Rhys Willemse Racing

2011 Val Di Sole World Cup

2011-08-27T16:19:00.004+10:00

Hi All

so after a month of training in whistler I headed over to Val Di Sole, Italy for the last round of the world cup series.

The track looked promising, it was steep, rough and dusty and a whole lot of line choice! the first day of practice was good, I had solid runs all day but new lines were appearing by the seconds. After a few unexpected diggers, I was getting a hang of the track, and enjoying every run. Breathing in dust doesn't get any better!

By the time Friday came around it was time for qualies. My run was good and I kept it smooth and took it easy, and came in to 35th position. I was happy with that, as I knew I had some more time up my sleeve..

Sunday was race day, I had good runs all morning and was feeling confident, I knew that this track would suit me down to the ground, so I was more then ready for the final.. but straight of the gate my run didn't quite go to plan, I blew a pedal off the line and was trying to get clipped in down the start straight, got it back together and dropped into the steep section at the start, hit my line wrong and ended up a bit in no mans land. After that, I got everything together and just relaxed, came into the finish before I knew it, and I had put down a solid run in 3rd spot. After the finals were over I had ended up in 23rd position which I could not be more happy about, it has been my first world cup for the season and after a long break off the bike I was stoked, and also a good lead up to the World Champs!

This week I have been training in Morzine - France with the Australian junior team which has been a whole lot of fun, then heading off to Champery - Switzerland, on Monday to start preparing to ride for Australia at the World Championships.

I'll keep you posted on how training is going.

I just want to say a big thanks to Tomaso and Alberto Ancillotti from Ancillotti bikes. You guys believed in me and gave me a second chance to come there and ride your new Ancillotti DHY 2012. The new DHY 2012 is perfect! Thanks heaps for all you do for me. I really appreicate it and will never forget it.

Thanks also to, Dogannaccia, UFO, Renthal, Maxxis, Unit clothing, For the riders, Pro Yamaha, Style MX.

Check out the video of part of my race run!!

Unit Photo Shoot

2011-04-01T11:49:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Here is one of the pics from the Unit Party Photo Shoot in December. We had 2 houseboats, 3 wakeboats, 2 helicopters and one big water ramp. Good times!

I got to meet one of my favorite bands BLISS N ESO plus drink heaps with the Unit Sponsored riders and staff.

Unit not only make the best clothing, but can throw a wicked party as well.

Thanks Unit.

Cheers
Rhys

2011 Oceania Championships - Shepparton, Victoria.

2011-03-22T21:23:00.005+10:00

Video of finals and my interview.

More Mountain Biking Videos

Hi All,

Just headed down to Shepparton in Victoria last weekend, to race against some of the best Aussie and Kiwi DH mountain bikers for the Oceania Title.

I flew into Sydney on Wednesday morning and my mate Ryan Hunt picked me up and we drove the 7 hours to Shepparton. Practice was Friday and this was the first time I had ridden the track. The track was really dusty with alot of rocks and I'm pretty sure there wasn't one berm on the track. By qualifying on Saturday, the track was really chopped out and just to put together a smooth run was a mission on its own.

Qualifying: I was the 6th last person in Elite to qualify and this meant 200 riders had gone before me and the track was really blown out. I started off at the gate and I did nothing but blow out all the turns and couldn't link up any sections. I spent most of the run sliding and stuff all pedaling. In the end I qualified in 7th place, which I must admit, I wasn't too upset because I knew I could approve alot on my run as long as I could put it all together in the finals.

Finals: Sunday was a chilled day for me. I wasn't nervous at all. I somehow knew I could win this race if I could put it all together. The thought of racing against Cameron Cole, Josh Button and other big named riders, didn't phase me for once, and I had a inner confidence that I could do well. I got up to the start gate in my finals run and was super chilled out and it was almost like I was riding for fun and not an important race. I took off out the gate and ended up stuffing up one of the first few turns, and I ended up saying to myself "Chill out, don't worry about it and put it out of my head. Before I knew it, I was at the bottom of the track heading for the finishing line. Once I crossed the line, I looked at the board and noticed I was in first place. I sat on the hot seat and waited for the next 6 riders to come down. One by one the riders hit the finishing line and my time was safe. As the last rider come down, I was watching the timer count down and couldn't believe my luck, when I realised I had won. My first 1st Place in a elite race against some of the best riders in the world. I'm stoked!!!!!!

I would like to thank my sponsors for all their support. Giant Australia, Fox Racing Shox/Tekin Suspension, Shimano, Fortheriders.com, Unit clothing and pro yamaha.

Cheers
Rhys

Underground Race 2

2011-03-10T08:38:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

It was straight up underground format, so no number plates, no bunting, no insurance and no rules! Riders including Mitch Delfs, Ben Cory, Rhys Willemse, and a dozen other freakishly fast crew traveled from across Australia for the two day event. All taking place on a brand new track in a top secret location in the mountains of New South Wales. Timing was taken care of by FreeLap watches with an open jam format meaning any run on Sunday counted. This meant the antÃ© was upped continually as day went on. In the end Ben Cory took top honors and a big handful of cash. Check out the webclip for more...

Check out the magazine preview for Issue 22, which includes a full article on the event here:
http://issuu.com/holmes/docs/r_v22_preview

Follow Revolution Mag on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Revolution-MTB-Magazine/122440332999?sk=wall

Filmed and edited by Ty Bowmaker (DownhillDomination):
http://downhilldomination.pinkbike.com/

Revolution Magazine: Underground 2 on pinkbike.com

Cheers
Rhys

For The Riders Grand Opening:

2011-03-07T13:56:00.004+10:00

Timmy and Tomac serving customers:

Chris and I relaxing:

Timmy and Tomac(Michael) have been mates of mine since I started riding. When I first met the guys,they were a tiny out-of-garage business in the bottom of Tomac’s parents house. I've just spent the last week helping move in to the new store.

Their passion was mountain bikes and that passion grew into a small but pro shop in Brisbane. In between racing and riding, they grew the business and now have a strong online store presence. This past weekend they moved about 2km down the road into a larger space and man is it pimp!!!!

