Izzy Flint and Max Hobson win 2024 Australian Elite CX Championships
Chris Aitken (MAAP Sixpence CX) and Katherine Hosking (Orbea Women’s Racing) are all smiles on the podium in Ballarat.
Photo: CX Down Under
Isabella ‘Izzy’ Flint (TAS/Cervélo Australia Off-Road) won the AusCycling Cyclo-cross National Championships held in Ballarat on Saturday, completing seven laps of the Victoria Park course in 54:01. Miranda Griffiths (VIC/Batch Brewery x Seight) finished 1:38 behind Flint in second place, while former two-time national champion Bec Locke (VIC/1st Project Cycles) took third.
In the Elite Men’s race Max Hobson (QLD/Team BridgeLane) prevailed by 10 seconds over Nick Smith (NSW/Duke Flanders Racing), with part-time cyclocrosser Tasman Nankervis (VIC/BMC-Shimano) in third, 2:10 behind.
The circuit on Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung country was a mostly flat mix of mud and grass, with the exception of ‘The Mound’ - a large hill with multiple steep runups that riders tackled from three different angles. As with previous cyclocross races held in Ballarat conditions were wintry, with rain falling on the course throughout the age group racing that was held in the morning and only intermittent sunshine throughout the rest of the day.
Elite Women
The Elite Women’s national cyclocross championship for 2024 was won decisively by Izzy Flint, with the current U23 national champion for Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) mountain biking
The field of 10 riders was closely packed at the start of the race, with Flint taking the holeshot at the end of the opening straight and leading the field through the muddy corners early in the lap until the first passage of The Mound, where our cameraman Campbell McConnell* was on hand to capture the action.
Flint led into the first runup, followed by Locke, defending national champion Katherine Hosking (NSW/Orbea Women’s Racing), Griffiths and Australian 2024 world championship representative Fi Morris (VIC/MAAP Sixpence CX). After remounting and all having to unclip over a short pinch containing several tree roots, riders had to tackle the longest runup of the course - 25 seconds of extremely steep climbing even for the nimblest of riders.
Flint opted to push her bike up the slope and reached the top first, shortly ahead of Hosking and Locke, who both opted to keep their bikes shouldered.
Flint managed to grow her gap over Hosking to 5 seconds by the end of the lap, with Griffiths and Locke a further 3 seconds behind. Behind the leading quartet Morris found herself losing ground, and would soon be battling with Claire Aubrey (ACT/Canberra Off Road Cyclists), Tara Neyland and Julia Arnold (both VIC/Traapist) for fifth place.
By the second passage of the same runup a lap later, Flint had managed to open a gap of around 10 seconds to Griffiths and Hosking, with Locke another 8 seconds behind.
The Tasmanian continued to grow her advantage through the course’s flatter sections, continuing to take time through the muddy corners, and growing her lead to 58 seconds by the end of the fourth lap out of seven.
Behind the Tasmanian, Griffiths had gone clear into second place, while Hosking found herself in a tussle with Bec Locke for third, as it became clear that the defending champion didn’t have quite the same power in her legs as in 2023.
The Elite Women's podium at the 2024 AusCycling Cyclo-cross National Championships (from L-R): Katherine Hosking, Miranda Griffiths, Izzy Flint, Bec Locke and Claire Aubrey.
Photo: Australia Cycling Photography
Elite Men
The Elite Men's podium at the 2024 AusCycling Cyclo-cross National Championships (from L-R): Tristan Nash, Nick Smith, Max Hobson, Tasman Nankervis and Harrison Bebbington.
Photo: Australia Cycling Photography
*Huge thanks to Campbell McConnell for capturing the footage used in this article, who went straight from winning the U19 Men’s national championship to helping out CX Down Under. Full summary video to come soon!