World Cup Round Two – Cairns

The birthplace of Australian mountain biking was back in the world spotlight again after a long 18-year gap and everyone was keen to “rumble in the jungle.”

After South Africa I was eager to improve on my 17th placing and really wanted a top ten finish. My lead into the race was good although the course changed so much due to the weather. As there was only limited time to practice on the course, it was paramount that any time spent out there was used to its full potential.

The Smithfield trails held up so well with the amount of traffic they had on them and all down to the great work of Glen Jacobs and his team at World Trail in designing and building the course.

On race day, the course was dry and fast in most sections. But with the last part of the course still holding water it was important to make the right tyre choose. I decided on the Specialized Ground Controls for the front and rear. Those, with my Sworks Epic made the course a lot more rideable.

The start loop was fast and I went through the start/finish in 20th position. I worked the climb and by the third lap I was up into 11th at the halfway point of the lap.

Unfortunately I came off at the bottom of "Croc Slide" and lost two positions, falling back to 13th. With only a lap and a half to go I chased hard but was unable to make the time back on the two riders. I ended up crossing the line in 13^th, still my best result to date in a World Cup.

I'm looking forward to heading to Europe at the end of this week and getting ready for the next two World Cups in Czech Republic and Germany. A huge thanks to everyone has helped me get here and to all my races.