Just wanted to say congrats to them and that this shop is the Best Mountain Bike Shop in Australia! And not just because they are mates but for the professionalism they offer from product, customer service and mechanic work to just being there for the mountain bike community. For The Riders is really for the riders.

Thanks guys for always supporting me.

Cheers
Rhys

Aussie Champs

2011-02-27T16:59:00.009+10:00

Video from Aussie Champs:

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2011 Australian DH National Champs from Scotty Z on Vimeo.

Hi All,

Just got back from Adelaide after racing the Australian Championships. What a great weekend!

I'm so happy to have place 4th overall. Its been a tough few months with broken bones, but I'm happy to say I'm back to near best and even though I made a couple of small mistakes in my race run, I was really please with this result. My confidence is coming back and I'm really looking forward to racing this year.

Thanks again to my sponsors Giant Australia, Fox racing shox, Tekin suspension, Shimano, Unit Clothing, Pro Motorcycles Yamaha and For The Riders. Thanks for making my job so much easier.

Here are the top 5 results:

1. Michael Hannah, QLD, 2:02.36
2. Joshua Button, NSW, 2:04.27
3. Bryn Atkinson, ACT, 2:04.33
4. Rhys Willemse, QLD, 2:04.41
5. Ben Cory, ACT, 2:05.66

Cheers
Rhys

2011 Australian Champs - Adelaide

2011-02-21T21:07:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Tomorrow I will be flying into Adelaide to take on the best in Australia this weekend. Sam Hill, Mick Hannah, Bryn Atkinson, Shaun O'Connor and Chris Kovarik are just some of the riders I will be competing against. I'm hoping for a top 5, but we'll see how I go. This is my first real race back from a broken arm, and I've been doing alot of training to get ready for this race.

It's been a long hard road back but I'm finally fit and ready for this race. I won't be traveling overseas this year to race the world cups. I was going to ride for Ancillotti again but unfortunately they couldn't get the funding for the team. I didn't really try to find another team as I had decided to take this time to train, and race the aussie series and then head over to Canada for Crankworks with some mates. All my efforts will be getting ready for Canada where I plan to be at my fittest. I plan on getting noticed again like I did when I got that 13th Place at Maribor world cup as a junior 2 years ago.

So I will be back, better than ever... I now have a point to prove to not only myself, but for teams to finally notice me as a rider with potential.

Will keep you updated from Adelaide.

Cheers
Rhys

Claire Buchar: Rhys Willemse Rider Profile

2010-12-10T13:15:00.000+10:00

Claire Buchar: Rhys Willemse Rider Profile: "Rhys asked me to do him up a rider profile/proposal after his mum saw one of the ones I've made for Chris Kovarik. Rhys is super talented, h..."

2009 UCI DH World Championships - Mt Stromlo, Canberra, Australia

2010-12-05T17:50:00.000+10:00

here is a vid I found from the 2009 world champs. I'm featured 1.30 min into the vid.

New Sponsors for Australian National Series!

2010-11-23T12:55:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

I'm happy to announce that I'll be riding with new sponsors this Aussie season.

My new sponsors are:

Giant Bikes: I'm really looking forward to hitting the Aussie National series on a Giant.

For The Riders: Thanks to the guys at FTR for always looking after my bikes and for helping me with sponsors.

Shimano: really looking forward to riding with Shimano parts/brakes ect.

Fox Racing Shox: Can't wait to be back riding with Fox forks and shocks.

Tekin Suspension: Thanks to Tekin for looking after my suspension

Last but not least: Unit Clothing. Loving the Unit clothing.

I'll keep you all updated on my racing results this year. I've just got back from racing in Sydney. A full update of my results from the Sydney race will be in Revolution magazine next issue.

Cheers
Rhys

Long Overdue Update!

2010-10-20T21:55:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Well I've finally got some news to tell you...

Since arriving home, I've been recovering from my broken arm and that's all healed up well. Going into hospital on the 17th November to have the plates taken out of my arm. Leaving the plates in would mean more broken arms in the future, so its time to get them out.

I managed to pick up a couple of more sponsors. Unit are still my main sponsor here in Australia. I've also picked up a Pro Yamaha sponsorship (See photos above) and for the Australian National DH Series, I will be riding for Giant... Thanks to FTR for hooking me up with the deal...

I'm also happy to say that I will be heading back overseas again next year to race the world cups... I can't say who I'm riding for yet as I have to wait for the press release, but considering how shit my year was with injuries, you can't believe how happy I am to be given another chance...

Will update when I know more.

Cheers
Rhys

Bad News! I'm coming home.

2010-07-09T08:13:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Just had the worst news confirmed.

The crash on Sunday caused my arm that had been broken to fracture again. When I went for a x ray 2 days ago, the x ray didn't show a hairline fracture. So I went riding yesterday and felt something go pop. I went back to the hospital tonight and had another x ray. This time is showed the break. The break is from the last screw of the plate they put in 10 weeks ago, and it goes up my arm to my elbow.

Looks like I'll be coming home. If I'm out for 6 weeks, then it's not worth staying here because I will miss 2 world cups.

This just tops off a season I would rather forget. I am devastated to say the least.

This has made me more determined to come back next year with a whole new focus on achieving my goals. I will train hard through this off season and make up for a terrible 2010.

I would personally like to thank Tomaso from Ancillotti racing. I feel like I have let you down. You have been great to me all through these hard times and for that I thank you.

Cheers
Rhys

Italian Cup Round 3

2010-07-09T07:45:00.006+10:00

Hi All,

So the past weekend saw the third round of the Italian Cup series at Campo Felice near to L'Aquila the Italian city that was ravaged last year by a huge earthquake.

George and I made the trip to Rome and met up with another team mate Francesco Petrucci. We set up our team tent and all was going well until a helicopter decided to land in the car park. I saw our tent flying in the air while coming down the track from practice. Nothing worse than having to phone your team manager and tell him the tent is stuffed. Tomaso took the news well, but I hope it doesn't cost Tomaso alot to fix.

