The 29er bike of last year's U23 world cup overall winner, Rebecca Henderson. Henderson seems to have made a successful jump to elite women's, finishing in a very respectable 10th place in her home country's race
The 29er bike of last year's U23 world cup overall winner, Rebecca Henderson. Henderson seems to have made a successful jump to elite women's, finishing in a very respectable 10th place in her home country's race - David Rome / Future Publishing
Emily Batty rode strong on the technical course and finished second, an amazing result for the Canadian National Champion. Her bike is quite similar to ‘Bec Henderson's, with a few fit differences - David Rome / Future Publishing
Matt of Trek Factory Racing gets Emily Batty's bike tuned before the race. Looks like it worked perfectly - David Rome / Future Publishing
Trek Factory was using a wet lube for longevity. Given the atrocious pit conditions, we surprised when most riders were saying the course was rather dry - David Rome / Future Publishing
Emily Batty is rather petite, so she uses a steeply dropped stem to overcome the additional height of her 29er - David Rome / Future Publishing
Even more radically, Bec Henderson uses a -40 degree stem for her Trek SuperFly 29er. Now that is bar drop! - David Rome / Future Publishing
Emily Batty prepares for a battle in the jungle - David Rome / Future Publishing
Batty was using the fast-rolling Bontrager XR-1 tread - David Rome / Future Publishing
New 9000 series XTR brakes and a rather special bolt-up 15mm thru-axle - the only reason for this axle upgrade is to reduce weight - David Rome / Future Publishing
Further weight is reduced with this minimal seat clamp - David Rome / Future Publishing
The Trek Factory Racing team uses Bontrager's XXX alloy wheels - David Rome / Future Publishing
We're shocked by how much pressure is in Emily Batty's suspension. That's certainly got to take its toll on the body through the rock gardens - David Rome / Future Publishing
Both Emily Batty and Bec Henderson were proudly wearing these team issue shoes. They're bright for sure! - David Rome / Future Publishing
The clouds cleared, giving the track a chance to dry on the eve of the cross-country race - David Rome / Future Publishing
The big Australian - Paul Van Der Ploeg - wearing his XCE World Champion stripes for the first time - David Rome / Future Publishing
Paul Van Der Ploeg played a big part in Australia's promotion for the Cairns world cup round. He didn't disappoint the crowd, with a third place finish in the slick mud - David Rome / Future Publishing
Paul Van Der Ploeg is a massive guy. This Giant Contact SLR stem likely has a hard life - David Rome / Future Publishing
A new RockShox RS-1 fork getting a little attention - David Rome / Future Publishing
This guy was just gunning it around the pits. Cool to see the local enforcement so behind the sport - David Rome / Future Publishing
The legend - Julien Absalon - is certainly back on form after a rather disappointing 2013 season. Two out of two so far this year - David Rome / Future Publishing
Julien Absalon doesn't look like he's giving up that number - David Rome / Future Publishing
Spy shot - as a Shimano sponsored rider, Absalon probably shouldn't be riding rims that appear to be Stan's No Tubes Race… - David Rome / Future Publishing
A single ring with 10-speed out back for Absalon. A super light carbon top-mount chainguide holds the chain in place - David Rome / Future Publishing
Absalon was using 9000 series XTR brakes and ESI grips - David Rome / Future Publishing
A BMC Team Elite TE01 29er carbon hardtail for Absalon - David Rome / Future Publishing
Absalon had this neat little mudguard to keep him a bit cleaner - David Rome / Future Publishing
Just about everyone in XC is either on tubeless or tubular. With Nino Schurter away racing road for Orica GreenEdge, we didn't see a great deal of tubulars - David Rome / Future Publishing
Not a cross-country bike, but this is what the Santa Cruz Syndicate guys use for XC - David Rome / Future Publishing
27.5in wheels for the Syndicate when they're not racing downhill - David Rome / Future Publishing
The paint on Julie Bresset's BH Ultimate 27.5 is true art - David Rome / Future Publishing
Julie Bresset uses Magura MT8 superlight brakes and an SR Suntour handlebar mounted remote lock-out lever - David Rome / Future Publishing
Julie Bresset's team mate - Hanna Klein - opted for a dual-ring setup on the front. Team sponsor KMC supply its superlight and rather bling X10SL Ti Nitride chain - David Rome / Future Publishing
The Ghost Factory Racing team is lucky to be sponsored by German companies Tune and AX-Liteness. Weight-weenies rejoice! - David Rome / Future Publishing
A Tune Princess Skyline front hub for Ghost Factory Racing team rider. This hub is claimed to weigh just 99g at a rough retail price of €295! - David Rome / Future Publishing
An Australian U23 rider on a Stevens Sonora SL - looked light - David Rome / Future Publishing
Cannondale Factory Racing U23 rider Keegan Swenson was the only team rider on a Scalpel dual suspension bike. Is this perhaps a new 2015 colour? - David Rome / Future Publishing
Salcano - a Turkish brand - David Rome / Future Publishing
The Focus XC Team were on the Focus Raven 29R - David Rome / Future Publishing
Sponsored by Crank Brothers, the Focus XC Team use Cobalt XC lock-on foam grips - David Rome / Future Publishing
This Focus rider's pedals had seen better days. Rubber tread around the pedal for additional pedal stability, shorter titanium spindles and super free feeling bearings - plenty of time has gone into the setup - David Rome / Future Publishing
First time we've seen the new Astute saddle brand in the mountain bike world. Certainly a high-end saddle considering its likely going to meet a rock or tree at some point - David Rome / Future Publishing
Cairns is rather remote and so teams must travel with the bare minimum. This hire people-mover didn't afford a lot of room for one of the top XC teams in the world - David Rome / Future Publishing
Trek Factory Racing showed us a pre-production XR-0 with a super low profile tread. Not surprisingly, the wet conditions meant these didn't see much use - David Rome / Future Publishing
A new version of the XR-2 (name TBC) was also out being tested. With a taller center knob height, it should have plenty of bite in looser conditions - David Rome / Future Publishing
The current XR-2 up against the new (possible replacement) model - David Rome / Future Publishing
The pits were bustling and busy leading up to the downhill event. Even before the cross-country races kicked off, the SRAM support guys were done - David Rome / Future Publishing
Round two of the UCI mountain bike World Cup was held in tropical North Queensland, Australia. Consistent and heavy rain turned the pits into an absolute mess, and most cross-country teams did their pit work back at the hotels.
The day before the big race, the sun finally came out and so did the cross-country whippets. BikeRadar was there to see what's new and exciting.
Some highlights include Julien Absalon's BMC, Emily Batty and Bec Henderson's Trek Factory bikes, a new Cannondale Scalpel paintscheme, Bontrager pre-production treads and shoes, and a bunch of other random bits from the shoe-destroying pits.
Take a scroll through our gallery and see the latest gear used by the world's fastest cross-country riders.
