Central Coast rider Ellie Smith has taken first place in the women’s Elite Downhill National Championships at the 2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships, held at Awaba Mountain Bike Park on March 16.
It was the second time she has won the event.
The fastest racers in Australia competed and the 23-year-old finished the course in a time of 4:05.18, 14 seconds ahead of silver medallist Elise Empey.
“It feels so amazing to get my second national championship, and it’s really special because this is my home downhill track,” Smith said.
“I felt a lot of pressure coming into the race, but am super stoked I could get it done.
“For seeding, I just tried to have a smooth run and unfortunately laid it down in a pretty silly spot.
“So that definitely got the nerves a bit high for (the next day).
“But I just got myself sorted, got my head in the game, and put down a good run when it mattered.
“I couldn’t be more happy.”
Just three weeks before the Championships Smith was officially crowned for the second time as the Elite Queen of Cannonball at Thredbo’s 2024 Cannonball MTB Festival.
She has a record in competing nationally and overseas in many World Cups including Lenzerheide, Andorra and France.
In August she will compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2024 at Andorra – situated between France and Spain.