Round three of the Rocky Trail Fox Rollercoaster provided a stark contrast to the earlier rounds. Both earlier events – Killingworth and Del Rio – were held in scorching 30-40 degree heat. This time racing headed for the NSW high country and the mountains even received a healthy dumping of snow in the day’s prior!
It was a big weekend of racing, with Thredbo hosting both the Rollercoaster gravity enduro and a round of the RedAss Downhill state series. Both events utilised the Kosciusko Express chairlift to take the sting out of the legs and it was the biggest weekend Thredbo had ever seen for the summer months, with 240 riders in the Fox Rollercoaster and 200 competitors in the downhill.
Aside from the temperature, the Rollercoster course provided another dramatic change. Where Del Rio was steep and technical, the Thredbo round utilised their ‘flow trail’; a long downhill run with bermed corners and loads of traction from the dark, slightly damp soil. It’s a trail that rewards smooth bike handling skills and the ability to as much carry as much speed as possible through the banked turns.
While this may sound relatively cruisy, loads of braking bumps emerged over the weekend and with around 10 minutes of descending from top to bottom, you’re arms really knew about it by the time you’d completed a run.
The high-speed course was dominated by the regular downhill competitors, with most of them choosing to ride in both events over the weekend. Thomas Crimmins won both the Rollercoaster and the downhill while long-time DH legend Brad Kelly managed to place second, despite crashing in the first of his two timed runs. Tim Eaton – another elite downhiller – rounded out the top three with series leader Michael Vanos placing fourth.
Sarah Booth took out the elite women’s Rollercoaster ahead of Ronja Hill-Wright in second and Kellie Weinert in third. Interestingly the very same riders filled the DH podium on the Sunday.
Beyond the racing, Thredbo proved itself as an awesome venue. There was loads to do for the whole family with the bobsled ride running all weekend, an indoor pool complete with slide and inflatables to keep the kids entertained, trampolines, jumping castles—the works! And for the adults there’s plenty of opportunities for bushwalking and relatively family friendly rides like the Thredbo Valley trail.
There was never a dull moment and we’ll have the whole family back there next summer!
Check all the results from the Fox Rollercoaster here.
And you’ll find the RedAss Downhill results here.
