Easy does it for Hannah as he tackles European challenge
“I ALWAYS say I’m only in a hurry for three minutes on Sunday.”
You won’t find a better statement that sums up Mick Hannah. While you might picture those involved in the world of mountain biking as a pretty laidback crowd, the 33-year-old is relaxed as they come.
But the Cairns cult hero leaves no stone unturned in preparation to punch above his more fancied contenders in the elite men’s downhill.
Even after 16 years on the world circuit, the now Colorado, US-based Hannah is still learning as he goes and has trimmed down in a bid to be more nimble on the tight and twisty European mountain tracks.
“I enjoy the slower, technical, steeper tracks, that’s fun, but I’m a little bit bigger than a lot of the guys. Being on a steep track makes that a bit of a challenge, mainly under braking,” he said. “Over the last few years I’ve been working on that and improving quite a lot and that’s really encouraging.
“I’m always looking for something to work on and a new challenge. It’s my 16th World Cup season so you’ve got to always have something new to work on and keep it interesting.”
Lourdes, the first stop of the World Cup calendar, has never been Hannah’s strong point – last year he finished 51st – but he said signs of improvement would be most welcome as he played the long game to be one of the nation’s top seven riders to qualify for the world titles in Cairns in September.
“The first thing is to make sure I qualify for the team. Australia has a lot of fast guys, so it’s not a guarantee to be on the team,” he said. “I’m also just trying to manage my mental energy. If you try to put too much effort into too many races, you just get burned out by the end of the season.
“It’s always nice to get off to a good start and get some nice points but the main thing is just kind of getting into the groove a bit and not stressing out too much. I’d love to get a good result (at Lourdes) but my whole season’s not going to be ruined if I don’t get a great result there so I’m just going into it relaxed.”
Hannah said retirement crossed his mind when it was announced Cairns would host the world championships, but felt he was riding too well to make 2017 his swan song.
“I think I’ve got a few more years of racing yet,” he said.
“I just love it too much. It’s just going too well and it would be a pity to give it up now and I don’t want to, as long I’m still enjoying it and people are still interested in having me around.”
Hannah said England’s world champion Danny Hart would be the one to beat and expected countryman Gee Atherton to improve, while he expected the usual suspects in 2016 Cairns World Cup winner Loic Bruni and US defending World Cup winner Aaron Gwin to feature highly.