Husband and wife team victorious in downhill
Kovarik, Buchar fly to downhill wins in Canberra
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In a fairytale finale to the season, husband and wife downhill duo Chris Kovarik and Claire Buchar reigned supreme at the final round of the 2009-10 Australian MTB Series in Canberra. After three rounds of thrilling action, the series came to its crescendo this weekend at Stromlo Forest Park, the home of the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Men's downhill
The men's elite downhill had been an enthralling contest all season and today was no exception. With five riders left to come down, Hobart and Thredbo winner Ben Cory was in the hot seat with a swift 2:37.12 ride on his home track.
Shaun O'Connor came agonisingly close with a 2:37.16 but it was the final rider and national champion Chris Kovarik who blew them all away.
The 32-year-old Queenslander tore down the course, crossing the line in 2:34.84, to secure his second win of the series.
"I'm pretty happy with that run, I made no mistakes really," said Kovarik. "I'm heading overseas shortly and the win today is great for my confidence.
"The times are always close on this track. It's no surprise today that we were all so close. These local guys are keeping us on our toes."
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Young gun Troy Brosnan won the under 19 male section in 2:44.87, pipping series title winner Ayden Wyber (2:46.33) and Antony Moore (2:48.43).
Women's downhill
Demonstrating her wealth of experience, Canadian Claire Buchar easily accounted for her rivals in the women's downhill.
The Canadian national champion flew down the course, nailing the triple treat and rock garden, to stop the clock in 3:08.12 and collect her third gold medal of the series.
The next fastest was local speedster Claire Whiteman (3:18.70), followed by fellow Canadian Leigh Douglas (3:20.60)
An exhausted Buchar was in a world of pain when she crossed the line. "That was just one giant sprint," said Buchar. "It was a really tough course, nothing could prepare you for all that sprinting, no matter how hard you train."
Along with her husband Chris Kovarik, Buchar heads over to race in California in three weeks time before attacking the World Cup season.
Holly Baarspul took out the under 19 female category in 3:28.00.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Kovarik | 0:02:34.84 |
| 2 | Ben Cory (Commencal, Fox racing shox) | 0:00:02.28 |
| 3 | Shaun O'Connor | 0:00:02.32 |
| 4 | Joshua Button (Konaworld, SRAM/Rockshox) | 0:00:03.53 |
| 5 | Jared Rando (Giant Bicycles/Stromlo Forest Park) | 0:00:04.33 |
| 6 | Cillian Kennedy | 0:00:07.60 |
| 7 | Rick Boyer | 0:00:08.27 |
| 8 | Rhys Atkinson (World Trail, Specialized) | 0:00:08.66 |
| 9 | Tim Eaton | 0:00:09.21 |
| 10 | Darcy Murrell (Super Sports Tomac) | 0:00:12.44 |
| 11 | Tom Patton | 0:00:13.45 |
| 12 | Ricky Lee | 0:00:13.95 |
| 13 | Grant Jones (Krankbikes.com.au) | 0:00:14.46 |
| 14 | Brock Newling | 0:00:16.69 |
| 15 | Adam Smithson | 0:00:18.28 |
| 16 | Ben Morrison | 0:00:20.57 |
| 17 | Jarrah Davies | 0:00:20.87 |
| 18 | Scott Grundy | 0:00:24.20 |
| 19 | Jesse Beare | 0:00:28.74 |
| 20 | Nicholas Bailly | 0:00:29.09 |
| 21 | Bruce Moir | 0:00:32.99 |
| 22 | Matthew O'Connor | 0:00:53.37 |
| 23 | Ben Goff | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Kaine Cannan (4 Shaw Agencies,Sprung) | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | James Hunt | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claire Buchar | 0:03:08.12 |
| 2 | Claire Whiteman (Onya Bike Belconnen and Civic) | 0:00:10.58 |
| 3 | Leigh Douglas | 0:00:12.48 |
| 4 | Sarsha Huntington (Tomac, Supersports, KWT-Onza) | 0:00:15.09 |
| 5 | Emma Lewis (Cyclingo) | 0:00:29.27 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Troy Brosnan (Monster Energy/Specialized SRAM) | 0:02:44.87 |
| 2 | Ayden Wyber (Fox Racing,Commencal Bikes) | 0:00:01.46 |
| 3 | Antony Moore (Venture Cycles, Trek Bikes) | 0:00:03.56 |
| 4 | Brandon Yrttiaho (Fortheriders.com ) | 0:00:05.27 |
| 5 | Graeme Mudd | 0:00:05.96 |
| 6 | Ben Barrett (Kona,Mavic, Fox, SRAM) | 0:00:06.25 |
| 7 | Ben Power (Team Banshee Australia ) | 0:00:06.75 |
| 8 | Jake Newell | 0:00:08.65 |
| 9 | Daniel Smith | 0:00:09.11 |
| 10 | Grant Womersley | 0:00:09.93 |
| 11 | Ben Matthews | 0:00:10.23 |
| 12 | James Shepherd (Crime Cycles) | 0:00:10.38 |
| 13 | Dean Evans | 0:00:11.96 |
| 14 | Mark Conliffe | 0:00:11.99 |
| 15 | Aaron Oates (Cyclingo, Santacruz) | 0:00:12.96 |
| 16 | Tom Short | 0:00:13.08 |
