Australian National CX Championships 2023: U23 and U19 Women’s Preview

The biggest race in Australian CX is taking place this Saturday in the Victorian town of Ballarat - the AusCycling National Cyclocross Championships. Read all about it below!

The Venue

The course will be a mostly flat circuit at Victoria Park, on the western side of Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree. Ballarat is a notoriously cold town, and the wind whipping off the lake can create very wintry conditions for riders and spectators alike.

The majority of the course will be on open grassy terrain, with occasional turns under the canopies of local pine trees.
The park’s grass is likely to be initially dewy for the early morning practice laps, before being churned to mud by the Masters categories that will be racing before the Elite categories. The course’s many corners that would ordinarily be straightforward are likely to get significantly trickier as a result.

There’s very little elevation gain for much of the lap, with the exception of the course’s main feature at the southern end of the track. It’s a short, steep climb, followed by an immediate steep descent into a hairpin turn, and a run-up the same hill that the organisers have dubbed ‘The Mound.’

The Mound is the course’s most technical feature, and - due to the carpet of pine needles that cover the ground - one of the few places on course that’s not likely to be muddy.

Once The Mound has been completed, riders will make their way back to the start village at the north end of the course, passing by the pits on the way.

Cyclocross courses are often thought of as being on a spectrum of technical difficulty, with easier courses with more steady pedalling tending to favour those with a road background, while technically challenging courses with on-off power thought to give an advantage to mountain bikers.
When measured against that metric the Ballarat course is definitely more to the road side - it favours riders with raw power over remarkable technical prowess, but depending on the weather conditions on race day it could still produce a variety of winners.

If you want to know about the course in more detail, you can check out our full course preview, or take a look at our race video from the same event last year.

The Weather

Last year’s Ballarat course saw wet and muddy conditions that turned large stretches of the course into a tractor pull. The terrain was so heavy that even Elite riders opted to run straight flat sections rather than continue to slog through the mire.

Conditions for the national championship weekend look broadly similar, with rain projected to fall on the two days prior to the big event, which should see riders reaching for their mud tyres and running the lowest pressures they can get away with.

The weather in Australian cyclocross this year has tended towards the warm and sunny, but with the projected low temperatures course likely to be muddy you can expect to see some riders heading into the pits for clean bikes during their race, as well as plenty of action from mechanics at the bike washing stations.

Last year’s Ballarat course was definitely a muddy one - though thankfully this calf-deep puddle won’t be a feature of the 2023 course.
Photo: @thatbikenerd

U23 Women

The Champion - Talia Simpson (SA / Roxsolt Liv SRAM)

The winner of the U23 Women’s title in controversial circumstances last year, Talia Simpson got a taste of international cross at the end of 2023, joining the Australian National Development team for a week’s worth of UCI racing at Utsunomiya in Japan.

She’s has raced plenty in the green and gold this year, including at the pointy end of Women’s A Grade in Adelaide, where she’s finished on the podium behind her sister Anook and reigning women’s masters 2 champion Anna Kubilius.

She finished second behind her sister Anook at the South Australian State championships last weekend, and will have the support of her Roxsolt Liv SRAM teammates - including Peta Mullens and Tilly Field - as she looks to defend her U23 crown.

Talia Simpson is all business at the South Australian state championships.
Photo: @rideadelaide

The Challenger - Anook Simpson (SA / Adelaide MTB Club)

The younger sister of Talia, Anook has been winning the battle for bragging rights around the Simpson family table this season. She’s currently winning the Women’s A Grade category for the state finished ahead of the elder in four of the six races they’ve both competed in together, including a 1-2 finish at the South Australian state championships last weekend.

It’s not uncommon for sisters to share clothing with each other - could Anook be about to loan the U23 national champion’s jersey for a year?

Anook Simpson leads her sister Talia at the South Australian state CX championships last weekend.
Photo: @rideadelaide

The smokeys - Sophie Sutton (VIC / Giant Hampton)

A rising star in Victorian CX, road and track for several years, Sophie Sutton has been plying her trade in the much sunnier climes of Queensland this year, winning two of rounds of the Queensland state series as well as the Elite Women’s state title.

She was more than capable of hanging with the country’s best when the National Series came to town, finishing third on both days and ahead of the likes of Fi Morris and reigning Women’s Masters 2 champion Anna Kubilius. The newly crowned Victorian state champion for the Elite Women’s time trial is clearly in formidable form coming into this weekend - but will the cold shock the newfound Queenslander?

Sophie Sutton enjoys the sunshine on her way to third place at round 5 of the CXNS in Ipswich.
Photo: @b.rad_sports

Zoe Davison (WA / Wembley Cycles)

The fastest woman in Western Australia in 2023 has been Zoe Davison. She finished third among the Elite Women on both days of the National Series races in Perth back in May, finishing behind only Bec Locke and Fi Morris.
Since then she’s won three individual rounds of the WA State series (known as the Numbat Cup) as well as the overall Numbat Cup title for Elite Women. Her form has stayed sharp, and she won the WA state championship and the final round of the Numbat Cup in back-to-back weeks in late July and early August.

She finished second behind Talia Simpson at the U23 national championship last year, and won’t be flying all the way across the country to get a worse result in 2023. She’ll have a small but fanatical crowd of West Australians - including partner Tristan Nash - cheering her on from the sidelines, as well as plenty of folks supporting her on from home.

Zoe Davison sends the mud flying on her way to winning the WA Elite Women’s state championship in July.
Photo: @markuzii

Junior (U19) Women

Ruby Dobson slogs through the pinwheel at Fruits of the Valley Cyclocross in Shepparton in July.
Photo: @shotbyleealexand3r

The Champion - Ruby Dobson (VIC / Roxsolt Liv SRAM)

Ruby Dobson (VIC / Roxsolt Liv SRAM) is the current national champion for both Junior Women’s Cyclocross and XCO MTB. She’ll be racing for the U23 championship this year, and won’t take the start line in the junior event.

The challenger - Alex Larsson (QLD / Giant Indooroopilly)

Alex Larsson has an unassailable lead in the Junior Women’s category in the Aussie CX National Series, having won 5 of the 7 rounds she’s competed in. When she raced in her local series in Queensland she was a strong contender, winning a state title in her age group while posting lap times that would have had her on the Elite Women’s podium.

Her only losses in the Junior Women’s category have been a couple of closely fought battles with South Australian Maddie Wasserbaech in the two rounds of the series held in Adelaide.

Alex Larsson take a corner at the Queensland State CX Championships at the Big Pineapple.
Photo: @bearcycling

The smokeys - Maddie Wasserbaech (SA / PMA GuestPix Racing)

A rider who’s nationally competitive in her age group in road, track and cyclocross, Maddie Wasserbaech has has a strong year in CX in 2023, winning the Junior Women’s state champion for South Australia as well as both rounds of the CXNS held in her hometown of Adelaide.

The latter of those two wins was an enthralling duel with Alex Larsson that ended in a sprint finish - could we possibly see a repeat result at the National Championships?

Maddie Wasserbaech flies by the fence at Zombie Park in last weekend’s South Australian state championships.
Photo: @rideadelaide

The U19 race will take place at the same time as the other Women’s Masters grades at 1:30pm, while the U23 Women will start with the Elite Women at 2:30pm AEST in Ballarat.

The race won’t be televised, but you can follow all the action by following CX Down Under on Facebook and Instagram - we’ll be doing our best to document all the highs and lows of the day!

Who’s your tip to for the win in each race? Let us know in the comments below!