WATCH the AusCycling Mountain Bike National Championships LIVE and FREE via SBS On Demand on February 12 and 18.
Among the top contenders will be Olympians, World Champs and Commonwealth Games medalists and World Cup riders.
For the first time since 1996 the championships are being held at Thredbo, NSW, where riders will go wheel-to-wheel for their chance to wear the green and gold jersey for the next 12 months.
The five-kilometre Olympic distance cross-country course is set to challenge riders with 220 metres of climbing each lap and will be suited to the all-rounders.
Here are some of the top contenders.
Elite Men
Fresh from a win last weekend at the Snowies MTB festival, four-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games Bronze medalist Daniel McConnell will be hungry to claim back the national title after finishing with silver by just five seconds last year to Matt Dinham.
The nine-time national champion spent 2022 competing in World Cup events and represented Australia at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games where he placed seventh.
Dinham, however, won’t be returning to defend his title and is currently in Europe preparing for his first professional road season with DSM.
Eyes will also be on Tasmanian Sam Fox who has shown good form in the lead-up to the most important race on the Australian XC calendar and finished at last year’s Commonwealth Games sixth ahead of McConnell.
In January, Fox finished at the top of the podium in the opening rounds of the XCO National Series at Mt Stromlo, Canberra.
He will be hoping to continue that trend, after missing out on a medal at the 2022 MTB Nationals in Maydena, Tasmania, finishing fourth in his first year in the Elites.
Also in the mix will be Cameron Ivory who won bronze last year and took out the win in 2018. He too has spent 2022 competing in Europe in World Cup events and had a strong showing at Mt Stromlo with third and fourth placings.
Former U23 National Championship winner and Olympian Scott Bowden will make a comeback to XCO at Thredbo after a seven-year absence.
Last year’s U23 winner and 2017 Junior World Champion Cameron Wright will be among the Elites this year as will 2022 U23 bronze medalist Tom Cheesman.
Elite Women
Reigning XCO National Champion Rebecca Henderson looks set to claim her tenth consecutive National Championship crown.
Few have come close to challenging the current world number four for the green and gold jersey since she joined the elite ranks.
The two-time World Championships bronze medalist showed her dominance at the top level again last year becoming only the fifth woman to win an XCC and XCO World Cup race on the same weekend.
Last month she took out the opening rounds of the XCO Nationals Series at Mt Stromlo, Canberra ahead of Zoe Cuthbert, who will be one of Henderson’s biggest threats.
Cuthbert has twice finished second behind Henderson at the National Championships and had a stellar 2022 season which included a silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
An intriguing battle is shaping up to be the fight for the final spot on the podium.
Last year’s U23 champion Katherine Hosking will be up there in her first year as an Elite, while the likes of Em Viotto, Peta Mullens and Kathryn McInerney will again be at the pointy end.
Under-23
Domenic Paolilli will be keen to go one better this year after claiming silver in 2022. And the Victorian is coming off some strong results at the opening rounds of the National Series, with a fifth and third placing in the Elites.
Last year’s U19 winner Joel Dodds will be looking to secure a spot on the podium in his maiden year in the U23s.
In the women’s race Lillee Pollock, Izzy Flint and Talia Simpson will be among the riders at the front of the pack. Flint won bronze last year while Pollock, who won silver in the junior event in 2021, placed fourth. Former junior champion Queensland’s Hayley Oakes will leave nothing out on course as she makes her debut in the U23 category.
WATCH via SBS On Demand
National Champs Course Designer Andy Blair talks through Thredbo route
Under-19
Jack Ward and Ruby Dobson will be back to defend their titles in the Under-19 men's and women's races.
Both Ward and Dobson will be tough to beat coming into the event as leaders of the Junior National XCO Series.
Other riders to watch in the men’s are Harry Doye, who is currently in second in the junior National Series, Sam Northey fresh from the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in the Netherlands, and Cohen Jessen who finished second in the junior men’s road race at the National Championships at Buninyong.
In the women’s Maya Martin and Ella Menigoz both had strong results behind Dobson at Stromlo last month and will have hopes of a podium.
Age Category
Age category riders will also be searching for National Title glory with riders from as young as 11 up to 78 years of age competing in the championships.
There are more than 500 entries in XC events including Olympic, short course, para and adaptive, and e-bike from Under 13 to Masters 10 and Elite categories.
The National Championships kick off on Thursday with para, adaptive and e-bike racing before the team relay on Thursday afternoon. The short course format is set to light up Friday Flat on Friday before the Olympic format closes out the cross-country racing on Sunday and focus shifts to the Downhill action the following week.
WATCH the AusCycling Mountain Bike National Championships LIVE and FREE via SBS On Demand on February 12 and 18.
