Maiden Cyclo-cross National Series win for Fi Morris at round 3 in Brisbane
After years of competing at the Australian Cyclo-cross National Series (CXNS), Fi Morris (VIC/MAAP Sixpence CX) won for the first time at round 3 of the 2024 series in Brisbane’s Victoria Park/Barrambin on Saturday.
Tristan Nash (WA/Midland Cycle Club) triumphed in the Elite Men’s race after a tough battle with local rider Max Hobson (QLD/Team BridgeLane), making it three victories in a row at this year’s CXNS for the current U23 national champion.
Conditions at the Victoria Park/Barrambin circuit were hard, dry and fast after a period of dry weather in the River City, with tyres rolling easily over the park that until recently was a public golf course. As with the opening race weekend in Adelaide in late May, conditions were warm and sunny, with the 124 competitors enjoying temperatures over 20ºC as they pedalled on the traditional lands of the Yagera and Turrbal peoples.
Not too many CX races weave through a palm grove - the organisers nicknamed this series of zig-zags ‘Palmageddon’
Photo: CX Down Under
The course was unique among those in recent National Series history for having the start line and finish line in different places, with riders completing a start loop comprising the last third of the circuit before passing the finish line for the first time. There were a number of key features on the course - not only the fast descent through the switchbacks of ‘Palmageddon’, but also a slightly uphill sandpit around 50m long that challenged plenty of riders’ technical skills.
If we had to pick one, our favourite was ‘Pinball Alley’, a series of flowy, cambered corners in quick succession that catapulted riders from bend to bend with enough g-force to elicit a ‘wheeeee!’ from several grown adults.
Nick Smith leans it all the way in as he pings through Pinball Alley.
Photo: CX Down Under
Age-group racing
The structure of age group racing was slightly different to what has become the standard structure at the National Series, with the first race of the day covering all men’s grades except for Elites and U19s. A loose and tricky off-camber right hander at the end of the opening straight caused chaos early on, with several riders (including CX Down Under admin Tom) ending up tangled in the course tape.
As the race progressed the group began to spread itself out, with a long climb extending 700m from the sandpit to the highest point of the course proving particularly decisive.
Notable performances in the men’s masters grades came from Lee Omond (VIC/Brunswick CC), who was the first rider home on the day, and Dave Nairn (NSW/Batch Brewery x Seight), who won a very competitive Men’s Masters 3 race, which was the second-biggest field of the day behind the Elite Men.
After an interlude for the kids’ race, the women’s age group fields took to the course. The vibe was fairly relaxed, possibly due to the weather, or to a change in schedule which meant that riders wouldn’t have to be looking over their shoulders for oncoming Elite Women’s racers.
A standout performance among that racing wave came from Queensland legend Sharon Heap, who was unmissable in her bright orange homemade skinsuit, laying down lap times on her way to victory in Women’s Masters 7 that would have placed her in the top 5 of the Women’s Elite race.
Elite Women
Headlining the Elite Women’s race were interstaters Fi Morris (VIC/MAAP Sixpence CX), Anna Kubilius (SA/CLUB) and Kate Mathewson (NSW/Batch Brewery x Seight), with Morris the highest placed rider in the CX National Series standings heading into the weekend. The Elite Women’s field of seven riders was smaller than it had been in Adelaide, with the top two riders in the series standings - national champion Katherine Hosking and Victorian champion Miranda Griffiths - absent from the start line in Brisbane.
The Queensland crowd still had plenty of home riders to cheer for, including Alanna van de Hoef (Orbea Women’s Racing), Maddison Taylor (University of Queensland CC), Luca Turton (South Burnett MTB Club) and race organiser Nina Wright (RATS CC).
The Elite Women’s race was held not alongside other women’s masters grades as is normally the case at the CXNS, but as part of the last race of the day alongside the Elite Men and U19 grades - a consequence of the hourly hire rate the organisers paid to use the venue.
Once the whistle blew it was Kubilius who took the holeshot, with Wright, Morris, Turton and Van de Hoef close behind.
Morris would lead the trio into the first passage of the course’s sandpit, but only Kubilius would ride it cleanly, moving herself from third to second behind Morris as the course’s major climb began.