| 17 | Justin Gray | 0:00:13.13 |
| 18 | Michael Bourne (Yarra Valley Cycles) | 0:00:14.16 |
| 19 | Blake Nielsen (Southshore Distributions) | 0:00:14.86 |
| 20 | Kristofer Zids | 0:00:17.16 |
| 21 | Tyler Ludkin (Ashgrove Cycles) | 0:00:20.91 |
| 22 | Adam Flower | 0:00:21.59 |
| 23 | Benjamin Leslie | 0:00:31.12 |
| 24 | Oscar Ottesen | 0:00:32.90 |
| 25 | Andrew Meagher (Croydon Cycle Works) | 0:00:35.46 |
| 26 | Micheal Moore | 0:00:36.77 |
| 27 | Stephen Reinhart | 0:00:42.59 |
| 28 | Rhys Shelley (SMX optics) | 0:00:42.98 |
| 29 | Ryan Connell (Cycle Logic, Rotec Cycles) | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
| 30 | Matt Dalton | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Marcus Fairbanks | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Ben Hefferan | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Phillip Piazza (Mal Ajusted, Commencal Bikes,) | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | James Green (Downhill Direct, Imperial) | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Stephen Matthews | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holly Baarspul (Kona Bicycles, Mavic, Pedros) | 0:03:28.00 |
| 2 | Emily Hockey (Cove Bikes Sombrio Bicycle Express) | 0:00:04.92 |
| 3 | Katelyn Humphris (Yarravalley Cycles Victoria ) | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Christie Batt (Onya Bikes Belconnen Civic) | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tegan Molloy (South East MTB co.) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connor Fearon (Cove Sombrio Bicycle Express) | 0:02:45.93 |
| 2 | David McMillan (OnyaBike Civic DH Direct ) | 0:00:00.98 |
| 3 | Thomas Crimmins (The Sacred Ride) | 0:00:04.11 |
| 4 | Joe Vejvoda | 0:00:05.12 |
| 5 | Henry Blake | 0:00:08.00 |
| 6 | Jack Moir | 0:00:10.16 |
| 7 | Conor Bullard | 0:00:13.83 |
| 8 | Mac West-moore | 0:00:14.12 |
| 9 | Dean Lucas | 0:00:14.15 |
| 10 | Liam Towers | 0:00:14.31 |
| 11 | Max Hughes (DH Direct, Bilt Bikes) | 0:00:15.19 |
| 12 | Angus McCarthy | 0:00:15.32 |
| 13 | Jeremy Johnston | 0:00:16.25 |
| 14 | Nicolas Bohle | 0:00:16.74 |
| 15 | Matthew Smith | 0:00:19.49 |
| 16 | Jasper Harness Dunne (FreestyleHub.com, Adidas) | 0:00:21.73 |
| 17 | Oliver Zwar | 0:00:22.48 |
| 18 | Mitchell Kristiansen (Bike Superstore Mitchell) | 0:00:22.91 |
| 19 | Mathew Dwyer (Rock'n'Road Cycles Testel) | 0:00:23.91 |
| 20 | Jordan Higgs | 0:00:24.22 |
| 21 | Luke Ellison | 0:00:24.83 |
| 22 | Kaine Trevor | 0:00:24.86 |
| 23 | Thomas Clarke | 0:00:27.05 |
| 24 | Eugene Smith | 0:00:28.65 |
| 25 | Angus Jackson (Bike Barn Scott Goggles) | 0:00:28.92 |
| 26 | Wade Budden (Drift Bikes) | 0:00:34.50 |
| 27 | James Grafton | 0:00:38.93 |
| 28 | Josh Mitchell | 0:00:39.49 |
| 29 | Elijah Marinov | 0:00:40.32 |
| 30 | Alexander McKinlay | 0:00:46.09 |
| 31 | Jake Sanders | 0:00:58.68 |
| 32 | Angus Black | 0:00:59.19 |
| 33 | Thomas Penman | 0:01:06.02 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Crimmins (The Sacred Ride Jindabyne) | 0:02:59.81 |
| 2 | Darcy Reynolds (Bike Culture ACT) | 0:00:16.69 |
| 3 | Matthew McCorkell (Quattro Consulting) | 0:00:18.19 |
| 4 | David Maggs | 0:00:18.88 |
| 5 | Jack McCosker | 0:00:19.66 |
| 6 | Benjamin Dengate (Bilt Bikes,DH Direct) | 0:00:41.44 |
| 7 | Jackson Frew | 0:00:49.19 |
| 8 | Tim Black | 0:01:18.00 |
| 9 | Trent Ellison | 0:01:24.71 |
| 10 | Will Clark | 0:01:43.33 |
| 11 | Ben Hill | 0:01:57.84 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Ahern | 0:03:01.12 |
| 2 | Max Janes | 0:00:07.22 |
| 3 | Adam Ugrinov | 0:00:11.30 |
| 4 | Steven Charnock | 0:00:12.58 |
| 5 | Tyson Schmidt | 0:00:24.07 |
| 6 | Clint White | 0:00:34.49 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darren Hobby | 0:03:04.21 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Shaw | 0:03:19.77 |
| 2 | Neil Davis | 0:00:09.45 |
| 3 | David Badman | 0:00:11.79 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joel Zuccato | 0:03:56.98 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Brand | 0:03:30.86 |
| 2 | Cale Anderson | 0:00:18.95 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Cory | 225 | pts |
| 2 | Shaun O'Connor | 218 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Chris Kovarik | 208 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Claire Buchar | 240 | pts |
| 2 | Leigh Douglas | 223 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| 3 | Sarsha Huntington | 204 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
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