Queen of the handlebars
Far North’s golden girl of mountain biking Tracey Hannah stares down the world title she’s always wanted
MEET Tracey Hannah, Cairns’ own darling of the mountain biking world.
If you don’t know who she is, now might be a good time to jump on the bandwagon going into the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
Hannah’s specialty is going downhill fast and, while she does it all around the world, the hills around Smithfield have been her home on two wheels for 20 years.
Now she faces a dream scenario of a home world title, where she will wear the green and gold and, if all goes well, she will stand on the top step of the podium come Sunday.
Hannah has been counting down to this moment since it was announced four years ago.
She came into this season so physically strong, she had to overhaul her bike just to harness all of this new-found power.
In round 2 of the World Cup circuit this year, the nine-time Australian champion stood on the top step at Fort William, Scotland, in her first win on the tour since 2012.
She even held the world No.1 plate for a few months.
But all of that has been secondary to her main goal of being crowned world champion and Hannah “couldn’t have asked for a better season” to prepare.
“I had a few hiccups and ups and downs, I had a flat in a race, crashed in another race, there was another race my head wasn’t really in it, a few that didn’t go my way, but overall it was a really good season,” she said.
“To finish third overall in the World Cup before coming to the world champs at home is a good confidence boost.
“I feel pretty good and definitely looking forward to the race finally coming. We found out four years ago we were having the world championships and, when you think about it, now you know what the Olympic athletes go through, waiting four years for something to come around.”
Even if it is her home track, returning to Australian conditions still takes some getting used to, compared to Europe’s ski runs, which turn into mountain bike mecca during summer for world cups.
But the dry, dusty, hot and loose Smithfield course will put Hannah, as well as her older brother Mick, right in her element.
“This track is fast and flowy but you do need to use the track and get speed from the track, so you’ve kind of got to set up your bike so it’s maintaining speed.
“It’s going to start off pretty slippery. I’ve been riding some of our local tracks and it blows my mind how slippery and blown out it’s getting and this track’s going to be exactly the same.”
The only real difference is that Hannah’s fans will be cheering trackside, rather than
behind a television screen. Hopefully she’s going too fast to spot them, but Hannah is pumped just to know they’re there and that it might just put off her rivals as they race the clock down the hill.
“I’m just going to try as hard as I can to be No.1 at the end of the day,” she said. “Winning this race gives you the rainbow jersey and you can call yourself a world champion and if you can be selected by your country to do this ... to compete at the top level at one of the most prestigious races of the year, it’s pretty special.”