After spending some time in snowy Whistler this off-season, Chris and I are back in Australia taking advantage of the weather and racing the National Series.  This past weekend, we were in Adelaide for the Australian National Championships and it turned out to be a very successful weekend for both of us.

Adelaide is a relatively small city with some really cool old historical buildings. The hills behind the city are full of gum trees and there were tones of koalas wedged in the branches at the race venue at Eagle Mountain Bike Park. I even snuck up and pet one!

The track was short but physical with lots of sprinting out of corners and across flats. There were some fun jumps and tech rocky bits to keep us on our toes. It was also dry and loose in sections and a bit blown out by race day. But I think any track is challenging when you’re trying to go your fastest.

There were about 10 elite women total, with myself being the only World Cup racer so it was all about racing practice for me. But it was fun hanging out with the girls, giving them some pointers and seeing them rip it up on the track. I had the fastest time of the day but since I am not an official Aussie, the title went to Claire Whiteman. Congrats Claire, you’re the champ!

There were a lot of experienced World Cup racers in the mens category with names like Jared Rando, Amiel Cavalier, Josh Button, Rhyse Willemse, and Sam Hill. There were also some pretty fast up and coming rippers like Shaun O’Conner going for it. In the end it was down to Chris and Sam. It was going to be close but Sam crashed out in the last corner before the finish and the win went to Chris.

“My run went well overall but I was a little slow at the bottom before the finish. It’s my first race in a while so it’s something I’m going to work on over the next few months”, said Chris after the media swarm died off.

So there you have it, Chris will be wearing the aussie stripes for 2010. Having won the 2009 Canadian National Champs, I will be wearing the maple leaf as well.

Thanks to CRC for supporting us at the Aussie races! It’s a good start and we hope we can continue our success throughout 2010.