→←News→McConnell and Brosnan outclass the opposition while Cuthbert breaks through at Awaba
McConnell and Brosnan outclass the opposition while Cuthbert breaks through at Awaba
Mar 15, 2024
Zoe Cuthbert has powered to her first elite cross-country national championship, while Dan McConnell has wound back the clock to win his first XCC title since 2021.
In contrast to yesterday’s scorcher at the GWM Mountain Bike National Championships, overnight rain brought welcome relief for the riders at Awaba Mountain Bike Park.
Elite Women
The late withdrawal of Rebecca Henderson left the door open for a new elite women’s champion, and Zoe Cuthbert took the opportunity with both hands.
After securing the hole shot – albeit with one foot unclipped – Cuthbert controlled the race from start to finish to set up a commanding eight-second win.
Speaking after the race, Cuthbert said getting the early gap was a key part of her plan.
“I was super keen to get a good start and then try and just keep it the whole way. I knew there wasn't very much overtaking and that when we would catch the back of the other riders, it would be quite difficult,” Cuthbert said.
Cuthbert made special mention of her fellow Canberrans in the race, including Ella Bloor and Alice Patterson-Robert, who shared the podium with her.
“It’s always great to win, but to do it with so many girls that I've just spent the summer training with, and we've all just been so supporting each other, it's just unreal,” she said.
“We're all from Canberra. We do slightly different disciplines, but we've all been training together. I live with one of them, they’re all my best friends, both on and off the bike, and coming here and racing together is just so perfect.”
Izzy Flint rode a strong race to take the under-23 women’s title, finishing as the only rider in the category to be on the same lap as Cuthbert when the chequered flag fell.
Ruby Taylor, meanwhile, proved a class above the under-19 competition, winning with a 14-second advantage over her nearest rival.
Elite Men
The elite men’s race had all the speed, drama and intrigue deserving of an XCC national championship.
From the beginning, defending champion Sam Fox set a ferocious tempo, and the pace never dropped until the chequered flag. Young rider Jack Ward looked most comfortable, gluing himself to Fox’s wheel as the field stretched behind them.
One of the favourites, Cameron Ivory, hit the dirt after tangling with another rider in the early going, ending his chances of a podium finish.
Eventually, a group of around nine riders came together at the front of the race, including McConnell, Scott Bowden and former professional Jared Graves.
On Lap 11, after sitting in second and third positions respectively, Ward and Graves came into contact, tumbling the pair to the back of the pack. Fox looked to accelerate to keep control of the race, only to suffer his own collision and slip out of the podium places.
Amongst the carnage, it was the 38-year-old veteran McConnell who held his nerve and made a decisive surge to the front with three laps to go. On the narrow track, Canberran staved off all challengers to win a tight sprint finish by a tenth of a second.
McConnell reflected on the frenetic pace.
“I'm pretty happy with that. I'm a bit surprised. Short track's not normally my strong point, so to come here and just start the weekend off with a win is really promising,” McConnell said.
“I guess it’s a course with not a lot of passing, so position is really important. And I was just able to settle in for the first 10 minutes. There wasn’t much happening, and the pace was that fast that you couldn’t really get around anyway.
“Then, I guess, fatigue started kicking in in the last few minutes, and I was just able to move up, move up, get to the front, and then I could dictate the pace for the last couple laps. Yeah, so happy with that.”
McConnell took a break from racing in 2023, but has started the new season in sensational fashion.
“(Last year) I just stayed home and just tried to get things into some sort of routine, and then in December, leading into Christmas, I just started training a bit more and I thought, ‘oh well, let's go for Nationals and see what happens.’
“I’m just really enjoying my riding. I guess it's not the only thing in my life now.”
Joel Dodds was fourth outright and the standout winner in the under-23 men’s category after mixing with the elite favourites.
Earlier, in the under-19 men’s race, Eddie Mongoven took the win in a thrilling two-up battle against Harry Doye.
Downhill seeding
Eight-time downhill national champion Troy Brosnan (South Australia) will head into tomorrow’s national championship race in poll position, having posted the fastest time in today’s seeding run at Awaba in Lake Macquarie.
Brosnan followed reigning national champion Luke Meier-Smith down the hill in the qualifying session, but the 2021 UCI World Championship bronze medallist came out on top with a blistering time of 3:26.58.
“I felt really good out there, the track was perfect, the rock garden was dry, but the sand was still grippy, and I pushed really hard so I’m stoked to come down in first so far and ready for tomorrow,” Brosnan said.
