The 22-year-old experienced  rider crashed out in a couple of European-based World Cup meets recently, but returned home for victory in the NSW-ACT RedAss Downhill Championships near Sydney on the weekend.

Mudd took out the elite men’s event once more by narrowly keeping Newcastle’s Bruce Moir and Canberra’s Tim Eaton at bay at Wisemans Ferry. 

The top three finished the final within one second of each other.

Read more about Mudd's road to success here

Mudd was the fastest seed going into the decider and stopped the clock at one minute and 55.04 seconds.

“It was a pretty tight race in the end there and I knew I had to turn it up a bit,” he said in an interview post race.

“It wasn’t the cleanest of runs, I was just pushing it that bit too hard, but happy to come down and beat him.”

The NSW-ACT RedAss Downhill Series continues during the next two months, with rounds two and three at Green Valleys and Lithgow respect­ively after opening in Thredbo in April.

Mudd will look to that and the 2015-2016 Australian Mountain Bike National Series, which starts in Mount Stromlo in December before moving to Pemberton and Thredbo early in the new year.

He will defend his title from last season after clinching his maiden national downhill crown in the final round in Toowoomba in February.

This follows a disappointing exit from World Cup events in Scotland and Austria in June. 

“I kind of blew my chances with anything too special with my last trip, driving my head into the ground,” Mudd said. “Just going to work hard into the national series and try to do something proper next year.” 

Downhill is the third two-wheeled discipline in which the apprentice ­fitter has excelled, with previous national titles in both four cross and BMX. 

In other news from the NSW-ACT RedAss Downhill Championships on the weekend, Thornton’s Colleen Kehoe clinched the Master Women division.