Round # 6 of the UCI World Cup downhill series dropped south of the equator to the land down under, Australia. It was a homecoming of sorts for GT Bicycles factory downhill pilot Bryn Atkinson as he was born in the host city of Canberra and now lives only a few hours away by the Blue Mountains. Canberrra is quite the contrast from the beaches of Sydney as it is a dry hi-desert landscape about 200 kilometers from the coast plus it was winter time making for some pretty cool temperatures.
Bryn has been nursing some sore ribs since injuring them at the World Cup in Bromont Canada so his participation was questionable coming into the event. The trooper he is, Bryn wrapped up his ribs and put in a few training runs to test his pain threshold and the result was good. The Canberra course was a little on the short side with a bit of pedaling towards the bottom of the course so the technical skill was important but not as much as the fitness to charge the flat finish section.
As the race day came rain was forecasted but all of the locals insured us “it doesn’t rain here… ever!” But low and behold as we woke up on Sunday morning… RAIN! Not a torrential down pour but a pretty steady rain that could be a factor in how the course was attacked. Bryn warmed up for his semi final run with his ever present smile and positive attitude while GT mechanic Mark Maurissen performed his prerace magic on Bryn’s 2009 DHi Team. The rain kept coming as the semi’s started and Bryn didn’t let it distract him as he blazed down the Mount Stromlo course to qualify in 10th. The result was a good one for Bryn being that he had trouble breathing due to his sore ribs.
The rain kept coming and the course started to become more difficult. The flat sections of the track started to get boggy meaning that fitness would be a factor for all. The finals had a solid group of competitors with a strong contingent of local Aussies who had the course dialed so no one could be counted out.
Bryn rolled into the start house knowing that he could give the run more of an effort and improve on his semi final time. He powered his way down the mountain side hitting each section with reckless abandon as his teammates an friends watched on the jumbo screen at the finish line. He was riding like he had something to prove and in a way he did after battling with injuries and some bad luck. Not only did he have to finish the race but he needed to do so with top time to get him back on track. As cranked to the finish his time was looking to be good. The last couple hundred meters leading to the finish was getting soupier and slicker and it was taking its toll on most of the competitors and would separate out the field. Bryn crossed the line with a time that came close to putting him in the Nissan Hotseat but came up short. Bryn sat on the sidelines watching the remaining racers make their run at the top spots. After everything was said and done Bryn held on to 9th place overall which is the best result he has had this season at a World Cup. The solid finish fueled Bryn’s motivation as he looks forward to the next World Cup in Schladming Austria in two weeks
A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to the gang at Monza for helping out in Canberra! Stephen Robinson, Mog and the SRAM boys are a top notch crew and went the extra mile and beyond to make sure the GT Team was taken care of.
GT Bicycles is proud to be sponsored by:
SRAM, Kenda, Champion Systems, Sun/Ringle, Fly Racing, SDG, Ogio, Kore and ethirteen
