2024 Downhill Nationals: Luke Meier-Smith, Ellie Smith return to the top

Luke Meier-Smith (Giant Factory Off-Road Team) has defended his men’s downhill national title in Lake Macquarie today, while 2022 champion Ellie Smith (Commencal Bikes) regained the women’s crown.

Smith took an assured victory after securing the elite women’s top seed yesterday. In a dramatically close men’s contest, Meier-Smith shaved two seconds from his qualifying time to vault into the number-one spot.

Under overcast skies, the fourth day of competition at the 2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships saw 43 elite riders take on ‘The Monkey’, the premier downhill line at Awaba Mountain Bike Park.

Recent rain had settled the dust, giving riders a surer footing than the dry and slippery sand they had encountered on the first days of practice.

In the women’s field, Ellie Smith was the clear favourite, having set the fastest time yesterday despite having a crash.

Australian mountain bike rider Ellie Smith gets some air during the 2024 downhill national championship

Ellie Smith flying down her home trails in Awaba. (Photo: AusCycling)

The 23-year-old, who hails from the nearby Central Coast, was very much at home on the Awaba trails. Such was her confidence that she skipped practice on Thursday – before the rain arrived – knowing that a damp surface offered a completely different experience than the slick sand.

So, it was no surprise that 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,” Smith said.

“[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.”

Ellie Smith bites her gold medal as she celebrates becoming the 2024 downhill national champion of Australia

Photo: Matt Rousu / AusCycling.

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 within one, two and three seconds respectively of Brosnan’s benchmark.

With such tight margins, the winner of the men’s race would need to put together a flawless run.

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.

Australian mountain biker Luke Meier-Smith, with the Australian flag on his sleeve, in a meditative pose, resting his head and hands on his handlebars with headphones on.

Luke Meier-Smith gets himself in the zone. (Photo: AusCycling)

The early starters came and went, and although times had improved across the board, none came close to the sub-3:30 run that would be needed to challenge the podium.

As if anyone needed reminding of the treachery of downhill, seventh seed Ollie Davis crashed heavily in the rock garden, though thankfully he was able to ride to the bottom without medical intervention.

Similarly, fifth seed Josh Arcus appeared on track for a solid run when a mishap in the bottom half of the course saw him limp home in 18th place.

Then came the top four seeds, where the winner would certainly be decided.

Remy Meier-Smith was heading for a scintillating time, setting the fastest third split, but he ultimately faded off the podium. The defending champion’s brother complained of a slow puncture and was left to ponder what might have been had luck been with him.

Next was local rider and former enduro world champion Jack Moir, who set a blistering run of 3:26.40, the first to beat Brosnan’s qualifying time.

But Moir’s stay in the GWM Hot Seat was fleeting, as Luke Meier-Smith came flying into the finish bowl with a scorching time of 3:25.62.

Australian mountain bike rider Luke Meier-Smith pops a wheelie as he crosses the finish line in the 2024 downhill national championship at Awaba

The back-to-back champion sails across the finish. (Photo: Matt Rousu / AusCycling)

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, and was forced to settle for bronze with a final time of 3:27.21.

That triggered joyous celebrations from Luke Meier-Smith, who had earned another year with the Australian flag on his sleeve.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Luke Meier-Smith poses with his gold medal after becoming the 2024 downhill national champion of Australia

Photo: Matt Rousu / AusCycling.

It’s Meier-Smith’s first big win since an injury-marred 2023, and he credited the amount of work he has put into his mental resilience.

“[I] definitely had it in my head, because I won it last year, to try and do it again. So, I was doing quite a bit of meditation today and the weeks before, and I've been training really hard.

“I had a concussion not that long ago, so I've been working really hard to come back strong. Really happy with my riding at the moment.”

Earlier, newly crowned pump track champion Elleni Turkovic won the under-19 women’s title with a time that would have been enough for silver in the elite field. Cooper Northey took out the under-19 men’s race.

Results - Downhill

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

Elite Women

🥇 Ellie Smith (Commencal Bikes) 4:05.18
🥈 Elise Empey (Synergy 37) +14.23
🥉 Ashleigh Weinert (Greenvalleys MTB Club) +31.08

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

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

🥇 U13 Boys – Kobe Shepheard (Northern BMX Club)
🥇 U15 Men – Brock Adams (Garigal Gorillas MTB Club)
🥇 U17 Men – Oliver Colthup (Toowoomba MTB Club)

🥇 U15 Girls – Luca Defina (Tathra MTB Club)
🥇 U17 Girls – Tilly Boadle (Red Hill Riders MTB)

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 6 – Kellie Meehan (Greenvalleys MTB Club)

Click for full results.

2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships

Location: Awaba Mountain Bike Park, Lake Macquarie, NSW
Dates: March 12-17, 2024
More information: 2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships

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The 2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships are proudly supported by Lake Macquarie City Council, and the NSW State Government through tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.

Feature photo: Matt Rousu / AusCycling