KYEA ’HERN
You’ve met Kye already via our interview earlier this issue. He and his sister Sian have an epic training setup at their home near Canberra, but Kye really rates what he can do on and off the bike for fun and riding gains down at Thredbo.
“Thredbo is an awesome place for me to come and train. It’s got the leisure centre with a gym, so I could realistically do all of my training here. Thanks to the range of mountain bike tracks with the flow, all-mountain and downhill track I can do all the aspects of training I need to. And having the help of Timmy and Danny at the shop, it makes it a really complete place to visit for me. And compared to other locations that’s a huge improvement on how I can train here.”
“I ride here a lot in the Australian season, I’m down here most weekends in summer and for the races too. Because this track is so long, I’ve seen the time spent here reflected in my World Cup splits. The further down the track I am, the faster I am compared to the others. And I definitely think that is because of riding here in Thredbo that my bike fitness is at a different level. A lot of the European riders who ride and train on different tracks, on shorter tracks, they start to struggle on the long tracks like Mt St Anne where it is flat out the whole way down – you struggle to hold on by the bottom. So riding here in Thredbo has certainly improved my skills and fitness.”
Kye had a pretty solid year in the Junior Downhill World Cup, even if he is a bit modest about it. And he’s not afraid to say that a lot of his conditioning is due to riding and racing at Thredbo.
“This is probably one of the hardest tracks in Australia, especially with its length, and you won’t find a track like this anywhere else, especially in Australia. The closest I think you will find is Fort William over in Scotland. From the length, speed and even the dirt in some parts it is actually really similar. The gravel and shaley dirt with tight and technical sections is very similar between Thredbo and Fort William. That mix of fast and slow is challenging, and it is amazing to be able to come here and ride and train – and it’s not too far from home in Canberra.”
Some people say that the Cannonball run is getting a bit behind. That sure, it’s long, but it needs an update. Kye is not so sure much needs to change.
“I don’t think Cannonball needs to completely change, it has been around for a very long time, but it’s still not finished and it has a lot of years in it. From season to season there are a lot of little things that change on the track. They’ll change one section to make it faster, or slow it down with more turns. They are updating sections to work with what the sport and riders need these days. But it is an awesome track and it is a lot of fun to ride and even better to race.”
Like his sister Sian, Kye is not completely focused on the lifted runs when he visits Thredbo and the Snowy Mountains.
“Normally when we come down to Thredbo we’ll bring our caravan and camp down at the Thredbo Diggings Campground. The Thredbo Valley Trail comes all the way up from there so it’s a good way to get up here and back and get a whole lot of fitness work in too. It’s a shame that we don’t ski, as we could spend a whole lot more time down here on the skis or snowboard – but we’re just sticking to bikes for now. With a nice river to swim in summer it’s a nice bonus. We haven’t ridden the Jindabyne trails yet but they are on the to do list this season. I’ve heard a lot of good things and I’m keen to check them out.”