Top-10 finishes in junior downhill for ARA Australian Cycling Team

Three members of the ARA Australian Cycling Team have recorded top ten finishes in the junior downhill finals at the 2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.

Sacha Mills (QLD), Elleni Turkovic (NSW) and Cooper Northey (VIC) all recorded personal best results on the second day of competition in Pal Arinsal, Andorra.

Mills, who injured her foot during an earlier practice session, put aside the pain to lay down an enormous run. 

Sacha Mills finished fifth in the junior women.

The Queenslander would finish in fifth place, just over 17 seconds behind eventual winner Erice Van Leuven of New Zealand.

“Tried riding as fast as I could with the pain, and I’m pretty happy to end up in the top five,” the Rat Cycling member said post-race.

Team-mate and world championship debutant Turkovic wasn’t overawed by the situation during her run.

A slight bump into a tree cost the 16-year-old valuable time, finishing a further two seconds behind Mills in seventh.

“Super stoked to be racing over here, and to get seventh makes me so proud,” she said.

It would also be a day to remember for another world championship debutant in the junior men category.

Cooper Northey finished eighth in his debut world championship race.

Alpine Cycling Club member Cooper Northey (VIC)  was the 26^th rider to drop in, and kept it upright and consistent during the run which would see him occupy the hot-seat for a time.

The current junior national champion finished just five seconds behind winner American Asa Vermette, to record an eighth-place finish.

Carter Sloan (27), William Ireland (31), Rye Carlyon (34), Mitchell Claxton (41) and Patrick Ward (43) rounded out the Australian junior contingent.

William Ireland finished 31st in the junior men downhill.

Meanwhile in the elite qualifying, Oliver Davis (VIC) put down an impressive ride to record the eighth fastest time behind Frenchman Loic Bruni in the men, while Elise Empey (VIC) also finished inside the top ten with the ninth fastest time in the elite women.

Full results can be found here.