Three Tasmanians have been confirmed in the Australian team for the mountain bike world championships on home soil next month.
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Mountain Bike Australia named the team of 26 downhill and 38 cross-country riders that will head to Cairns for the UCI event from September 5-10.
Alex Lack, of Wyena, and Ben Bradley, of Hobart, were both in the under-23 cross-country team with Launceston’s Sam Fox among the eight under-19s.
Lack and Fox are both members of Launceston Mountain Bike Club.
Launceston College student Fox, who turned 17 last week, has declared he has recovered from the training accident in April that left him nursing a lacerated liver and kidney and facing six months off the bike.
“I got an MRI back and they could not find any sign of where the laceration had been so gave the go ahead to get into full training,” he said.
“I’ve been training for three weeks in the UTAS heat chamber plus Kate Reed, Trevallyn and Derby trying to find the steepest, rockiest sections I can.
“I'm starting to feel confident I can handle everything at Cairns and am really looking forward to it.”
The event is being held in Australia for the second time with the host nation team headlined by ACT-based Olympians Daniel McConnell and Rebecca Henderson.
MTBA executive officer Shane Coppin said he expects the Aussies to make their mark over the five-day competition.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