I wasn't overly excited with this track, but riding it was different and after the first few runs I was into it ,some bits could of been better but it was really loose due to all the rocks which made it pretty fun.

Qualifying went well and I ended up in 2nd place after Shaun O'Conner. I was feeling happy with that result. With all the bad luck I've been having this year, it was good to qualify 2nd, when you had riders like Shaun, Wyn and Matt Scoles, plus the 100 or so Italian riders.

Final day came around and for once this season, I was feeling confident. I took off from the start gate and all was going well, until I came into the forest section, my wheel hit one of those loose rocks and sent me flying into a tree. The first thing I felt was pain in my arm that had just recovered from a break. I picked myself up, jumped back on my bike and came across the line in 6th place. Still not a bad result considering I crashed.

The pain in my arm was bad and i knew something was wrong. More about that in a sec. here is a great photo of me during practice.

Here are some videos. The first one is a helmet cam of me riding the track. One video is from the racing and one is from Wyn Masters. All great videos to watch.

Two of the videos can be seen at this link: http://www.dhdvideomag.tv/

Italian National cup round 2

2010-06-26T15:44:00.001+10:00

Hi All,

I'm currently practicing for the Italian National cup here in Italy this weekend. Here is a video of practice.

Cheers
Rhys

Junior Sportsman of the year awards

2010-06-22T22:22:00.004+10:00

before I left to go overseas, I was nominated for a Sports Star of the year awards. My parents went to the formal awards night last Saturday night. I'm happy to say that I won and I am now the junior sports star of the year. This is the second year in a row, So I'm stoked.

Cheers
Rhys

The photo is mum accepting my award.

Leogang Qualifying

2010-06-22T22:13:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Qualifying didn't go so well this weekend. I noticed everyone was crashing in practice. It had been raining hard for most of the weekend, and the track was muddy and slushy. So I decided I would take it easy in qualifying. I thought whoever can make it down the hill without crashing, would finish in the top 80 and qualify. I made it down alright without crashing but I made a big mistake. I didn't go hard enough and I ended up in 86th spot. Not going to make that mistake again.

I didn't have any problems with my arm all week. It looks like its healed up nicely. One thing I did notice is that my arm is still a bit weak, so I'll be building it back up before the next world cup in 4 weeks time. My fitness was also suffering a bit, plus riding in the mud made me realise that alot quicker.

So my plan now is to put in the training and work on building up my arm... Can't wait for the next world cup.

Cheers
Rhys

Heres a pic of be before qualifying. I only wish I had a moto to ride in that mud.

Leogang Track Walk!

2010-06-18T07:49:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Here are some pics from the track walk today.

I'm the one wearing the Unit clothing and blue Unit hat..

Cheers
Rhys

Leogang World Cup

2010-06-13T22:04:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Just got the good news that my broken arm is now fixed and I'm looking forward to racing my first world cup in Leogang, Austria next weekend.

I've been out of action now for 6 weeks, with only being able to ride some cross country and a stationary bike for training. It felt so good to get back on my mountain bike on Monday and ride a real downhill track again. On Friday my team mate George and I headed up to Leogang to spend a week training on the world cup track. I'm hoping to know this track inside out by the time the world cup teams turn up in the next 5 days.

The pressure has been put on me for this race, as I've just found out that I need to produce a top ten result if I want to make the Australian team this year. If I don't make the team, this will be the first time in 2 years that I haven't represented Australia at the World Championships. After breaking my femur 6 months ago and now my arm, its going to be a big ask, but I love a challenge, and this could be just what I needed to push all the limits to achieve my goal of riding for Australia again.

To help me try to achieve my goal, Ancillotti racing team have built me a new frame pacifically for this world cup in Leogang. Its a longer lighter frame which will help me go faster on a track like Leogang. The track is fast and technical and the longer frame will hold the speed needed to get down the course in the quickest time. Here is a pic of me holding my new frame.

Update:

2010-06-10T12:02:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

Well all is good. I started riding again on Monday. My arm feels good and no pain whatsoever.

George and I will be driving up to Leogang (Austria) on friday. We will stay there for 7 days practicing on the world cup track. I have one race to get it right to make the Australian team for this years world champs in Canada.

Its all or nothing at the Leogang world cup in 2 weeks from now.

Will update after qualifying in 2 weeks from now.

Cheers
Rhys

Another Injury Update!

2010-06-04T07:19:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

Well I'm here in Fort William, Scotland with my team.

Unfortunately, I will be watching from the sidelines. I went to the doc after Maribor and xray's showed that I needed another 20 days for my arm to heal. The 20 days are up on the day of the finals here in Fort William. I chose not to risk it, and will wait until Leogang to make a come back. This will give me two weeks of training once we get back to Italy.

Just to add some more pressure, I have to get a top 10 in Leogang if I want to make the Australian Team this year. I missed the cut back home in Australia this season, because I was out with a broken femur. Thanks to the broken arm, I now have to give everything I've got in Leogang. It's hard to make the Australian team because we have so many talented riders. I believe that if I can pull off a result like I did in Maribor (13th) last year, then I can be in with a chance. My fitness may let me down but I've always enjoyed a challenge. So bring it on!!!!!!!

Cheers
Rhys

Injury Update!

2010-05-11T15:15:00.002+10:00

All is going well with my broken arm.
I got the cast off last week and 30 something stables taken out.
The news so far is that I should be right to ride again 3 days AFTER Maribor world cup. Still sucks that I'm going to miss Maribor but at least I will be right for Fort William.

Cheers
Rhys

Bad News: Won't be racing Maribor world cup.

2010-04-27T22:02:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

Yep, got some more bad news. As if breaking my femur and hand 7 months ago wasn't enough, I've now broken my arm.

I had been in Italy for 6 days when we were doing some test runs on our Ancillotti bikes. Just got to the last run of the day when I was near the bottom of the hill, coming around a berm, my arse end slid out and down I went. As I put my arm up to get back up and on the bike, my team mate came around the berm and accidentally run over my arm.

