Aussie National Series #2

Round two of the Australian National Series went down at Mount Baw Baw this weekend with Junior World Champ Troy Brosnan schooling the field to set the fastest time of the day. Just look at the times below.

Jake Lucas was there to capture the action, knocking this little gem out in record time…

Elite Men
1. Rick Boyer (3:13.08)
2. Rhys Atkinson (3:15.18)
3. Tim Eaton (3:16.00)
4. Joel Panozzo (3:16.07)
5. Aden Wyber (3:18.20)

Under-19 Men
1. Troy Brosnan (3:09.24)
2. Connor Fearon (3:09.49)
3. Brandon Yrttiaho (3:12.52)
4. Joe Vejvoda (3:20.03)
5. Henry Blake (3:22.41)

Elite Women
1. Leonie Picton (3:46.09)
2. Julia Boer (3:54.87)
3. Genieve McKew (4:00.75)
4. Julie Berry (4:09.72)
5. Holly Baarspul (4:13.93)

Here’s the full press release including rider interviews…

Backing up their victories in Hobart, Newcastle’s Rick Boyer and Maffra’s Leonie Picton have again been too strong in the elite downhill competition at round two of the 2010/2011 Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series in Mt Baw Baw today.

Meanwhile, reigning junior world champion Troy Brosnan recovered from a horror seeding run yesterday to narrowly take out the under-19 men’s competition in a lightning quick time of 3:09.24.

After breaking through for his first win in over ten years of competition last month, Boyer again found himself at the top of the podium after an impressive run that saw him stop the clock at 3:13.08.

The 29-year-old finished two seconds ahead of fastest qualifier Rhys Atkinson (3:15.18) who eventually took out second position. Canberra’s Tim Eaton (3:16.00) was third.

Coming off a run which ‘couldn’t have gone any better’, Boyer struggled to put his finger on his sudden string of success.

“I really don’t know why this season has been so successful. I haven’t done that much different preparation wise, I just think it is finally all coming together,” Boyer said.

“I think that the confidence has started to play a little bit into it. To know that I could definitely make it onto the top step and that it was just a matter of doing it again.

“I am stoked to shave so much time of my qualifying performance. The track has got faster all weekend, it was really wet on Friday, yesterday was a bit slippery but faster and today it has the perfect amount of moisture to give you the most amount of traction.”

Benefiting from the home track, Picton (3:46.09) was too good in the elite women’s competition finishing over eight seconds ahead of Canberra’s Julia Boer (3:54.87) and New South Wales’ Genieve McKew (4:00.75).

The back-to-back victory in front of friends and family was as good as it gets for the 25-year-old.

“The track is really great, not too technical just flat out. After it rained yesterday, it was nice and dry this morning and it was great to see everyone getting some faster times,” Picton said.

“Even though I have a home town advantage here, it is quite a sweet win with two in a row to start the season.

“Last year I had a few fifth and sixth finishes and quite a few crashes so I spent the off season training really hard, on the bike almost every weekend, got into the gym and it is paying off.

“Going into Tassie I was unsure of where I would be at, I was hoping all of the hard work would have paid off and so far so good.”

Qualifying over four seconds slower than South Australia’s Connor Fearon (3:09.49) in seeding yesterday, Brosnan showed his international class in the final of the men’s under 19 competition, slicing over twelve seconds off his qualifying time to take out his second win for the season.

Fearon pushed the world champion right to the line, his gallant effort just 0.25 seconds slower than Brosnan for second place. Queensland’s Brandon Yrttiaho rounded up the minor placings in a time of 3:12.52 with all three boys clocking faster times than the elite men’s field.

Disappointed with his performance in yesterday’s seeding run, Brosnan was pleased to recover and keep his 2011 campaign on track.

“In my qualifying I just wasn’t focused enough, didn’t really attack it and just sat down a bit. Looking back on it, it was probably the worst seeding I have ever had but I learnt from my mistakes and put it all into my run today,” Brosnan said.

“The course was a lot drier today. There was not many puddles so I didn’t have to wear tear-offs.

“I knew it was going to be hard sprinting at the top, and I left it all out there as I motored through the technical sections of the course. I didn’t really have too much left for the bottom section but I gave it everything I had and only just got there.”

In other results, New South Wales’ Thomas Crimmins took out the under 17 male division in 3:22.95 whilst brother Andrew Crimmins (3:35.84, under 15 male), Sam Brownlie(3:41.35, expert male), Andy Murnane (3:57.49, master male) and Karl Peel (3:28.44, veteran male) also posted victories.

The 2010/2011 Jayco Australian Mountain Bike Series continues when the nation’s best downhill riders join cross country and short course cross country riders at Mt Buller from Friday, 4 February to Sunday, 6 February.