It was a frustrating day for most riders out in Cairns as the first practice sessions were marred by red flags and intermittent showers.

Photos: Seb Schiek

They don’t call it a rainforest without good reason and bang on time, the blue skies above the Cairns jungle have been blanketed in thick, pregnant clouds. The silver lining is that it’s not anywhere near as bad as 2014… yet.

As it stands the red clay has become more tacky, which is allowing the riders to open the gas on most of the course, except for the greasy rock garden that has become more slippery than a bar of soap wrapped in a banana peel.

Unfortunately three junior riders had to be stretchered off course this morning, two with spinal injuries, we hate to see any riders getting hurt and we wish them a speedy recovery. Their injuries led to a number of course delays that meant timed training runs were disrupted and B-practice was a stop-start affair.

The spirits of the riders weren’t dampened though as they tried to get to grips with a course that can pounce on you like a snake from the undergrowth. Scroll down to catch all the best action from the day’s riding: