Fearon, Mudd, Molloy and Graves reign supreme in Toowoomba

At the end of February, Australian domestic downhill racing was focused on Toowoomba, in Queensland. With the Oceania Championships on Friday, and the final round of the National Series on Sunday, it was a unique double header for the gravity crowd.

Oceania Championships‬

‪In the Elite Men’s race, the hot favourite for the win was local Jared Graves, a rider who has helped design and build the ‘McKenzie Frenzy’ course.‬ Graves is the 2014 Enduro World Champion has almost unparalleled results across a myriad of dirt cycling disciplines.

‪Today Graves was fast enough on his home track to walk away with the silver, but it was Connor Fearon who was on fire, finishing the challenging course in 2m 40.16s to earn the title of Oceania Champion.‬ 

On finishing in front of Jared Graves: “I wasn’t expecting that,” Fearon said. “It’s his track and he’s riding really well and he’s fitter than anyone else so I knew he’d be almost impossible to beat. I’m sure he’ll be trying harder on Sunday so I’ll have to try to stay in front of him. Last year I did well but I was actually pretty disappointed. I had some crashes and some bad luck. So this year I want to be in the top 20 every race and fight for a podium at each race and hopefully finish inside the top ten this year.”‬

‪Bronze went to 2013 Oceania Downhill champion Chris Kovarik.‬

‪In women’s racing, Tegan Molloy is the reigning Junior World Champion but has stepped up to the Elite in 2015, and she continued her rapid ascent to the top with her second win at the highest level delivering her the Oceania Championship.‬

‪“It’s pretty cool to get a title in the Elite ranks coming up from junior, it’s a bit of a step up and I was stoked to come away with the win today,” said Molloy.‬ ‪“This is the first time I’ve been here [to Toowoomba] – this morning it was pretty tricky to ride, it was so muddy I was just struggling for the bike to roll so I only ended up having one practice run, so I was coming in to racing a little bit blind.‬

‪She spoke of the challenge that awaits in two week’s time at the National Championships: “Tracey [Hannah] will be there – it should be a good battle between us I think. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top.”‬

‪Second place went to Sophie Tyas of New Zealand and third to Michelle Crisp.‬

‪Special mention goes to Richie Rude Jr (USA) and Claire Buchar (CAN) who are not riders from within the Oceania-confederation, but who both walked away with the fastest times of the day.‬

National Series Finals

‪Sunday wrapped up the 2014/15 Subaru National Series this weekend, finishing up on Sunday with a classic Downhill race that saw Toowoomba local legend and 2014 Enduro World Champion Jared Graves battle America’s Richie Rude Jr for gold.‬

‪Graves was ranked first after yesterday’s seeding run – a run which saw him as the first rider to post a time below 2m40s on the tough ‘McKenzie Frenzy’ trail all week – and today, Graves didn’t disappoint.‬

‪Racing as the last rider down the hill, Graves not only beat out his own seeding time, but he also sped into first place, taking the win from second placed Richie Rude Jr, who just a few days ago usurped him at the Oceania Championships.‬

‪“I was a bit gutted the other day,” said Graves. “To get one back today feels good”.‬

‪While 2014 World Championships Bronze medallist Troy Brosnan was undefeated in the first two rounds of the series, his rare absence due to a team training camp in America meant the series winner crown was up for grabs in Queensland.‬

‪Graeme Mudd today added a bronze medal to a series of top three results, securing himself the Subaru National Series crown in the process.‬

‪In Under 19 action, Max Warshawsky had a great run, finishing 2.11 seconds in front of Jackson Frew and Andrew Crimmins, which also earned Warshawsky the overall Junior Series title.‬

‪In the Elite Women’s race, it was all about 2015 Junior World Champion Tegan Molloy who finished her run in 3m11s, 8.63 seconds in front of second placed rider Sarah Booth.‬

‪Molloy has taken gold in two out of three downhill races this Series, adding the National Series overall winner title to her Oceania Champion medal, in what was a highly successful Toowoomba trip.‬

‪On her first series win in the Elite category, Molloy said:‬

‪“It’s pretty cool stepping up from juniors and then taking the Elite series – I had solid races this year”.‬

‪Ellie Wale took out the U19 Women’s race today and was also crowned the Junior Series Winner.‬

‪Special mention goes to Coleen Boyes who rode to gold in the Women’s Masters 5/6 Category, posting a time that would have seen her take sixth among the Elite females.‬