Bumper crowds treated to captivating Pump Track racing at MBNats23

The first titles of the downhill portion of the 2023 AusCycling Mountain Bike National Championships have been contested in near-perfect conditions, with Jayce Cunning and Zoe Cuthbert respectively taking out the Elite Men’s and Women’s Pump Track races.

However, both finals were not without some controversy, with the two National Champions both posting slower times than their Big Final opponent.

Pump Track Elite Men

19-year-old Bailey Meares looked the hot favourite throughout the Elite Men’s Pump Track competition. He was the only rider to beat 17 seconds in qualifying, and was clearly one of the crowd favourites throughout the knockout rounds in the evening.

On the other side of the draw, defending champion Jayce Cunning set up a compelling Big Final after advancing through the semi-finals.

Riding first in the gold medal showdown, Meares set a blistering lap time of 16.195 seconds, however his time was disqualified after breaking the line marking on the edge of the track during his run.

Cunning kept his wheels clean to claim the gold medal, but acknowledged how unlucky Meares had been in the deciding race.

“Bailey was riding really good today, and I was super excited to go out there and give it all I had in the last one. Unfortunately, he touched the line and that’s how it goes sometimes, and I’m stoked to get back-to-back wins, but definitely would have like it to be a head-to-head race,” Cunning said.

The Queenslander was also somewhat surprised at his performance, admitting the tight track at Thredbo doesn’t suit his racing style.

“I struggled on this tight dirt track. I’m used to the big open bitumen ones. Crankworx, Cairns was open, and this one was super tight so I was not sure how to corner, what tyre pressure to run, nothing. But throughout the week I got better and better, and I’m stoked I could pull it off.”

Duke Millington edged out Mike Ross in the Small Final to take bronze, while Josh Jolly completed a rare double in the Under 19 Men, winning a Mountain Bike National Championship in Pump Track to complement his 2022 Junior Superclass National Championship in BMX Racing.

Riding second last in the Under 19 Men’s category, Lewis Allbon posted a time of 16.845 seconds, only for Jolly to cross the line three-tenths of a second faster to win gold, with William Ireland taking bronze.

Pump Track Elite Women

Zoe Cuthbert qualified fastest in the Elite Women’s competition, but the big news out of the morning session was that 2022 Pump Track champion Caroline Buchanan failed to qualify after crashing out on her hot lap.

Cuthbert then advanced to the Big Final against American Anna Newkirk in the evening, but it was the US rider that posted the faster time in the decider, ahead by just 0.013 seconds.

However, as the highest-ranked Australian rider, Cuthbert was crowned National Champion, and the result took the Canberran somewhat by surprise.

“Being an elite national champion is always a goal of mine, but really didn’t expect it to be in pump track, and didn’t expect it to be today. But yeah, it’s super awesome,” Cuthbert said.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games cross country medallist was also quick to recognise Newkirk’s ride.

“She had quicker times in quite a lot of [the knock-out rounds], so really, I was just happy that it was so close at the end, and I mean, she’s a great rider. Just an honour to be racing her.”

In the Small Final, Tess Buckley edged out Connor Mielke by 0.092 seconds, while Sacha Mills has dominated the Under 19’s category.

Mills posted a time of 18.555 seconds in the shoot-out, more than eight-tenths of a second ahead of Georgia Henness, while Libby Walters completed the podium with a time of 20.771 seconds.

Live results here.

The full schedule can be found here.

AusCycling MTB National Championship 2023:

• Location: Thredbo, NSW
• Dates: Wednesday, February 8 – Saturday, February 18, 2023

More information about the 2023 AusCycling MTB National Championships.

Coverage of the AusCycling MTB National Championships will be broadcast and streamed via SBS and Kayo for Australian audiences and on Global Cycling Network for international viewers.

Broadcast times:

• Saturday 18 February: 1:00 - 4:00pm (AEDT)

The 2023 AusCycling MTB National Championships is proudly supported by Destination NSW and the Department of Regional NSW.

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram/ Tik Tok: @AusCyclingAus

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