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Rebecca Henderson defies injury to win 11th XCO national title
Mar 17, 2024
Rebecca Henderson (Primafloor Mondraker Racing Team) has reinforced her status as Australia’s queen of cross-country, soloing to her 11th consecutive elite XCO national title in Lake Macquarie today.
The 32-year-old Canberran had been the clear favourite to take victory at the GWM Mountain Bike National Championships at Awaba Mountain Park. With good reason: Henderson had won every elite women’s title since 2014, almost always by minutes ahead of the field.
Rebecca Henderson claims her 11th elite XCO national title. Photo: Matt Rousu
However, a shadow of doubt crept over the event when Henderson failed to start Friday’s short-track race. It later emerged that Henderson had rolled her ankle and was struggling to walk. The injury opened the door to a possibility that her competitors – including perennial silver medallist Zoe Cuthbert – could move up a step.
Earlier in the day, the masters racers bore the brunt of a rainy, mud-soaked morning at Awaba Mountain Bike Park. But mercifully, when the elite, under-23 and under-19 women took to the start, the 5.1-kilometre circuit had dried considerably, leaving the terrain damp, but no longer saturated.
The elite women's XCO podium. Photo: Matt Rousu/AusCycling
When the starting whistle blew, Henderson was quick to jump off the line and claim the hole shot. The gaps quickly opened up through the field, and only Cuthbert was able to match her on the initial starting loop – even taking the lead for a time. The duo crossed the start-finish arch together with a clear gap to the field.
But Cuthbert’s time at the front would be short-lived. Henderson accelerated to take the lead into the singletrack on the first full lap. Thanks to her technical skill, athletic strength and prudent tyre choice, she soon had a gap of 30 seconds, and any injury doubts had been forgotten.
From there, Henderson’s win was assured. Riding consistently – supremely – both up and down the slippery slopes, she grew her lead steadily to the end of the race.
By the time the race was complete, her margin of victory was over two minutes to Cuthbert and two more to third-placed Katherine Hosking.
“I went with some intermediate mud tyres. I could see that Zoe was on dry tyres and really struggling early in the race when it was more slippery,” Henderson explained.
“I know that I’m fit, I’m strong and the slippery conditions worked in my favour also.”
Incredibly, Henderson has now won 11 elite XCO national championships in a row – every edition since graduating from the under-23 category.
“It’s a privilege and pleasure to be a national champion again. I had to do it pretty hard this week, so I’m really happy to get it done,” Henderson said, referring to her injury.
“I had quite a small fall on Thursday but with a lot of damage to my ankle … I’m pretty lucky that in all the years I’ve been racing, I’ve been injury and mechanical-free at the national championships. So, it was another hurdle today.
“When the rain came down and I heard people were walking [in the earlier races] – walking was not an option for me today. I was on the fence if I would actually start.
“On the first lap I was able to see that I could ride everything, and from there, back to race mode.”
Photo: Matt Rousu/AusCycling
In the under-23 women’s race, Isabella Flint defended her title by leading from start to finish, obliterating her competition by nearly 13 minutes.
It was a closer margin in the under-19 women’s event, where Amelie Burrell prevailed after battling with Ruby Taylor for much of the race.
Results – Cross-country Olympic
Elite Women
🥇 Rebecca Henderson (Primafloor Mondraker Racing Team) 1:26:59
🥈 Zoe Cuthbert (Team 31 Ibis Cycles Continental) +2:12
🥉 Katherine Hosking (New England MTB Club) +4:30
Under-23 Women
🥇 Isabella Flint (Launceston MTB Club)
🥈 Lillee Pollock (Team Bridgelane)
🥉 Anook Simpson (Adelaide MTB Club)
Under-19 Women
🥇 Amelie Burrell (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
🥈 Ruby Taylor (Hawthorn CC)
🥉 Caitlyn Brazier (Western Sydney MTB Club)
🥇 U17 Women: Alana Fletcher (Bendigo MTB Club)
🥇 U15 Women: Charli Edwick (Gold Coast CC)
🥇 U13 Girls: Amelia Biggs (Kenmore CC)
Masters Women
🥇 Expert: Maya Taylor (Sutherland Shire CC)
🥇 Women 1: Monique de Abreu (Canberra Off Road Cyclists)
🥇 Women 2: Nancy Frew (Central Coast MTB Club)
🥇 Women 3: Roslyn Hurt (Batemans Bay MTB Club)
🥇 Women 4: Nina Wright (RATS CC)
🥇 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)
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
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