Last day in Ausria

Lazy day for the Fearons, a little sleep in and hen down for breakfast and ponder over what to do today. When in Salzburg do the Salzburg thing. Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart. We visited his birthplace and museum. Austria was a very Catholic country with cathedrals and churches on every corner. There is very little information about the war although it did come to this area. At the main cathedrals the are photos of bomb damage which took 15 years to repair and reopen to the public.



Population of Salzburg is less than 200,000, small and compact with the Old City a pedestrian area, cobbled streets, horse drawn carriages and main shopping area. Everywhere is in walking distance. To end the day we did a boat ride up the river, very fast flowing then dinner at a little pub down the road from our hotel. Last night.





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Location:Salzburg, Austria

Farewell Leogang

Tuesday had us cleaning up and checking out of our comfortable apartment in Leogang and farewelling our English hosts Nadia and Paul. Here's our "home" in .




We dropped by the Aussie team hotel for a final farewell which was fortuitous since Connor had left behind some gear (including dirty washing.... boys will be boys!) before he left for Schladming earlier that morning.

We then took a leisurely drive to Salzburg taking in a stop at the medieval Hohenwerfen Fortress which is a construction kicked off in the 11th century and successively added to over the ensuing centuries by various Archbishops who held all the power in these here parts for a long time. Charlie was more interested in the engineering aspects of the place, including the steep angled lift car that took us up to the fortress which was perched upon the most imposing hill in the area. Lots of interesting displays throughout the fortress but alas, we missed the organized tour so were unable to see the dungeon. This view is looking back up at the fortress from an area where demos using birds of prey are undertaken. Surprisingly this is a practice that stretches back millennia and the fortress housed a fascinating museum devoted to the where, how and when of man using birds of prey.




Near Salzburg airport, we checked out a far more modern attraction, the Red Bull Hangar-7, which houses a number of Red Bull sponsored mechanical contraptions including F1 cars, GP bikes, stunt planes, Paris Dakar bikes and other assorted rev head toys. Surprisingly MA failed to show any interest in the display and had a coffee instead. Meanwhile, here's a couple of Charlie's snaps...









We arrived into historic Salzburg, checked into our comfortable hotel and left for evening look at some of the local sights starting with the Hohensalzburg Fortress (yes I know....another bloody medieval fortress..) dating back to the 11th century. This one was even bigger than the last, on an even more imposing hill and with an even better inclined lift car to take us from street level up to the rarefied height of the fortress. The fortress is more like a little town and provides grand views of Salzburg city and the surrounding flatter region. A view from the fortress down to Salzburg old city...



We were fortunate to go on the guided tour with spectacular 360 views of the city & surrounds. At present the country is blanketed in a haze which diffuses the light into gentle colours. They have concerts up in the uppermost chamber and as we walked through we were entertained by a Quartet practicing for the evenings performance which added to the atmosphere. Walking back to our hotel we stopped for dinner at a roadside kebab stall where we had dinner and watched the passing parade of Salzburg life. A pleasant change from potatoes.
Looking forward to tomorrow as Salzburg is a very beautiful city.





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Location:Salzburg

Leogang Day 6

What a relief to have the race over and just enjoy. Last night we had a meal with the team at their accommodation. Enjoyed a drink with parents and team management. The Russian MTB team are at the same place and gave Connor a Russian Long sleeve riding shirt for podium place. The boys were keen to get to the after party, we stayed and chatted discussed the tour, race breakdown and the talented team.



In the morning met for coffee with Kerry Crimmins and John & Joanne McMillan before they left Leogang. We drove to Saalfedeen which is only 7 Kim's down the road. The Trials and Cross Country events are there this weekend. Most of the events are actually in and through the town which will make it exciting for spectators. Charlie was lucky to come by a World Cup banner which he souvenired for home.
Relaxed after lunch then drove around the area enjoying the scenery. Picked Connor up for dinner, nice to have him to ourselves. Discussed his offered contract and next years plans. Connor very tired but happy with his week. He leaves tomorrow with the Kona team for the last race of the series in Norway.




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Location:Salzburg

Leogang Day 5 - Race Day

Today was the final day of the downhill world champs with four titles up for grabs, Women Junior and Elite, and, Men Junior and Elite. Twelve months of training and preparation comes down to one 3 to 4 minute timed run on this one day. I'm as nervous as hell so I can't imagine what the riders go through.
After some early morning drizzle, the weather cleared up to a glorious sunny day where hats and sunscreen were definitely required. Europeans love their cycling events and the finals today pulled in a massive crowd all out to enjoy the sunshine and see the premier mountain bike riders from around the world. Most European countries were represented plus big contingents from USA, Canada, Sth Africa, Sth America, New Zealand and of course Australia. There was even a lone rider from Iran and a couple of representatives from Japan.
The first class decided was the Junior Women and an Aussie girl took bronze behind Canada and Great Britain. The next class was Junior Men and I'm a incredibly proud dad to say my son Connor got bronze behind French and US riders. The Australian Junior men team performed very well overall also placing 5th and 12th in the final. In the Elite Men final, Australia performed very well again placing 4th, 5th and 13th. The UCI awards points to nations based on their best three placed riders. In the Junior Men class, Australia was pipped by France to the tune of 1 point only whilst in Elite Men, Australia was the leading nation point scorer. Aussies produce world class downhillers !!!

Here's the Junior Men presentation podium.........it would have been nice to get the rainbow jersey, but 3rd in the world isn't too bad.




Proud mum and dad with Connor.





Whilst the downhill and four cross world champs have ended, the cross country and trials disciplines now take their turn over the coming days in the nearby town of Saalfaden. For the Fearons though, our time in Leogang is almost over. We're off to Salzburg on Tuesday.

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Location:Austria

Leogang Day 4

Weather improved today, intermittent misty drizzle in the morning clearing away in the afternoon. The business end of the World Champs got underway today with downhill timed practice runs. The results don't count towards the World Champs title but give the quicker riders bragging rights and show the other riders how much they have to improve before tomorrow's final race run.
Good results overall for the Aussies. Our best placed riders were 3rd in Junior Women, 4th in Junior Men (Connor) and 1st in Elite Men. Here's Connor about to head up the mountain for his run, resplendent in his Oz jersey......





....... And after his run looking at times for other riders on the timing board.




The title of World Champion comes down to one final race run tomorrow. Talk about pressure ! May Lady Luck send a little the way of the Aussie riders tomorrow. Stay tuned for the results.

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Location:Austria