Sport
26 May, 2023
‘Sik Mik’ wows local crowds
Thousands watch spectacular Crankworx Cairns 2023 at Smithfield mountain bike trails
LOCAL champion Mick “Sik Mik” Hannah has taken a win at Crankworx Cairns as he took home the win in front of a roaring crowd of fans, friends and close family.
While some riders agonised over endless training laps to try and find the fastest lines down the perilous track, others found confidence in a familiar course that hasn’t changed much since its build in 2006.
Not surprisingly, one of these riders happened to be the fastest on the day, thanks to over 30 years of experience on the track.
“It’s amazing. It’s maybe the fifth international race I’ve had here. I’ve had seconds and been very close. I was third here last year, so to get the win was really special,” said Hannah.
“Today is my mum’s 60th birthday so it makes it extra meaningful. We had lots of family here for that, so for all the people who had been following me online for so long to finally see me in person and take the win, it was awesome.”
Despite the decades of practice on the challenging track, Hannah said he was acutely aware of how calculated he had to be out there in race that was ultimately decided by three tenths of a second.
“This is a finicky track to race, you have to be quite precise,” said Hannah.
“It’s such a fine line to push the limit and still ride clean enough. I made a few little mistakes, but I felt pretty good. I just buried myself in the sprint in the end and it ended up being enough.”
Taking home the silver, Jackson Frew narrowly missed taking down Hannah, the hometown hero by three tenths of a second. Despite being disappointed by the result, the feeling of despair would be short lived as he appreciated the beauty in losing to the local legend.
“It felt really really good. Any time you’re that close to Mick, its a really really good day in the office,” said Frew.
“Unfortunately it was that close which kind of stings, but its Mick and I’ve got so much respect for him. I’ve looked up to him for such a long time, so to be that close here (on Mick’s home track), that feels absolutely incredible.”
Joining Hannah on the top step of the podium was New Zealand’s Jenna Hastings, who returned to her winning ways after an extended series of close seconds and podium finishes.
“I’ve been getting podiums a lot … seconds, thirds, fourths and I just really wanted to win again,” said Hastings.
“I think I just wanted it a lot today and left it all out there in the sprint ...”
