Graeme Mudd will attempt to reach the peak of another summit at Thredbo this weekend.
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The 22-year-old from Woodberry won’t be hitting the slopes to ski, but getting on two wheels and riding to retain his Mountain Bike Australia national downhill series title.
The defending champion sits second after the opening two rounds after twice being narrowly beaten by fellow Hunter Mountain Bike Association member Jack Moier, including a margin of just 0.8 seconds at Canberra before Christmas.
A first in qualifying last start has kept Mudd (202.5) within striking distance of Moier (232.5).
Oliver Zwar (85) is well behind third place.
There are 80 points allocated to a race win and 65 for a second.
Qualifying is split 40 to 32.5 for the top two positions.
The fourth and final round follows in Toowoomba early next month before the national championships in Bright, Victoria, between March 17 and 20.
Mudd heads to Cairns in April for the second round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series.
He then packs up and goes overseas following the tour for the rest of 2016, which includes legs in Scotland, Austria, Switzerland, Canada and Andorra.