Thredbo 2006

Thredbo, DH National Round 3 and 4X Round 5.

The Australian National series (DH and 4X) was off to not so sunny Thredbo for Round 3 of the DH and Round 5 of the 4X. In the lead up to the event speculation was rife that the 4X track would not be completed and to what extent the DH track would be modified from the preceding seasons form. All would be revealed come race weekend.

The 4X event was contested on a track built by Glenn Jacobs only days before the event. To his credit the track produced some great hard fought and close racing. The morning’s weather could only be described as diabolical with torrential rain and howling winds. Fortunately the skies cleared and racing went ahead. In the elite category two undefeated riders from the afternoon, Jared Graves and Wade Bootes went head to head in the final with Shane Wode Dave Inabinet complete with rapidly deteriorating light. At the end of the run it would be Jared Graves who would walk away with the win.

Overall Winners

Elite Men
1. Jared Graves
2. Wade Bootes
3. Shane Wode
4. Dave Inabinet

Elite Women
1. Emma McNaughton
2. Claire Whiteman
3. Caroline Buchanan
4. Melissa Hamilton

Junior Men
1. Ashley Grundey
2. Ben Carlos
3. Thomas Markus
4. Tom Patton

After two days of rain, hail and snow, race day rolled around in Thredbo. Qualifying for Elite men Juniors and Elite Women on the Saturday had previously been canned due to the rapidly deteriorating conditions, and had to be squeezed into the tight schedule on the Sunday morning. The morning weather was fine, but very cold with Group B the first to go up the mountain to practice. Generally the track was in great condition however root and wooden sections were claiming their fair proportion of victims. It was apparent in the morning that even the wettest sections of track were going to dry rapidly leaving the course tacky and fast.

By the time the elite final was upon us, the Thredbo weather had decided to once again play up with the riders greeted with wind and a mixture of snow/hail/sleet. The question at the bottom of the mountain was, could Jared Graves make it three Thredbo victories in a row? As it turned out, fate was not on his side and Jared Rando rode away with the spoils.

DH results
Elite Men
1. Jared Rando 6:14.08
2. Liam Panozzo 6:15.75
3. Justin Havukainen 6:16.53

U19 Men
1. James Maltman 6:24.49
2. Alex Swann 6:27.43
3. Ben Bell 6:35.43

Elite Women
1. Emma McNaughton 7:25.03
2. Claire Whitman 7:51.55
3. Kate Holzer 9:02.53

Thredbo are next hosting the National Championships on January 19-22 in what is looking to be a great week if racing.

Leonard Allen ||