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Downhill Nationals Downunder

World Cups are all over, so what’s next event-wise? Southern hemisphere racing is just about to kick off!

Summer of riding, woohoohooo! Dust, heat, dry wind, boiling alive in body armour and free-camping in cars and ’showering’ in the lakes and rivers because accommodation costs as much as a set of brake pads and you know which you need more! Ah, I can’t wait.

As we’ve already said here and here, Australia kicked off their National series earlier this month, and have two more Nats races in ‘08 and a final two in Feb and March ‘09. New Zealand’s Nationals begin in early Jan and run till mid Feb.  South Africa don’t appear to have their 09 dates up yet, as far as I could find – let me know if you know where they are!

Women’s participation is really low at most of these kinds of events, so if you’re a good enough rider to get down the track in one piece and you want to give racing a go, sign up for one near you! It’s so much fun, and an awesome environment for pushing your abilities. Australia have a sport category to make it even easier for newer riders, and NZ… well, just enter your age group or open, it’s all so chilled out it doesn’t matter! And if you come top 3 you get a beer mug. Seriously! How cool is that!

So here you go, upcoming DH Nationals dates for the two biggest countries in the Southern Hemisphere that don’t have large predatory animals like lions n stuff. South Africa, let us know when you get yours done… unless the lions ate it already. I’m sure you use that excuse ALL the time.

National DH Series Round 2
Sunday, 30 November Illinbah Australian National DH Round 2 2009

http://www.gcmtb.com.au

Event: National DH Series Round 3
Sunday, 14 December 2008 You Yangs Australian National DH Round 3 2009

http://www.gmbc.com.au

National DH Series Round 4
Sunday, 1 February 2009, Mt Buller Australian National DH Round 4 2009

http://www.mtbuller.com.au

National DH Series Round 5
1 March 2009, Glenorchy Australian National DH Round 4 2009

http://www.dirtdevilsmtb.com

New Zealand:

NZCT North Island Downhill Cup
#1 Sat/Sun 3/4 Jan Rotorua - Round 1 NZ National DH Series 2009
#2 Fri/Sat 16/17 Jan Rotorua - Round 2 NZ National DH Series 2009
#3 Sat/Sun 24/25 Jan Levin - Round 3 NZ National DH Series 2009

NZCT South Island Downhill Cup
#1 Fri/Sat 30/31 Jan Dunedin - Round 4 NZ National DH Series 2009
#2 Fri/Sat 13/14 Feb Coronet Peak - Round 5 NZ National DH Series 2009
#3 Sat/Sun 21/22 Feb Blenheim - Round 6 NZ National DH Series 2009

2009 NZCT New Zealand National MTB Championships (UCI Cat CN)
Thurs 26 Feb to Sun 1 Mar Nelson
Thursday – Hill Climb, Dual Slalom
Friday – DH Practice, Four Cross
Saturday – DH Practice, Cross Country
Sunday, Downhill, Short Track Cross Country

 

And then we have the “O-she’s”, or Oceania Champs 2009, in March. In Australia this time around:

Oceania MTB Championships, Thredbo NSW, 21-22 March 2009

More Australian series info is at http://www.nationalseries.com.au
More New Zealand series info is at http://www.bikenz.org.nz

Good luck all of you who are taking part!