB Club)
Masters Men
[��] Expert – Benjamin Bullen-Aslin (Hunter Mountain Bike Association)
[��] Men 2 – Michael Willis (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
[��] Men 3 – Ryan Leutton (Kenmore CC)
[��] Men 4 – Tim Cox (Hunter Mountain Bike Association)
[��] Men 5 – Robert Stone (Noosa Trailblazers MTB Club)
[��] Men 6 – Nick Rogley (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club)
[��] Men 7 – Neil Davis (Greenvalleys MTB Club)
[��] Men 8 – John Cockings (Central Coast MTB Club)
[��] Men 9 – Michael Benson (Central Coast MTB Club)
Masters Women
[��] Women 3 – Rachel White
[��] Women 4 – Sarah Booth (Hunter Mountain Bike Association)
[��] Women 6 – Kellie Meehan (Greenvalleys MTB Club)