The end result was two broken bones just above the wrist. I spent 3 days in hospital having surgery to pin my arm back together. Tomaso Ancillotti made sure he got me the best surgeon in Florance. The surgeon did a great job but the scariest thing was being awake while they screwed my arm bad together. I did manage to sleep through 3/4 of the operation though...lol

The good news is I will only be out for 4 weeks. The bad news is that I will miss Maribor, and I've been looking forward to this race since finishing 13th there last year.

I've had my fair share of bad luck over the last 7 months, and now its time for me to go through another 2 years without another injury. *fingers, arms, legs crossed*

Here is a pic of me in a cast. The Italians are really looking after me by giving me a manicure....lol

Team Ancillotti in Italy

2010-04-17T16:43:00.001+10:00

Here is a photo of George and I in our new racing gear.

Leaving for Europe Today!

2010-04-12T08:37:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

I'm 3 hours away from leaving on a jet plane. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go.

Its been a tough 6 months since returning home from Europe late last year. Breaking my femur/hand/finger in October, didn't help my training preparations much before Christmas. I finished 6th in the Australian Champs in January, and that wasn't too bad considering it was my first race in a while.

So now I'm off to Italy to start training for the world cup season.. I'm hungrier than ever to get a good result at Maribor. I finished 12th there last year, so hoping for a top ten result this year. I'm really looking forward to racing on the world cup tracks this year. They are all challenging and technical tracks and that suits me just fine.

I will keep you all updated on my results and hopefully Mum will track down photo's of me from each race and I will add them to my write ups.

Thanks must go to my sponsors, Ancillotti Racing team, Unit Clothing and FTR.

Goodbye everyone and keep your fingers crossed for me to have a top season.

Cheers
Rhys

Cheers
Rhys

Oceania Finals

2010-03-21T19:03:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

What a day! I seeded 5th this morning and was feeling really good. The track was nice and technical and I took it easy during my final run, so I would have heaps in the tank for the finals.

The Finals: My run was perfect. I didn't make any mistakes except the fact that it all went too smoothly. I didn't push it hard enough and ended up 6th. I was hoping for a top 5, so a 6th is ok. Next race I will be pushing it alot harder.

Here are the results:

ELITE MEN
PL NAME SURNAME # FROM COUNTRY TIME GAP OVERALL PL- SEEDING
1 Cameron Cole 76 Christchurch New Zealand 2:39.15 +0:00.00 1 1- 2:43.36
2 Nathan Rankin 17 Levin New Zealand 2:41.03 +0:01.88 2 3- 2:47.85
3 Wyn Masters 2 New Plymouth New Zealand 2:45.01 +0:05.87 3 2- 2:46.97
4 Kieran Bennett 5 Nelson New Zealand 2:45.60 +0:06.45 4 12- 2:57.24
5 Matt Walker 20 Kawerau New Zealand 2:46.59 +0:07.44 6 5- 2:50.60
6 Rhys Willemse 21 Brisbane Australia 2:47.17 +0:08.02 7 6- 2:50.87
7 Glenn Haden 77 Wanganui New Zealand 2:47.52 +0:08.37 8 27- 6:42.50
8 Matt Scoles 19 Alexandra New Zealand 2:48.11 +0:08.96 9 10- 2:56.59
9 Richard Leacock 75 Wellington New Zealand 2:48.17 +0:09.02 10 7- 2:51.19
10 Martin Frei 73 Switzerland Switzerland 2:49.67 +0:10.52 14 8- 2:53.96
11 Reuben Miller 15 Nelson New Zealand 2:51.44 +0:12.30 17 14- 2:57.37
12 Hayden McGregor 74 Tauranga New Zealand 2:52.35 +0:13.20 21 15- 2:57.69
13 Freddie King 56 Christchurch New Zealand 2:53.13 +0:13.98 24 11- 2:56.93
14 Dan Sims 16 Auckland New Zealand 2:54.61 +0:15.47 27 16- 3:00.12
15 Lindsay Klein 12 Brisbane Australia 2:54.66 +0:15.51 28 18- 3:00.75
16 Laurie Dinham 8 Adelaide Australia 2:58.05 +0:18.90 39 19- 3:01.92
17 Michael Manning 14 Gold Coast Australia 2:58.71 +0:19.56 43 17- 3:00.53
18 Simon French 10 Howrah Australia 2:59.12 +0:19.97 47 13- 2:57.26
19 James Rennie 18 Christchurch New Zealand 2:59.24 +0:20.09 48 25- 3:24.26
20 Edo Franco 9 Saint Christophe Italy 3:01.88 +0:22.73 53 21- 3:05.15
21 Chris Barlin 3 Sydney Australia 3:01.91 +0:22.76 54 22- 3:05.32
22 Benjamin Ayling 78 Queensland Australia 3:06.42 +0:27.27 60 20- 3:02.12
23 Eymeric Blay 6 Papeete French Polynesia 3:20.66 +0:41.51 91 26- 3:25.69
24 Aari Barrett 4 Hastings New Zealand 3:33.95 +0:54.80 106 9- 2:54.34
25 Hayden Lester 13 Brisbane Australia 3:51.80 +1:12.65 118 24- 3:08.62
DNF Justin Leov 1 Dunedin New Zealand DNF 4- 2:47.87
DNS Kaine Cannan 7 Hobart Australia DNS DNS
DNS Ryan Hunt 11 Sydney Australia DNS 23-

My Ancillotti team mate George Brannigan, took the win in the under 19's. Well done mate!

2010 Oceania Championships

2010-03-20T22:39:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

I'm currently in Dunedin, New Zealand for the 2010 Oceania Champs. Seeding and Racing is tomorrow and looking forward to giving it my best shot. The track has been great and I'm enjoying riding a more technical track again.

I finally caught up with my Ancillotti team mate George Brannigan, and we are both really looking forward to racing the world cups this year.

Here are some photo's of me and George and me riding the track.

Will let you know how things go tomorrow.

Cheers
Rhys

Thredbo National Round Qualifying

2010-02-13T18:27:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

I'm here at Thredbo about to take on Australia's best in the final tomorrow.

