Australian Mountain Bike Issue 199

‘It was an impressive feat by Pauline this year. It was pretty cool to see her just ride away from the field in both races and become World Champion in XCC and XCO. The technical part of the course in the woods was my favourite part of the track to shoot, being free from spectators we could really get around. And photographers are the biggest fans out there!’ ‘One of the coolest features on the XCO course was the Oakley drop onto the roots, here (left) Bec McConnell nails it. Obviously it was not the result Bec would have been chasing this year, but we can be super proud of Bec’s achievements. She’s simply the one of the best Australian XC riders we’ve ever seen.’ ‘The best result for Aus/NZ this year…

Here we are, at our 6th Photo Awards issue, showcasing the talented mountain bike photographers who entered the 2022 AMB Photo Awards presented by Shimano. We had a few changes this year, with entries limited to photographers who are permanent residents in Australia or New Zealand. Still, 2022 had far less restrictions on travel than in previous years, and plenty of riders and photographers were traipsing around the world, making up for lost time! In this issue we highlight the best photos and photographers from the Awards, but we also summarise the 2022 Mountain Bike World Championships. It was the first years since 2019 that Australia could send a team with Juniors, and we were lucky enough to have three Australian photographers working for AMB. While some photos are in…

WORLD CHAMPS IN LES GETS GETS LOOSE! The 2022 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships were held in Les Gets, France in late August. After two years of reduced numbers on the Australian Team, a full squad of Junior and Elite racers donned their sports tracksuits and green and gold kit to represent Australia in 2022. Les Gets had really turned it on for the race, with prime conditions on the dirt and for spectators. Racing kicked off with the Team Relay, which has 6 riders from each nation racing in a relay format on the XCO course. The team needs to involve a male and female rider from Elite, U23 and U19. Australia’s team was made up of Dan McConnell, Zoe Cuthbert, Ruby Dobson, Katherine Hosking, Sam Fox and Jack Ward. ‘The…

MICROSHIFT SUPER SHORT Gearing options for 20” mountain bikes for pint size rippers are limited, but Microshift’s new Super Short group set brings an 11-38t cassette out while providing ground clearance and a clutch for security. Better yet, their shifter runs closer to the bar, with a shorter throw and much lighter action than anything else out there. Their shifters are available with or without rubber on the paddles, and with or without shift indicators. This may well be the ideal way to get kids more adept at using their gears, while also adding a great range and chain retention. $269.95 kwtimports.com.au FIZIK TERRA ATLAS Trail, touring, bikepacking, gravel, XC? Whatever your poison, Fizik believe their Terra Atlas will take it in its stride. The upper is synthetic, with aeration holes and rubber to…

So you’re flicking through the pages of your favourite MTB magazine (this one, duh!) and checking out all the cool photos of the riders you look up to. They are the role models to everyone like you, and give you motivation to get out there and chase your goals even if they are on a much smaller level. But do you know who else is a role model in this sport? You! One of my most treasured takeaways from cycling has been all the incredible people I have met, learned from, and become friends with along the way, and these people are not just all the pros I have ridden with. These people have been my true role models because of their self-discipline and commitment, and more importantly their enthusiasm to…

It has been on the fringes for some time now, sooner or later it was bound to jump right in and become common place in the everyday mountain bikers vocabulary. Ummm what am I talking about? Science of course. You know that delightfully crazy thing that we all believe in? That thing that helps explain all the things we currently know, and doesn’t tell us anything about the things we don’t? It’s great isn’t it. You can relax, I’m not some sort of tin hat wearing conspiracy theorist about to jump right down the rabbit of hole of why the moon landings didn’t happen. (We can save that one for another time) I’m here to write about those wacky potentiometers that are slowly appearing on race bikes across the globe. Okay,…