After 3 events in 4 weeks, the Shimano Australian Interschool Mountain Bike Championships have been run and won, proudly sponsored by Shimano Australia.

Raw NRG have been producing “the Interschools” since 1996 and this year saw the first time 4 disciplines of mountain biking have been held over 3 days of competition.

Unlike conventional mountain bike events, the Shimano Interschool Mountain Bike Championships encourage riders to participate in all disciplines on offer. A single, discounted entry fee allows riders to compete in Mountain Cross, Downhill, Short Course and Cross Country, and the coveted King and Queen of the Mountain awards are given to the rider who collects the best results in all four disciplines against other in their division, which is determined by their year at school.

The Shimano Interschool mountain bike racing was this year divided into three events to encourage and provide more opportunities for school aged students to attend the racing.

The Shimano Southern Conference Interschool Mountain Bike Championships were held at Mount Buller, Victoria for school students from Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria on the 15 -17 February. It was great to see “Interschool” racing return to Mount Buller for the first time this century, and equally as exciting to be able to use the first of the new mountain bike facilities that the Mount Buller resort management board are investing in.

The Shimano Northern Conference Interschool Mountain Bike Championships were held in Thredbo, New South Wales for students from the Northern Territory, Queensland, ACT and New South Wales on the 22 – 24 of February.

Thredbo has been a traditional home for interschool mountain bike racing and large numbers of riders were present, all attempting to qualify individually or as a school which would allow them to return to Thredbo on the 7 -9 March for the Shimano Australian Interschool Mountain Bike Championships.