All I can say is " IT'S WET WET WET". We've had so much rain over the last 3 days that the track is just a mush pit. There are rumors that they might call off the race if it continues to rain like this overnight. I am not enjoying riding in the mud. I usually love racing in the rain but this is hard work on a 8 min track. I've been really working hard on my fitness lately, and I would say that my fitness is really good right now, but its a real struggle when your trying to pedal through so much mud.

I also broke my clip in pedal today, so I raced the qualifying run with flats. I managed to borrow a pedal for the finals tomorrow from Troy Brosnan. Thanks Troy!

So tonight I'll have a good sleep and wake up ready to lift my game for the finals. I qualified 9th but I had a small crash after making a silly mistake down the bottom of the track. To make things worse, I had to then push the bike uphill and roll to the finishing line. So as you can see from the qualifying top ten, my time wasn't real good.

Bring on Tomorrow!!!

Here are the top ten results:

Downhill, Thredbo
Elite Male
1 7 Joshua Button 7:08.30
2 4 Chris Kovarik 7:08.61
3 1 Amiel Cavalier 7:13.69
4 72 Ben Cory 7:19.21
5 15 Shaun O'Connor 7:24.88
6 19 Rick Boyer 7:31.49
7 16 Rhys Atkinson 7:34.95
8 67 Deon Baker 7:45.62
9 10 Rhys Willemse 7:47.98
10 8 Bryn Atkinson 7:50.06

Australia Champs Video

2010-02-06T20:16:00.000+10:00

Here is a really short vid of me racing at the Australian champs. Thanks to Mitch Pierias for putting this vid together for me.

Rhys Willemse from Mitchell Pierias on Vimeo.

2010 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

2010-01-19T22:22:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

Just got back from racing the Australian Championships in Adelaide. Wow what a week!

A few days before leaving for Adelaide, I had a sore hand. I have just started riding again since breaking my femur and finger 3 months ago. Well it looks like I have broken my hand 3 months ago as well, and it hasn't healed. So I'm going to see the specialist on Thursday to organise an Operation to take a couple of floating bones out of my hand. I shouldn't be out of action for long, maybe a week or two. A broken hand wasn't going to stop me from racing the Australian Championships.

So the racing was great. I was up against world champion Sam Hill and Unit's own Chris Kovarik. My qualifying run went well with only a couple of little mistakes. I placed 5th with Sam Hill 1st and Chris 2nd.

My final run didn't go as planned. I made way to many mistakes thanks to the slippery gravel track. Sam Hill crashed out to take 5th. Chris finished 1st and I placed 7th. Still I'm not disappointment with my result. Its been a long 3 months after breaking my femur and I've had my new Ancillotti bike for only 2 weeks. Also, I was only just over 3 secs off Chris Kovarik's winning time, so I have alot to be happy about for the future.

Here are the top ten results.

Elite men – downhill
1. Chris Kovarik 1:56.03
2. Shaun O’Connor 1:57.52
3. Joshua Button 1:57.58
4. Kaine Cannan 1:58.50
5. Sam Hill 1:59.25
6. Amiel Cavalier 1:59.65
7. Rhys Willemse 1:59.82
8. Mitchell Delfs 2:00.07
9. Rhys Atkinson 2:00.40
10. William Rischbieth 2:00.51

Cheers
Rhys

My New Ride!

2010-01-07T11:08:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

I'm happy to say that I will now be riding for Ancillotti Racing team for the 2010 world cup season.

Here are some photo's of my new bike and race clothing.

Cheers
Rhys

Injury Update:

2009-12-14T22:04:00.001+10:00

Hi All,

Here's a update on my injury. The news is all good. I went to the specialist and the x ray showed the femur is healing better than expected. He was quite shocked by how much bone growth I had around the break. So I am now allowed back to training and have been hitting the bitumen on my road bike. I've also started back with my personal trainer Simon from Race Elements, and he's got me working out in the gym twice a week. I'm not allowed on my down hill bike just yet, but I'll be back racing in January and i can't wait. Having this time off has really made me hungry to get back on the bike.

I've got some more good news: I've signed on with a new team for next year overseas. I can't say which team I will be riding for just yet, as I'm waiting on the press release before I can say anything. I'm really looking forward to riding a new bike for a new team, and looking forward to taking on the best tracks in the world overseas. Its been great riding for Tomac over the last 2 years, but it was time to move on, and this new team offered me a deal that was hard to resist.

My goal now is to be right in time for the Australian Championships in Adelaide, which will be the 11th January. I know my fitness will be back to normal by then and it will be my first time riding my new bike, so I'm really looking forward racing again.

I'll keep you posted on my results.

Cheers
Rhys

Check out Episode 1 of Team Tomac!

2009-10-24T08:36:00.006+10:00

WORLD CHAMPS - CANBERRA

2009-09-10T22:43:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Well the world champs are over for another year. Here is my run down of an amazing week.

After my first day's practice I had the first of and hopefully what will become and annual event, the pumptrack world champs. It was held in the backyard of local bike shop owner Gazza, where he had made the most of the little space he has and built a really tight pumptrack. This was an underground event as the yard could only hold a maximum of 200 odd people so it was invite only and with Northland boy James on the gate uninvited had no chance of getting in. By the time qualifying was about to kick the yard was packed out with people the BBQ was sizzling and the majority of the crowd was enjoying a few cold ones. Many of the top World Cup riders showed up to give it a go, there was the likes of Minnaar, Peaty, Bryceland, Lopes, Kovarik, Fairclough just to mention a few all there battling it out with the locals.

My qualifying run went amazing, this was the first time I've ever tried this form of racing and I surprised myself how well I went. Even though there was a no pedaling rule you still got up a huge amount of speed up and it became really hard not to make a bobble on a turn or in the rollers. Many riders took advantage of the rerun rule after crashing out, I went pretty well out there reppin it up and qualifed in 2nd place. No surprises with the fastest qualifying time going to Brendan Fairclough as he is certainly no stranger to a pump track with one in his own backyard in Guildford, with Sick Mick Hannah taking 3rd.

