Launceston’s Sam Fox came 49th of 65 finishers in the junior cross-country race at the mountain bike world championships.
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The Launceston College and former Riverside High student, who turned 17 in August, was among nine Australians in a field of 76 tackling five laps of the Cairns course with compatriot Cameron Wright claiming the gold medal.
Fox completed the course in 1:17:18, which was 9 minutes 22 seconds behind Wright.
Fox, who won the 2016 Tasmanian all-schools championships, faced a battle to compete as he recovered from the training accident in April that left him nursing a lacerated liver and kidney and facing six months off the bike.
Wyena’s Alex Lack will compete in the under-23 race which is scheduled to start at 2.30pm on Friday.
Both riders are members of Launceston Mountain Bike Club which posted on Facebook: “Race hard and fast lads! We're all very proud of your efforts to get to the world champs!”
Elite cross-country races are on Saturday.