Picton earns elite women's downhill title

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National series leader Leonie Picton continued her clean sweep of the Australian domestic season by winning the elite women's downhill for her first national championship.

Starting the 2010-11 season with no podium performances, Picton has since posted wins at the Glenorchy, Mt Baw Baw and Mt Buller national series rounds and she did not disappoint with an impressive nationals performance at Eagle Mountain Bike Park.

The Maffra rider put everything she had on the line to take the win. "I made sure I pedaled my guts out, there was nothing left in the tank when I crossed the line. My legs are shaking, I am still shaking, it's so crazy. This is my first one, so I am ready to bawl my eyes out with excitement," Picton said.

"I had a very restless night last night just going over in my head what I can do to pick up those times. In my seeding run, I thought I did the best I could have done. Coming out today I had a good think about what I could improve on, walked the track this morning and picked up a few seconds."

Recovering from a fall near the finish, Canada's Claire Buchar finished with the second fastest time of 2:33.38, while Canberra's Julia Boer rounded out the top three with 2:37.24.

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