While us lot in the UK were slip-sliding in the snow and ice this weekend, Sam Hill and Caroline Buchanan were blasting the hot, dusty turns in sunny Mt Buller for round 1 of the Subaru Gravity Cup in Australia.

Elite Men

1. Sam Hill 3:22.02
2. Chris Kovarik 3:23.68
3. Connor Fearon 3:24.08

“With the first race of the year, I’m feeling a bit of pressure and it’s good to win,” Hill said. “I’m with a new team this year so I put a bit of pressure on myself to prove the bike’s worthy of winning, it was a pretty tough track today. It was really loose and dusty and there were a couple of big holes and not a lot of room for mistakes.”

Sam Hill.

Elite Women

1. Caroline Buchanan 4:06.42
2. Claire Buchar 4:07.14
3. Lisa Mathison 4:16.32

“I was hoping to pull off a time about four seconds quicker than my seeding and my goal was to be top three so it’s pretty surprising to come away with the win. I seem to be adapting quite quickly to the downhill bike after being away from the sport for so long,” Buchanan said of her four years away from downhill mountain biking, I feel like I’m at the right level I need to be right now.”

Caroline Buchanan.

More news at mtba.subaru.com.au