By the time finals rolled round the crowd was amped and they cut the finals to only the 15 best riders which made so some tough competition and for finals there was no reruns so there was only one chance. Many of the first few riders felt the pressure and made mistakes or simply crashed out. I was the second last to take the course and was going well well and increasing my speed through every lap. Unfortunately on my second last lap, my back wheel slid out and rebounded off the fence and spun me around. All I could do is kiss the $2500 prize money away . Brendan Fairclough was robbed of the win after his pedal disconnected the timing in his super quick first run and he was forced to do another one when he was already tired. Sick Mick Hannah took the fastest time and the 2 n half grand that went with it, in front of local hero Timmy Eaton taking home 1000-bucks and 3rd went to another local Dave McMillan who put down an amazingly fast time for a 15 year old kid certainly deserving of the 500 dollars cash prize money.

So what a way to kick off the Worlds week, thanks to all who made this event happen, and all the awesome sponsors who put together an awesome amount of prize money, and cheers to Gazza for putting it on in his own backyard. Hopefully someone continues it on next year at Mt Saint Anne Worlds!

Now for the reason why we were all in Canberra. It was great to wear the green and gold again and being back home after my season overseas. Everything went great during the week. My runs were fine although I did have a crash during the week and hurt my arm a bit. The aussie physio soon had that problem fixed come race day.

Canberra has never been a track I really liked but after winning the Australian champs on this track 5 or so months ago, I knew I had the chance to taking the win. I personally like fast technical tracks and although I can pedal, I often find simple tracks a little boring and I find it hard to keep the concentration going when there's nothing exciting to look forward too. On Friday I qualified 5th. Most of the aussie boys except Shaun took it easy and didn't go all out. It was a new rule that we don't have to qualify anymore, we just need to do a timed run to race. I was confident that I could increase my speed in the finals. My Aussie champs time was a 2:35.00, so I knew I could blow my timed run to bits.

The finals was on Sunday. There were so many people there and a noticed a few "I love Rhys" signs. ha ha! There is nothing better than aussie support. I was having a few problems with my shock and Sram were kind enough to help me out. I ended up having to do 3 runs to get my suspension right before the finals and thats not something i usually do. I normanlly do one run and then relax until my race run. So I made my way up the track and waited around until it was my turn. I knew Shaun would go out strong but I didn't expect him to do much faster than his timed run and I was right. Danny Hart was the other rider I was worried about and Brook MacDonald. Aari Bennett wasn't a worry this time because he broke his finger in practice. (Hope you get well soon mate). So I take off for my race run and everything went well. My Primer handled everything the track was throwing at it. Once I got to the pedal section of the track, my legs went like jelly. Maybe doing those 3 runs in practice was too much and my legs couldn't pedal properly anymore. I was .8 sec behind ay the second split and I usually come home hard. Well today wasn't my day. I didn't come home hard, I actually came home soft and lost 2 secs. I ended up coming 4th. .05 off 3rd place. It's not the result I was dreaming of but when I put everything into prospective, The top 4 junior times were not far off Steve Peats winning time, so you have to be happy about that. If I can finish 13th at Maribor world cup, then I know I can be a top ten rider in the near future.

I just want to give a shout out to my Aussie team mate Will Gower. Will crashed in his warm up run on Sunday and didn't get to ride in the finals as he was taken to hospital. Unfortunately Will broke his back and it might be the end to his DH future. Get well mate and I hope you are up and running again in no time.

Last but not least. I just want to thank my sponsors Tomac, Sram, Hicks signs, KWT Maxxis and Revolution Mag for all your support. Thanks also to my personal sponsor Unit clothing. Also thanks heaps to all the aussie crew who helped us during the week. Thanks to the physio, our mechanic and to Chris our DH manager.

Cheers
Rhys

My Aussie Primer

2009-08-28T19:33:00.004+10:00

Hi All,

Just wanted to show off my new paint job on my new Primer.

I decided to get Aussie colours for the world champs next week. Its looking pretty good.

Here are some pics:

Photo's from Bromont WC

2009-08-03T07:13:00.003+10:00

Here are some pics from bromont. Thanks heaps to Scott Cartwright from Egg photography for all my photo's from the world cups and NPS races.

Bromont Finals!

2009-08-02T13:15:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

Today was the finals for Bromont World Cup... I have to admit I was feeling good this morning. Got up early, had a good feed and headed off to the track for practice. Qualifying 31st made me more relaxed I guess and I took it easy in qualifying and was hoping to do alot better in the finals.

My practice was good... Knew what lines to take and the track was dying out nicely after all the rain we had on Friday.

I'm standing up the top of the track with riders like Sam Hill, Steve Peat ect ect and I started to get a bit nervous... I move into the start gate, wait for the count down to start... 3, 2, 1 GO.... Well I went alright... I went out way to hard and way to fast... I decided to go for it but went way to loose on this bromont track... The track was full of big holes and slippery because of the rain and I just pushed it too hard. I crashed up in the top section and then again in the rock garden. This has been a lesson well learn't and I won't make that mistake again... I just wanted one more good result before coming home but that wasn't to be. I ended up in 75th place.

So now its time to come home to get ready to race the world champs in Canberra. I'm home for a few days and then I'm off to Canberra for a training camp... Looking forward to seeing the changes to the track and looking forward to racing the track where I became the Australian Champion.

I just want to thank a few people since my trip is now over....

Mum and Dad: Thanks heaps for letting me live my dream and for helping me get to where I am today.

Joel Smith: Tomac owner. The Tomac Primer has been great all season. Thanks so much for giving me a great bike plus for donating a Tomac Snyper and Tomac Carbide to raffle to raise funds for Tamryn and I. I really appreciate your support.

Rodney & Bec - (Supersports Australia). Thanks to you both for everything... Thanks for helping me to get sponsors and thanks for getting me bikes/bike parts. You go that extra mile for me and I really appreciate it alot.

Thanks to my sponsors, Tomac Bikes, Supersports, Hicks signs, Sram, KWT Maxxis, Revolution Magazine and to Unit Clothing.

