UCI 2024 Masters World Championships in conjunction with AusCycling and the Cairns Mountain Bike Club
Overview
The 2024 UCI Masters XCO World Championships was an amazing event, showcasing top-class performances from masters athletes from around the world representing 15 different nations. I had the privilege of coaching a very talented group of Aussie masters!
While Australia represented the majority of athletes racing in the XCO categories, we competed against riders from Spain, Italy, United States, Denmark, Switzerland, Brazil, New Zealand, France, Uruguay, Malta, Lebanon, Norway, Sweden and Chile.
Highlights
- Lisa Dodds showcased remarkable resilience and skill, securing a 2nd place finish in Female 50-54 with a time of 49min 26sec just a mere 1:12 behind Margarita Fullana from Spain. Yes, the very same Margarita Fullana who won Bronze at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.
- Guy Falla claimed bronze in the Male 70-74 category
- Liz Gray also reached the podium in the Female 55-59 category with a solid performance claiming bronze.
Having myself raced against Margarita Fullana back in 2015 in Andorra, I knew it would be a close race between Margarita and Lisa. Given Lisa had knee surgery back in September of last year, we both knew Lisa’s best form is yet to come. We are pretty excited to be able to race against Margarita again next year at the UCI Masters XCO World Championship when it returns to Cairns in 2025.
PCS Summary of Results
Conal Hearps
• Category: Female 35-39
• Result: 4th place, -1 lap
Anne-Marie Kehres
• Category: Female 50-54
• Result: 4th place, +13:56 behind the leader
Lisa Dodds
• Category: Female 50-54
• Result: 2nd place, +1:12 behind the leader
Guy Falla
• Category: Male 70-74
• Result: 3rd place, +4:49 behind the leader
Russell Eggins
• Category: Male 55-59
• Result: 4th place, +5:16 behind the leader
Jayne Rutter
• Category: Female 45-49
• Result: 6th place, +12:02 behind the leader
Elizabeth Gray
• Category: Female 55-59
• Result: 3rd place, +2:08 behind the leader
Donna Dall (Myself)
• Category: Female 50-54
• Result: 5th place, +14:10 behind the leader
Full results can be found at this link: https://www.mtbmastersworldscairns.com.au/
Reflections
The event was both challenging and rewarding, with each athlete pushing their limits and showing great sportsmanship. As a coach, seeing my athletes giving it their all is incredibly fulfilling, and participating myself definitely added to the experience.
I personally loved the course! It was broken up into four distinct sections which started on the main fireroad but then quickly turned into the single track climb which went all the way up to the highest point on the track up Cadels and Wiskers trails. These two trails are technical uphill climbing tracks which includes tight uphill switchbacks and uphill rock gardens that challenged most. Pretty sure I had to get off 3-4 times per lap. Given my HR was maxing out at 194bpm, I wasn’t counting but just trying to get up there as fast as I could! Clearly I am not fast enough to be even remotely close to the front of the race, it was type B fun all the same!
The next part was negotiating the swtichbacks and rock gardens of Jacobs Ladder however it was only a very short reward for all of that climbing. The second half of the course was then broken up into 2 distinct parts being the very fun swooping Centipede descent just freshly cut weeks before the event and then the non-tech loops back to the start- finish area which included the Wobbegong and Greenfields loops.
If you are thinking of coming next year, just do it! The event was extremely well conducted, the camaraderie out on course was amazing and the course is world class. If you think you’re not fit enough, then you have 12 months to train but to be honest it was simply a great experience just to be there and participate!
Conclusion
Overall, the 2024 Masters World Championships was a successful outing for our team of athletes. The results were commendable, with many lessons learned and experiences shared. I will take these insights into our next training block and look forward to even better performances next year where the UCI Masters World Champs will once again be on in Cairns in 2025. Congratulations to all participants for their hard work and dedication!
If you are keen for next year and need help preparing, then now is the time to start! Book in a call with me and we can chat about your goals for the event and how I can help you get there! NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME! https://pcscoaching.com.au/coaching/book-a-breakthrough-session/
Images
High Performance Mountain Bike Coach
Donna Dall
My speciality is helping serious and recreational mountain bikers break through plateaus to attain higher levels of performance so that they can get fitter, faster, stronger and win more races!
