Australian cross country NMBS heads to Threadbo

Round three of the Australian National Mountain Bike cross country series heads to Thredbo Village, NSW, during the weekend of December 8-9. Saturday's racing will feature the Olympic-style cross country event and a short track race is set for Sunday.

National marathon champion Rowena Fry will battle Zoe King for the lead in the series. The two are currently tied although King won the most recent event convincingly. They'll be chased by Queensland champion Jodie Willet, who sits in third place in the series, National cross country champion Tory Thomas, Dellys Star and Rosmary Barnes.

Series leader Aiden Lefmann should be on hand to defend his series lead following his win at the last race on the Gold Coast. Sitting second overall is Shaun Lewis and Australian world championship team member Dylan Cooper is not far behind in third. Cal Britten is equal in points with Cooper, but he's also leading the Under 23 division series. Dave Whitney will be looking to better his performance after a crash in the last series race.

After this Threadbo event, the cross country series, which is being used to select the one male and one female Australian Olympic team members, will have just one more event remaining. It will return to the very same course in Threadbo in March after the Oceania Championships.

Next weekend, Thredbo will also host round three of the downhill national series and round four of the four cross national series. For more information, visit www.nationalseries.com.au.