One more thanks... To the people that helped us to get overseas. Harvey & Ben Power from Summer Harvest, Gavin from Ashgrove Cycles and Digitextiles. Thanks so much for all your support. Tam and I really appreicate everything you have done for us.

Well thats it for me... I'm heading home and looking forward to seeing my family and friends before taking the best on in Canberra.

Cheers
Rhys

BROMONT WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

2009-08-01T12:22:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Just finished qualifying and all is good. Took it a bit easy because of all the rain and mud, but finished up in 31st position, which is great. I'm still feeling a bit sore from my crash last week but its not too bad.

Suppose to be sunny and hot tomorrow which will be great. I do like riding in the mud but not in the finals.

I'll give it all I've got and hopefully finish in the top 20's. That's my goal anyway.

Cheers
Rhys

Quest Newspapers Sports Award

2009-07-30T16:09:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

On Tuesday night (28th July) my parents went to an awards night on my behalf.
I'm happy to announce that I won the Sportsmen of the year award. I've won this title last year as well and its a great honour to win it again. Not only do you get recognised for your sporting achievements but the best thing is doing voleenteer work like working at McDonald's for McHappy Day. I get to help raise money for sick kids and their families.

So thanks again Quest Newspapers for this great Award.

Cheers
Rhys

World Champs T Shirts

2009-07-29T11:28:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

I've just found this t shirt from a company called Redbubble. They are doing up t shirts for the world champs this September in Canberra to support the Aussies racing. I was really stoked to see a t shirt named after me.

You can order this t shirt here: http://www.redbubble.com/people/ak37/t-shirts/3496120-1-rhys-willemse

Mont Staine Anne world cup

2009-07-27T14:51:00.001+10:00

This pic was taken before I crashed.

Mont Sainte Anne Qualifying

2009-07-25T19:30:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

Just updating you all about how things went in my qualifying run... I didn't make it to the start gate.

For the first time ever, I had managed to make the top 80 in the world list. I'm now ranked 53 in the world. This means that I am allowed to do an extra training session before the qualifying starts... So I was on course and riding well when I made one big mistake and came down hard on a rock... I ended up going to hospital because I had trouble breathing and walking. The end result is alot of deep tissue damage, pinched nerves and heaps of bruises.

I'm feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself but I've been put on painkillers and hopefully will be right to race at Bromont. This now makes my chances of wearing the UCI jersey alot harder.

Here is another video. I'm featured about 2 mins into the vid.

Cheers
Rhys

Mont Sainte Anne Video - Day Two

2009-07-24T18:32:00.001+10:00

Hi All,

Just found this video from MTB Cut. I'm featured in the first 35 secs.

Hope you like:

Cheers
Rhys

Mont Saint Anne World Cup

2009-07-23T15:00:00.003+10:00

Hi All,

We made it to Montreal yesterday after spending 4 weeks at Whistler. Whistler was alot of fun and alot of riding. I think my fitness is now the best its ever been thanks to all the tracks we've been riding there.

Yesterday was Tam's birthday and it must have been the shortest birthday ever because of the time difference between Vancouver and Montreal. Tam is now the big 18 and this means he's now legal...lol Poor Tam spent most of his birthday on a plane or in a car but we took him out for dinner once we made it to Mont Saint Anne.

Today was the track walk which was sick. The track has a couple of new sections with big jumps and heaps of berms. One of the jumps has a big enough lip you could back flip off it.

The rain has been falling since we arrived and looks like its going to be a wet race. I'm not sure if I am happy about the mud or not, but will know more tomorrow once we've had a few practice runs.

Sign on today was an all aussie occasion. I felt like I was at a National race because of all the aussies here. It's like I'm back at home...

Will write more after the finals and hopefully have some pics.

Cheers
Rhys

Tomac team on Totally Wild TV Show.

2009-07-14T12:51:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

Here is a rough copy of Tamryn and I on Totally Wild. We filmed this segment before we went overseas.

Cheers
Rhys

Maribor World Cup Photo's

2009-06-24T14:54:00.002+10:00

Maribor World Cup

2009-06-22T02:38:00.005+10:00

Hi All,

Just thought I would post this video (thanks Mum for e mailing it to me) up from my run today at Maribor World Cup.

I qualified today in 12th position. I couldn't believe I had done so well because I made a couple of mistakes in my race run. My time was 3.20.65

To top things off, I've just finished the finals and finished up in 13 position with a time of 3.10.04. In the video you will see me keep going at the end of the race. I thought I hadn't done well because I made had a small crash in the last section of the track. My foot came off the pedal and my bike and me spun around. So i thought I would of finished in 60th position. Man was I shocked and stoked when I looked up at the score board and noticed I had finished 4th on the ladder. The last 12 riders came down the hill and these are the guys that are super quick. To finish amongst the best Down Hill mountain bikers in the world is a dream come true.

I wasn't expecting anything great this weekend as I have been suffering from the flu for the last few days. To finished 13th is unreal and I'm really happy. This now places me 2nd overall in juniors and if I do well in Canada, I could take 1st position.

Tam and I are now off to Canada on Thursday. We will be staying at Whistler for 4 weeks before doing the last 2 world cups in Montreal, before coming home to race for Australia. I'm really looking forward to relaxing with the Aussie guys in Whistler before taking on the best in the world again.

This has been the best day ever.

Cheers
Rhys

Photo from Fort William World Cup.

2009-06-08T22:50:00.001+10:00

Fort William World Cup

2009-06-08T09:44:00.004+10:00

Hi All,

Just an update on how things went with the Fort William World Cup.

Practice on Friday and Saturday was not that great. I didn't get many practice runs because of a few mechanical problems. On Friday I busted a rim, my forks were playing up and I spent alot of time trying to get these problems sorted out before the qualifying run on Saturday afternoon. Saturday came around and I went up for my first run, 1/4 down the track I got a flat tyre. By the time I pushed back up the track to get the gondola back down to fix my tyre, it left me with only one practice run.

