Early on in the elite women's race, Jenny Fay leads Jodie Willett, Jenni King and Rosie Barnes(Image credit: Russell Baker)
First year elite rider Troy Brosnan was the fastest man down the mountain(Image credit: Russell Baker)
The Australian National Mountain Bike Series continues this weekend, January 20-22 at Mt Buller in Victoria with round 2 of both the All Mountain Cup and the Gravity Cup.
The weekend will begin with the super D, a race open to those competing in both the Gravity and All Mountain Cups. Riders will race nine kilometres down the Mt Buller Delatite trail, with no less than 12 river crossings on the way down one of the longest mountain bike runs in Australia.
Racers in both disciplines of the sport will enjoy the chance to race each other, and Jenni King and Joshua Carlson, the victors from the All Mountain Cup round 1 in Perth will be in action when racing begins at 3:00 pm Friday.
With the London 2012 Olympics less than 200 days away, riders will be keen to put in quality performances and impress coaches and their competitors alike in Saturday's Olympic cross country racing.
All Mountain Cup season leader Andy Blair will look to retain his lead along with women's leader King. Fresh off her strong summer on the road, Rebecca Henderson will make her season debut in Mt Buller and will be one to watch after very impressive national and international seasons in 2011.
Riders will race a fast and flowing five kilometre Mt Buller cross country course that will deliver close racing, with the All Mountain Cup concluding with a 25-kilometre point to point race on Sunday which utilises much of the fantastic Mt Buller trail network.
With podiums stacked with world champions in Thredbo, Gravity Cup downhill racing returns to action, too. The field is stacked with World Cup level racers, including two-time junior world champion Troy Brosnan, winner of the event in the first round in Thredbo. He'll be there with teammate and former world champion Sam Hill. Both riders announced during round 1 in Thredbo that they will be racing the whole Australian season.
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In the women's event, Tracey Hannah will headline the action after a successful return to the top level of the sport in Thredbo with a runaway win.
A surprise entrant will be Olympian Lisa Mathison, a two-time junior world champion and 2004 Athens Olympic cross country top 10 finisher, Mathison has been out of the sport for many years. She is entere din the Gravity Cup in Mt. Buller.
Downhill practice on Saturday will lead to seeding runs at 4:00 pm, with finals for the elites being 3:00 pm on Sunday.
