The richest and most exciting event on the Australian mountain bike calendar kicks off this weekend in Thredbo, the Cannonball MTB Festival, with a fresh line-up of events and entertainment plus a massive prize purse of $50,000 up for grabs.
Thredbo will be a light from this Friday – Sunday , as amateurs, rising stars and the world’s best descend on the Snowy Mountains for four days of non-stop gravity action. There’s plenty on the line as riders hit the tracks for their chance to take home their share of the cash and prizes and the prestige of being placed top of the podium.
Known as the birthplace of gravity mountain biking in Australia, Thredbo, will play host to five big events highlighting the array of terrain on offer throughout the Thredbo Mountain Bike Park. The festival attracts riders from across the nation and a select few international superstars with something on offer for all skill sets.
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- (c) Tim Bardsley-Smith
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- (c) Tim Bardsley-Smith
Returning to Thredbo to challenge for the crown is five time World Downhill Champion and technical specialist Sam Hill as well as Troy Brosan and well as massive international names such as Brooke McDonald from New Zealand.
“I’m excited, it’s one of the best race weekends in Australia, I’ve raced it twice before and it’s always a good time. I haven’t been able to get a win yet so hopefully third time lucky. It is a good challenging and physical track and having the use of the chairlift makes it a great event” said Hill.
New for 2016, is an exciting new event, the Canyon All-Mountain Assault, taking riders on an epic 7km flowy descent through the diverse Thredbo alpine terrain. The line-up of events includes the ROCKSHOX Pump Track Challenge on the Village Green, SRAM Whip Wars Big Air off the purpose built kicker, the leg burning Maxxis Flow Motion Cup and the raw and rough GoPro Australian Open Downhill.
With an assortment of categories on offer, the Cannonball Festival caters to all and is a great introduction to the growing popularity of mountain bike competitions. As well as the massive prize pool, the field of pro’s are riding for glory to be crowned the King and Queen of Cannonball. The more events the more chance you have – you may not win every event, but consistency is key and the higher you place, the more you will score.
The action happens on both sides of the mountain with the village ramping up the post event parties. Each evening the village hosts a mix of entertainment sure to get the resort pumping during the weekend long mountain biking party. The mountain will be going off with incredible biking action whilst the village enjoys an awesome line-up of DJ’s and live music.
Visit thredbo.com.au/cannonballfestival for full event details or join the Thredbo MTB Facebook page for all event updates.
Events
GoPro Australian Open Downhill – Sunday December 11th
The main event, the Australian Open DH on Thredbo’s famous Cannonball Downhill, will take riders to their physical and mental limits. Starting at the peak of the Kosciuszko Express Chairlift, 1930m above sea level, riders face over 5 minutes of fast, intense, non-stop gravity action and this will be the best one yet with some exciting new features in the pipeline. We will see the return of the old favourite, the no holds barred Thredbo Fire Road and this is exclusive to the Australian Open DH. Along with other substantial changes that will widen sections and add more fall line riding, this event also has the biggest prize purse on the Australian DH calendar.
Maxxis Flow Motion Cup – Saturday December 10th
Saturday morning will see the Flow Motion Cup go down on Thredbo’s famous 5km Kosciuszko Flow Trail. A test of fitness, the flow trail is 5km of flowing single-track to negotiate on varied terrain plus a few flat pedal sections thrown in. With the blue grading of the Kosciuszko Flow Trail and no technical features to concur, this race is suited to all abilities and many bike types but only the one with the fitness and will to win will take home the big bucks!
ROCKSHOX Pump Track Challenge – Friday December 9th
Get ready for the ROCKSHOX Pump Challenge on Friday night. See Thredbo’s Pump Track on the Village Green in full flight as the smooth momentum masters set the perfectly sculpted course on fire. A test of ultimate skill and stamina, as riders pump, double and manual around the 2-3 lap course without a single pedal stroke.
Canyon All-Mountain Assault – Friday December 9th
A new event for 2016, the All-Mountain Assault will be a hit for the Enduro specialists and all-mountain animals taking them on 7km of epic alpine single-track. Starting at 1800m above sea level, racers will descend over 450m vertical through the cruiser ski slopes and thick forest areas before being dealt with a gruelling 1km hill climb traversing back to the Supertrail ski slopes. One final decent will bring riders back into the event village finishing at the Valley Terminal base. The All-Mountain Assault is suited to an array of bike styles & rider abilities.
SRAM Whip Wars – Saturday December 10th
A crowd favourite will see the best riders in the country send their bike sideways off a purpose built show-time jump at the Thredbo base. This will see a mix of downhillers and free-riders come together to settle the debate of the King of Style. You may not win the main event, but you may take home some cash for a crowd-pleasing trick.