Qualifying turned out to be a dream come true. I qualified in 48th Position. My run was great with only a little problem of trying to get around a rider that had crashed. The track is long with alot of peddling. By the time you get to the last section, your legs are built up with lactic acid, your arms are numb and your trying all you can just to breathe. I managed to put up with the pain and did a time of 5:03:49. I knew I would have to improve on this time if I wanted to stay in the top 50's. I think I was in shock because not only had I made the finals, but to place 48th was something I've only ever dreamt about. My dream had turned into reality.

The finals:.
I was feeling really good... Got up early and had a good breakfast. I felt relaxed but a little nervious. I packed my bags and headed with Tam and Bernard to the track.

Wow what can I say about the finals?... I couldn't believe the amount of people there.. It was the biggest world cup I've ever seen. People lined the track, there were cameras everywhere, cow bells, horns, you name it and it was there.

Bernard and I headed up the hill for our final run. I knew in my mind what I had to do, and my focus was on my race plan. I lined up for my run and I have to admit that the nerves were starting to get to me. Once I hit that gate, everything changed and I just went for it... I had absolutly nothing to lose. My race run felt great and I crossed the line with a time of 4:56:45. I remember looking at the clock and seeing my time. My name had 4th place beside it. I think I was shocked for a while.. I knew I had done well but didn't expect to pull out such a fast time. My finals time was 9 secs quicker than my qualifing time. I didn't know how I made up 9 secs. I could only dream of a top 50 in the past. To finish 39th out of 82 of the best riders in the world, was and is a dream come true.

We are now heading to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia for the European Champs. Will write more when I find some internet.

Cheers
Rhys

Another Video:

1st Place - British National DH Series - Rnd 2

2009-06-03T15:04:00.008+10:00

Last weekend, Tam and I, headed up to Wales to compete in round 2 of the British National Downhill Series at Liangollen. This was a new track and I have to admit that it was hell on wheels. I thought Italy was tough, but this track was the steepest, most technical track I've ever had the pleasure to ride.
This track was not a place for clips and unfortunately, clips is all I had packed in my bag. I felt my chances of winning this was not so good, as I was competing against some of the best junior riders in Britain and trying to unclip at every twist and turn was not going to make life easy.
I felt good during my practice runs and I knew I was going to have to go for it in the finals. One mistake on this track was going to hurt, so my mind was on staying on the bike and trying not to make mistakes. I let loose in the finals and just went for it. I have to admit there were a couple of scary moments, but I managed to stay on my bike and cross the line in 1st place.
My team mate Tam, also made it onto the podium taking 4th position.

Its going to be sad to leave England because I've had a successful run here. It feels great to win the 4x and DH and taking the titles away from the Brits. They can't wait for me to bugger off back home. lol

Tam & I just want to say thanks to our sponsors.... Tomac Bikes, Super Sports, Revolution magazine and would like to welcome our new sponsor MSC Maxxis. Alot of Thanks must go to Emond from KWT Maxxis for hooking us up overseas. Also I would like to thank Harvey and Ben Power from Sunshine Harvest, Digitextiles and Ashgrove Cycles for all your support. We really appreciate it. Last but not least, I have to thank Unit Clothing. I love wearing Unit clothing, Its the best!!.

We are now in Fort William, getting ready to take on the best in the world cup. Will update you all after qualifying.

Cheers
Rhys

4x podium

2009-05-27T08:37:00.001+10:00

Nps 4x Rnd 2

2009-05-26T01:56:00.003+10:00

hi all
this past weekend i raced the Nps national 4x Rnd at bridgenorth in England.
i was lucky enough to find a bike for the weekend which was kindly lent to me by bernard kerr. the track was very wide and fast with big banked up turns and nice flowing jumps. through out the day i won all my heats, then in the final it was a close race, i got an alright gate start but i was second to the first turn and from there i followed the other rider till the last straight where i decided to make a move, i went out wide on the Bern and held it open, than it was a sprint to the last straight full of jumps which i managed to get ahead of the rider and take the win and finish 1st position in junior.
i will have some pictures up soon from the event!!
Cheers
Rhys

Race run- Andorra

2009-05-18T07:17:00.003+10:00

This is my race run from Andorra. unfortunately i got a flat tyre, but Im still really happy about making the finals and feeling confident about making the finals in fort William.

La Bresse

2009-05-13T18:15:00.000+10:00

2009-05-13T17:53:00.003+10:00

Hey
Just finished the weekend of racing in La Bresse, practice went really well for me in the mud but the conditions were always changing and by the time that qualification came around it was already dry. the dry track was a lot of fun but a bit slippery in areas. in my qualification run i had a good clean run and i was pretty satisfied. but with 231 other people racing on the track i knew it was going to be hard to qualify. it came down to the last 20 people and i was nudged out of the top 80 and ended up placing 86th with a mere 0.2 separating me from qualifying...

but off to the new track now in Andorra and im hoping for a placing there. we walked the track yesterday and it is looking really good, a lot of technical and fast sections. and with a fair bit of snow on the mountain is sure to keep the track damp and cold.

Rhys

World Cup Rnd 2 La Bresse

2009-05-08T05:42:00.003+10:00

Hi all,
Just here at the 2nd round of the world cups in La Bresse ,France..
after walking the track today, i am quite happy with the track and have been sorting out lines for the race. The track is awesome it has steep sections and really technical parts, but the forecast is for rain Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which is going to make racing quite interesting. I have practice tomorrow from 8:30 to 2:30 so will let you know how everything is going ..

Cheers
Rhys

Leaving today

2009-04-30T09:47:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone...
just spending the last few hours at home packing and getting everything organized before i leave to catch a plane to the 2nd round of the world cup series in La Bresse, France...
hope to keep you updated and talk to you soon
Rhys

3 Days Till Europe

2009-04-27T10:51:00.000+10:00

Hi all,
Welcome to my new blog page. ill be updating and posting blogs after races and events.
looking forward to leaving in 3 days to take on the world cups and a few other races in europe and canada with my team (Tomac Racing Australia Team)
I will update the day i land in Europe and be sure to inform you of whats going on.
Cheers
Rhys