Henderson and Fox lead the way in cross country short course titles

Riders enjoyed perfect alpine conditions during cross country short course (XCC) racing on day two of the 2023 AusCycling Mountain Bike National Championships in Thredbo.

Elite XCC

It didn’t take long for Rebecca Henderson’s dominance to shine through at this year’s National Championships, with the world number 4 easing her way to a solid win in the XCC competition.

Henderson (Canberra Off-Road Riders), Zoe Cuthbert, and Katherine Hosking set the pace in the early going, before Henderson and Cuthbert broke away in the mid-section of the race.

However, Henderson stood up when it counted to win by more than 30 seconds, with her cautious strategy paying dividends.

“Yeah, that was really tough. I was happy sitting in the wheels early in the race. It’s such a hard course and I just wanted to be a little bit conservative, I was also kind of hoping there that the girls would blow themselves up,” Henderson said.

The three-time Olympian is now primed for a tilt at the main XC event on Sunday, with the course suiting her racing style.

“The course is so old school and I really like it. There’s a huge amount of climbing, so I think it suits me well because I’m quite fit but I’m not super conditioned for racing, so there’s time to settle into the climbing, and I think that should suit me well.”

Photo: Thredbo Resort

The Elite Men’s XCC race wasn’t decided until the final straight, with Sam Fox holding off fellow Launceston MTB Club rider Cam Ivory, while Brendan Johnston finished a further 14 seconds back in third.

A train of riders couldn’t be separated through the first few laps, before Fox, Ivory, and Johnston broke away as a group through the middle stages, with the trio still together as the bell sounded for the final lap.

Fox and Ivory made a break on the downhill section of the course, with Fox holding on to a narrow lead through the final corner and home straight, and the win clearly carried a lot of meaning for the Launceston rider.

“It’s my first elite title and something every athlete dreams of, so to take home the Aussie title and to start the week off in this fashion is incredible,” said Fox.

The familiarity of competitors also played a role in the strategy of the race.

“We race each other a lot, so we kind of know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and Cam is so good at this kind of thing… I know he’s got an incredible 1-minute uphill power, he won the tour of Tasmania prologue this year, and I knew leading into that last corner you want to be first, so once I got into that descent it was just keeping an eye on where he was and making sure I kept the door shut.”

Photo: Matt Rousu Photography

U23 XCC

After riding on the wheels of the Elite men throughout the race, Isaac Fletcher (Bendigo MTB Club) claimed the Under 23 Men’s XCC crown ahead of Joel Dodds and Riley Corke, describing the win as “surreal”.

“I tried to get away with the Elites and just hide and use them to do most of the work for me, and then once they broke off I just kind of started to sit in my own rhythm and just keep pushing to the end,” said Fletcher.

In the U23 Women, Izzy Flint (Launceston MTB Club) has capped a remarkable comeback from surgery in December to claim the National Championship ahead of Alanna Van de Hoef and Anook Simpson.

“I’ve only really been back riding for a couple of weeks, so it’s a very steep return to form and return to racing. But it’s nice to be back racing and it’s nice to come off a European season and start the season off with a little a little win,” Flint said.

Junior XCC

Jack Ward held on for a six-second win over Harry Doye in the Junior Men, with Cohen Jessen in third. In the junior women, Ruby Dobson (Mansfield Mt Buller CC) took home the gold, with Ella Menigoz and Maya Martin in second and third respectively.

See full results here.

More information about the 2023 AusCycling MTB National Championships.

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

Main Photo: Thredbo Resort