Hannah shows pedal power
Local burns young guns
THE adrenaline was rocketing as hard as her pedals when Cairns local Tracey Hannah claimed the top spot on the Crankworx podium.
Hannah, 34, won the women’s elite downhill on her home track in a race which demanded a great deal of determination, sweat and skill to navigate the course in a winning time of 4:02.816, ahead of fellow Australian Sian A’Hern on 4.02.962, while UK rider Louise Ferguson claimed the bronze with 4:07.183.
Over the 1.8km technical course which featured steep turns, jumps, a rock garden and trees to dodge, and the last section to the finish line comprising an all-out sprint, Hannah showed she could handle the pressure, the pace and her younger competitors with grace on Friday night.
“Winning at 10 years older than my nearest rival meant a lot,” she said.
“The thing that got me through is I am mentally very strong, this plays a huge part in such an extreme sport because if you make a mistake you can lose in just 0.1 of a second.”
With three decades of BMX competition and over 20 years in mountain biking events to draw on, Hannah, who also holds 11 Australian titles and has won multiple World Cup events, showed her finesse and raced beautifully to give a masterclass on when to stay off the brakes or turn up the watts to emerge victorious.
“Getting this win was im
portant for me,” she said.
“Having Crankworx at home and my background racing for so long, to finally have it here, and have the opportunity to win again is amazing.
“I’m super stoked and plan to come back and defend my title in 2023.”
The latest trophy will no doubt go straight to Hannah’s pool room, which must be getting pretty crowded considering she has also appeared on 21 podiums in Crankworx history, with her most recent gold at the Crankworx Downhill at Whistler.
Meanwhile, her older brother Mick raced hard and fast to claim the bronze in the men’s elite downhill in 3:29.351, three seconds behind winner Troy Brosnan and micro seconds behind silver medallist Connor Fearon.
Mick, 38, also came 21st in the Pump Track Challenge.
Now the siblings can look forward to her next home race event as Crankworx Cairns 2023, which will be held from May 17-21, was announced on the weekend.