It’s About To Go Down! World’s Best Riders Descend On Thredbo For 2023 Cannonball MTB Festival & AusCycling National Championships

Kicking off today and running through to 18 February, Thredbo Resort is hosting 10 straight days of MTB racing, combining the AusCycling 2023 National Championships with the 2023 Cannonball MTB Festival presented by Boost Mobile for the first time.

A highly-anticipated event on the MTB calendar, the Cross-Country National Championship events are running from today to 12 February 2023, with the National Championship events for Downhill, Pump Track & Trials running as part of the Cannonball MTB Festival schedule from 13 February to 18 February 2023.

Some of the world's best riders have started descending on the Snowy Mountains, preparing to compete in one of Australia's biggest ever MTB events. To see the confirmed pro rider list, please click here.

Thredbo MTB Ambassador, Sian A'Hern said that she is really excited to compete in the Australian Open Downhill at the 2023 Cannonball MTB Festival.

"Now that the National Championships have been combined with the Cannonball events, I've decided to put all my focus on one event and spend the rest of my time soaking up the incredible festival vibe. The competition is going to be super heated with a few girls coming over from Europe for this as well as a stacked field of Aussie girls. It's incredible to see the women continue to step it up and I can't wait to race with them all," said Sian.

9 February – 18 February: 2023 National MTB Championships
Thredbo Mountain Bike Park is hosting the National MTB Championships for the first time in decades, featuring four days of National Cross-Country Championship events followed by the Downhill, Trials & Pump Track National Championship events that have been integrated into the Cannonball MTB Festival schedule.

Cross-Country & Trials National Championship Event Schedule:
Wednesday 8th | Official Training
Thursday 9th | XCO Racing: Adaptive, E-MTB, Team Relay
Friday 10th | XCC Racing: All Categories
Saturday 11th | XCO Racing: Expert, Masters
Sunday 12th | XCO Racing: U13, U15, U17, U19, U23, Elite
Saturday 18th | Trials: All Categories

13 February – 18 February: 2023 Cannonball MTB Festival
The Cannonball MTB Festival is Australia’s biggest and most prestigious gravity mountain bike festival, featuring a huge line-up of events to suit all levels in addition to a massive prize pool of over $100,000. The integration of the AusCycling Downhill and Pump Track National Championships into the Cannonball schedule is set to raise the stakes even higher as riders compete to win both titles in one race.

Cannonball MTB Festival Event Schedule:
Monday 13th | Practice
Tuesday 14th | Osprey All-Mountain Assault Racing
Wednesday 15th | Fox Flow Motion Cup Racing (Group A)
Thursday 16th | Fox Flow Motion Cup Racing (Group B)
Thursday 16th | Rockshox Pump Track Challenge Racing (National Championships)
Friday 17th | Oakley Australian Open DH Seeding (National Championships)
Saturday 18th | Oakley Australian Open DH Finals (National Championships Finals)
Saturday 18th | Deity Whip Wars (Invite Only)

Non-Stop Good Times
Both competitors and spectators alike can look forward to enjoying the incredible atmosphere that the Cannonball Festival brings to the resort, offering daily live music and entertainment plus the Official Cannonball Closing Party featuring a live DJ set from headliners North East Party House.

For those looking to watch some world-class mountain biking, the Australian Open DH Finals and the invite-only pro Whip Wars events on Saturday February 18 are not to be missed.