Racers Battle It Out At The 2023 Cross Country National Championships

Thredbo Resort hosted the 2023 AusCycling Cross Country National Championships from Thursday 9 February – Sunday 12 February 2023.

It’s the first time that Thredbo has hosted the National MTB Championships in more than a decade.

The vibes were high and the competition was fierce with over 450 riders turning out to fight for the National Championship titles.

A number of the world’s best riders descended on Thredbo to race including Sam Fox, Jack Ward, Cam Ivory, Dan McConnell, Cameron Wright, Brent Rees, Rebecca Henderson, Ruby Dobson, Zoe Cuthbert, and Katherine Hosking.

Day One: Tough Conditions & Good Sportsmanship
The Cross Country National Championships kicked off on Thursday with Cross-Country Team Relay, Adaptive and E-Bike. The course was extremely slippery after rain overnight, creating tough conditions for the first events. Despite it being his first ever MTB race and making a quick stop mid-race to help a fellow racer with their chain, Dean Mcsporran took out the Adaptive XCO title with an impressive time of 1:01:48. The fight for the E-Bike title was heated across both the Men’s & Women’s Divisions. In the end, Jon Odams (1:08:04) and Jess Hoskin (1:00:01) took out the wins, followed by Caleb Dodds (1:11:47) and Caroline Buchanan (1:06:42) respectively.

Day Two: A Quick Race Is A Good Race
Friday was an exciting day with mass starts and the fast-paced Short Track format making for great sideline entertainment. The XCC Elite Women’s race was one to watch with Zoe Cuthbert and Katherine Hosking looking to take the title from defending Champion Rebecca Henderson. While they almost succeeded on multiple occasions, Rebecca remains undefeated, reaching the finish line with an impressive time of 21:47:10. The result of the Elite Men’s XCC proved incredibly tight too, with Sam Fox winning (26:19:27) and Cam Ivory less than a minute behind (26:20:13).

Day Three: Masters Take On The XCO
The first of the Cross-Country Olympic races took over on Saturday and while the course may be beautiful, it was definitely a challenge for some riders, being described as “a huge climb” by one of the world’s best racers. All kinds of competitors could be seen on the course throughout the day including Myles Higgins at age 77. Myles competed alone in the Masters 10 Men’s Division and finished with an impressive time of 57:46:51.

Day Four: XCO Competition Heats Up 

The final day of the Cross Country National Championships took the competition to an all-time high with racers putting up a fight from start to finish. Rebecca Henderson kept the wins coming, taking out her 10th National Championship title in the Elite Women’s XCO with a time of 1:28:20, Izzy Flint took out the Under 23 title (1:17:27) and Ruby Dobson won the Junior title (1:00:37). The final race of the day was the Men’s Elite, Under 23 & Junior XCO where Sam Fox took it down to the wire to win the Elite title with a time of 1:28:49, beating Dan McConnell by a mere 10 seconds (1:28:59). Domenic Paolilli took out the Under 23 Men’s title with a time of 1:18:32 and Jack Ward won the Junior title (1:00:22).

With so many strong riders on the start lines, the battle for the podiums was fierce from day one. To see the full results for the 2023 AusCycling Cross Country National Championships, please click here.

More Action Incoming: 2023 Cannonball MTB Festival

If you think the action is about to end, think again! Australia’s biggest and most prestigious gravity mountain bike event, the 2023 Cannonball MTB Festival, is set to take over tomorrow. Combining the AusCycling Downhill and Pump Track National Championships into the Cannonball schedule will raise the stakes even higher with riders competing to win both titles in one race. For the full Cannonball MTB Festival schedule, please click here.