#TrainingWheelsToTokyo – Canberra pair ready to take on the world again

As Canberra is the nation's capital, so too is it where Australia's Olympic mountain bike heroes Daniel and Rebecca McConnell have honed their craft.

At the Tokyo Games in July 2021, the pair will again take their Canberra roots to the Olympic Games, where they will make history as they represent their country for the fourth and third time, respectively,

Established in 1988, Canberra Off-Road Cyclists (CORC) is one of Australia's largest mountain bike clubs, with a renowned junior program that has been the catalyst for producing a host of the country's best cross-country riders.

With Mt Stromlo as their trail hub, the club and venue has hosted both World and National Championships, with their social club rides even attracting the best in the world.

The club continues to ensure the mountain bike community in and around Canberra are well catered for when it comes to events holding cyclo-cross races, dirt crits, downhill and enduro races on top of their cross-country events.

And it's here where Rebecca McConnell (nee Henderson) followed the wheels of her father John Henderson and brother Ben by competing at the local races when she was 11 years old.

"Canberra Off-Road Cyclists were a huge part of my early stages of riding," said Rebecca. "My family was really involved in the club, first in the club races and then right through organising the MTB World Cup and World Championships in 2008 and 2009.

"When I was younger, we had such an awesome group of riders, and I loved that!"

While there may have been some early reluctance to jump onto the saddle, Rebecca proved she was a natural on the bike and began challenging the older girls early on and caught the eye of the tight-knit mountain bike community competing at the popular 24hr mountain bike event through the forests of Canberra.

Despite success in her other favourite sports of hockey and cross-country running, mountain biking had captured Rebecca's heart, and she set her sights on a professional career.

Rebecca ensured she would be on the start line at every club, state and national race. And since then, she has never been beaten at a National Championships, starting from her first as a junior in 2005 to her eighth elite cross country title earlier this year.

McConnell has won two World Championships bronze medals in the past three years, a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and has reached the World Cup Cross Country podium six times.

"Now my visits to the club races are a bit more occasional because I'm overseas and travelling so much I don't usually race too much at home, but Canberra Off-Road Cyclists is still always there and now supporting the next generation of riders," Rebecca added.

"Canberra Off-Road Cyclists and all the clubs are so important, and you never know which club is going to produce the next Aussie champion."

Daniel's love of bikes began at the age of five in the small Victorian town of Bruthen. Riding through the forest to the primary school, he entered his first mountain bike race a few years later.

At 13, he joined the Bairnsdale Cycling Club and his mother Jenny and father Ian, where he would combine the love of the road and dirt to compete at the junior races, locally, state and nationally.

Dan's progression through the ranks of the sport was swift, with his first national title in the Under 17s. Multiple national titles would follow, with the boy from Bruthen reaching the top of the World Cup podium in 2013 and a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Canberra Off-Road Cyclists President Matt Battye knows the entire club will be behind the pair as they compete in Tokyo.

"Bec and Dan are a huge draw for our junior programs as they are approachable, encouraging, personable and giving of their time when they are back home, especially since Bec was also a junior at the club," said Battye. "It certainly gives our young riders a real boost to see someone from their club doing well on the world stage."

"While Canberra Off-Road Cyclists has given Bec and Dan tremendous support over the years, I would say they have given back more than the club has given to them by lining up in our races or even simply turning up and saying hello at a club race.

"That's the kind of involvement that makes the club a real community and everyone engaged in their careers. The Henderson family has been so involved in the sport in Canberra for many years."

"The rise of Bec through the club has also seen our junior base grow, especially with the girls as many who admire Bec are now lining up against her to race and for them, that is really special."

The Olympic Games Mountain Bike Cross-Country will take place at the Izu MTB Course, two hours southwest of Tokyo. The off-road course measures 4,100 in length with elevations of up to 150m.

The men's cross-country race will take place on Monday 26 July from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM AEST, and the women's cross-country race will take place the following day on Tuesday 27 July from 4:00 PM AEST – 6:00 PM AEST.