By the time the riders had completed the zig-zags of Palmageddon and began to enter Pinball Alley, Morris held an 8 second lead over Kubilius, with Wright around a further 10 seconds back.
By the end of the opening lap Morris’ gap was 15 seconds, with Kubilius having distanced Wright to go clear into second place.
Behind the leading trio, Mathewson had worked her way into fourth, with Taylor overcoming a slower start to move into fifth ahead of Turton and Van de Hoef.
By the end of the second lap everyone’s respective positions had more or less settled, and although the size of the time gaps would expand and contract as the race progressed, the order would not change.
At the happy end of affairs Morris took her first race win at the CX National Series, a career highlight possibly even equal to representing Australia at the world championships in February. Kubilius crossed the line 31 seconds later to take second place, with Wright in third, 3:11 behind Morris. Mathewson finished in fourth at 4:32, and Taylor rounded out the top five - a personal best result at the National Series (at least as far as we’re aware) for every rider in the top five!
The Elite Women’s podium (L-R): Anna Kubilius, Fi Morris and Nina Wright.
Photo: CX Down Under
Elite Men
The Elite Men’s field was a healthy 14 riders, all but three of whom had competed at the opening race weekend in Adelaide three weeks prior.
Among the starters were Elite Men’s national champion Chris Aitken (NSW/MAAP Sixpence CX), U23 Men’s national champion and CXNS points leader Tristan Nash (WA/Midland Cycling Club), as well as former world championship representatives Finn Kane (NSW/TEAM), Max Hobson (QLD/Team BridgeLane), Zach Larsson (QLD/Giant Indooroopilly), Garry Millburn (VIC/MAAP Sixpence CX) and Nick Smith (NSW/Duke Flanders Racing).
Despite the wealth of talent on the front row, it was Josh Sek (VIC/Lush Desserts-Cyclespeed) who took the holeshot, his black and purple skinsuitshooting up the inside of the gentle right hand bend of the start straight and into prime position for the loose, tricky first corner.
Before long he’d been passed by the MAAP Sixpence CX duo of Millburn and Aitken, with the Duke Flanders pair of Smith and Domenic Paollili (VIC) hot on their heels as they approached the barriers for the first time. As was perhaps to be expected not everyone got through the barriers cleanly, with Charles Wheeler (NSW/Batch Brewery x Seight) taking a tumble.
Things remained congested on the opening lap as the leaders crested the course’s main climb and approached Pinball Alley, with Hobson and Nash slotting themselves into the top 5.
At the end of that lap a group of five had formed - Nash, Hobson, Smith, Paolilli and Aitken. The national champion would find himself suffering as the group limbed to the highest point of the course on lap 2, but was able to catch back on during the desert to Palmageddon.
Fractures has begun to form in the group on lap 3, with Hobson and Nash using clean passages of the course’s sandpit to extend a small gap over Paolilli, Aitken and Smith - though the leading pair were still well within sight.
Slowly but surely the Queenslander in blue and the Western Australian in yellow began to inch away from their rivals, growing their advantage to 20 seconds over Smith by the halfway point of the race.
The decisive moment came on lap 6, when Hobson suffered a mechanical, dropping his chain and conceding 20 seconds to Nash by the end of the lap. The BridgeLane rider would put in a spirited attempt to close back up to Nash, but couldn’t make significant inroads.
Nash eventually crossed the line in 1:01:46, 46 seconds ahead of Hobson and 1:09 ahead of Smith. The green and gold of Chris Aitken came home in fourth place, with Dom Paolilli rounding out the wide-angle podium in fifth.
The Men’s Elite podium (L-R): Max Hobson, Tristan Nash and Nick Smith.
Photo: CX Down Under
Disclosure: CX Down Under editor Tom McQuillan is the AusCycling National CX Series Director for 2024, and is assisting in the preparation, delivery and review of this year’s CX National Series events, including this event in Brisbane.
If you came along, he hopes you had a nice time.
Acknowledgement: This race took place on the traditional lands of the Yagera and Turrbal peoples. CX Down Under acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we ride, and their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.