McConnell and Henderson win Australian cross country titles

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Olympians Bec Henderson and Dan McConnell put on a display of pure class in Bright, Victoria to become the 2014 Australian cross country mountain bike national champions.

Men

The elite men's race was broadly predicted to be a battle between dual Olympian McConnell and Jared Graves, a living legend on the gravity side of the sport. Both riders shared the spoils at the recent Australian National Mountain Bike Series.

Graves is one of the best in the world in the enduro and downhill disciplines of the sport, and has been racing cross country for the last two summers to build fitness. He's known for his power and speed, and he did not disappoint, powering from the line to have a 4.7-second lead over McConnell at the end of the first lap.

McConnell is a true professional, and knows how to win on the biggest of races, having won a World Cup in Albstadt, Germany and finished a formidable 2013 as the second ranked rider in the UCI World Cup series.

Making his move on lap 2, he passed Graves at the start of the climb to take the lead by 10 seconds.

"I had a good start and could see what everyone else was doing for the first lap. Once I passed Graves at the start of the climb on the second lap, I settled into my race pace where I'm most happy, and I was able to get some consistent laps together," said McConnell.

He would never look back and went on to claim a dominant win to take his third national title. "It's good for the confidence to get the win in the first big race of my season."

Graves rode well to take second, and is happy with his form while maintaining focus on his 2014 goals. "I want to go one step better than last year and become enduro world champion," he said.

Mark Tupalski rode his way up through the field to claim a well-earned third.

Cameron Ivory from New South Wales beat a strong field to take the champion's jersey in the under 23 men's race in hot and dusty conditions. Jack Haig took second place with Michael Crosbie in third. Reece Tucknott took the win in the hotly-contested under 19 race.

Women

In elite women's action the field assembled was second to none, with many past national champions on the start line.

The newest member of the elite group was also the favourite, with Bec Henderson racing her first national championships in the elite category. Henderson had a 2013 that most riders can only ever dream of - winning two World Cups and the UCI World Cup series for under 23 women.

The race would be all about Henderson. She lead from the start, starting with a six-second gap lead over Mullens in the first lap, and picked up her pace to build on her lead throughout the race. Henderson rode the race in a style matching her planned goals.

"My tactic was definitely to go out hard and make it as hard as possible for everybody," said Henderson.

Henderson was clearly ecstatic with the win, crossing the line with arms in the air. "It's really special winning the national championship, obviously everybody wants to be in peak form for this day. I'll get to wear the jersey for 12 months on the national and international racing circuit. I am really proud and really really excited."

In the under 23 women's race, Holly Harris and Em Parkes continue to create close battles, and today Harris would come away with the title. The under 19 women's race was won by Megan Williams.

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