Meier-Smith (NSW) was just off the pace with a time of 3:27.87, while local Jack Moir (NSW) rounded out the fastest three finishers in 3:29.34.
“It was a pretty solid run,” Meier-Smith said.
“There’s still a little bit of time there. It’s going to be tight racing tomorrow between Jack, and Troy and I. Looking forward to it. The track was running really fast this afternoon so it will be interesting to see how it develops tomorrow.”
In the elite women’s local Ellie Smith (NSW) set the fastest time of the day in 4:17.83.
“Hopefully got rid of the nerves today, I laid it over in quite an easy corner to be honest so hoping I got that out of the way and can have a good one tomorrow. But I’m stoked to come down and still come into first,” Smith said.
Elise Empey (Victoria) set the second fastest time (4:23.13), followed by NSW’s Ashleigh Weinert (4:48.11), while Connor Mielke and Jess Hoskin were both DNF.
Results – Cross-country Short Course (XCC)
Elite Women
- Zoe Cuthbert (Canberra Off Road Cyclists) 23:14.169
- Alice Patterson-Robert (Canberra Off Road Cyclists) +1:08
- Ella Bloor (Canberra CC) +1:15
Elite Men
- Daniel McConnell (Canberra Off Road Cyclists) 23:54.506
- Scott Bowden (Hobart Wheelers Dirt Devils) +0:00
- Jared Graves (Darling Downs CC) +0:00
U23 Women
- Isabella Flint (Launceston MTB Club) 23:41.345
- Anook Simpson (Adelaide MTB Club) + 1 LAP
- Mercede Cornelius-Feltus (Bathurst CC) +1 LAP
U23 Men
- Joel Dodds (Ipswich CC) 23:57.428
- Daniel Aurik (Launceston MTB Club) +0:41
- Oliver Ludlam (Southern Cross CC) +0:48
U19 Women
- Ruby Taylor (Hawthorn CC) 24:27.537
- Ella Menigoz (RATS CC) +0:14
- Caitlyn Brazier (Western Sydney MTB Club) +0:14
U19 Men
- Eddie Mungoven (Canberra Off Road Cyclists) 22:54.171
- Harry Doye (Red Hill Riders MTB Club) +0:00
- Levi Dougherty (RATS CC) +0:10
Masters Men
🥇 Expert Men – Damien Gawler (Yarra Ranges Mountain Bikers)
🥇 Men 1 – Blake Sutcliffe (Sutherland Shire CC)
🥇 Men 2 – Lars Aarekol (Kenmore CC)
🥇 Men 3 – Adrian Jackson (Hawthorn CC)
🥇 Men 4 – Lucas Nicoll (RATS CC)
🥇 Men 5 – Peter Milostic (Penrith CC)
🥇 Men 6 – Russell Eggins (Sunshine Coast CC)
🥇 Men 7 – John Henderson (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
🥇 Men 8 – Ron Richdale (Gold Coast CC)
🥇 Men 9 – Roger Cull (Sydney CC)
Masters Women
🥇 Expert Women – Maya Taylor (Sutherland Shire CC)
🥇 Women 1 – Ashley Dilger (Gippsland MTB)
🥇 Women 2 – Erica An (Hunter Mountain Bike Association)
🥇 Women 3 – Deborah Ainslie (Northern Sydney CC)
🥇 Women 4 – Nina Wright
🥇 Women 5 – Lisa Dodds (Ipswich CC)
🥇 Women 6 – Tara Sutherland (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
🥇 Women 7 – Sharon Heap (Gold Coast MTB Club)
🥇 Women 8 – Bev Anderson (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
Juniors
🥇 U13 Boys – Lucas Aarekol (Kenmore CC)
🥇 U13 Girls – Amelia Biggs (Kenmore CC)
🥇 U15 Men – Benjamin Shaw (Tamworth CC)
🥇 U15 Women – Charli Edwick (Gold Coast CC)
🥇 U17 Men – Connor Wright (Ferguson Valley MTB Club)
🥇 U17 Women – Alana Fletcher (Bendigo MTB Club)
Results – Downhill seeding
Elite Men
- Troy Brosnan 3:25.58
- Luke Meier-Smith +1.29
- Jack Moir +2.76
- Remy Meier-Smith +3.57
- Josh Arcus +6.38
Elite Women
- Ellie Smith 4:17.83
- Elise Empey +5.30
- Ashleigh Weinert +30.27
- Elle de Nooyer +38.07
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.
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