We name the young Toowoomba mountain bikers ready to make mark on state and world stage
REVEALED: Perched on top of the Great Dividing Range Toowoomba is the perfect place for aspiring mountain bikers to hone the skills and defy gravity. Here’s our look at the young stars ready to shine on the state, national and world stage.
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Nestled atop the Great Dividing Range – Toowoomba is the ideal location for mountain bikers and adventure seekers.
The Garden City Escarpment is lined with some of Queensland’s best cross country and downhill mountain bike tracks with countless riders testing themselves every weekend.
Next month Toowoomba will play host to some of the nation’s top riders with the city hosting round one of the AusCycling MTB National Series (Downhill).
Ahead the major event we’re taking a look at the next generation of riders ready to defy gravity across the Garden City and beyond.
Elle De Nooyer
One of if not the best young rider to come out of the Garden City in years.
De Nooyer, who is a two-time Enduro National and Enduro Oceania champion, also has a Oceania Downhill championship and multiple Top 10 World Cup finishes to her name and has represented Australia at the UCI Downhill World Championships.
De Nooyer has plans to compete on the national and international stage next year while juggling the demands of full-time work and university study and hopes she can inspire the next generation of female riders.
She is a resilient and determined athlete – evidenced by the fact she overcame a significant injury to shine on the world stage this year.
Oliver Colthup
Under the guidance of four-time 4X World Champion and fellow Toowoomba rider Jared Graves – Colthup has gone from strength-to-strength.
Colthup is a two-time Downhill National Champion who loves technical tracks and the steeper the better.
The teen hopes to compete on the UCI World Cup circuit in 2025 and is also Australia team selection for the UCI World Championships in September.
Like his mentor Graves, Colthup loves sharing his knowledge and wants to encourage more riders to get on track.
Dean Robertson
Competing in both Gravity Enduro and Downhill races, Roberston is a familiar face in the state downhill series.
The rising star of mountain biking is ready to take his riding to the next level in 2025 competing at prestigious events like Crankworx, Cannonball in Thredbo and the National Downhill Series.
A keen learner who thrives on the advice given to him by fellow riders he will be one to watch next year.
Ezra Wheeler
The 11-year-old has been riding bikes since he could walk and it shows in her skills and determination
A keen BMX rider in 2021, he won the 8-9 years Toowoomba BMX Club Championship
and was awarded Rookie of the Year.
Soon after, he discovered mountain biking and now spends most weekends in Jubilee Park. Wheeler got of to a flying start in mountain biking, winning round 1 of the Outlaw Downhill Series in Toowoomba, in his first competitive race.
He is now focused on the upcoming national downhill event in Toowoomba.
Penelope Pfingst
After consecutive second place finishes, Pfingst broke through to win the Hiddenvale Epic this year.
Pfingst loves flowy downhill rides, rating Jubilee Park’s Highlife among her favourite, but she does enjoy the ‘climbs’ because they make the descents all the more rewarding.
Under the guidance of De Nooyer Pfingst is keen to test herself in the downhill arena next year.
Zade Vonhoff
Vonhoff is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to become a downhill star.
He is hard at work improving his fitness, strength, speed and technical skills.
He has plans to compete in the upcoming Toowoomba round of National Series Downhill event in January before travelling south to compete in the Cannonball Festival in Thredbo.
Nate Ryals
The 15-year-old enduro racer started riding in 2019 and racing in 2020.
After dabbling in downhill in 2023, he had his first full enduro this year and he picked up several wins.
Hard at work developing his fitness Ryals has his sights set on winning the Queensland title next year.
Ethan Ryals
Aged 7, Ryals started riding mountain bikes in 2019 was competing just two years later.
After previously claiming second in the South East Queensland Downhill series he made the step to the highly competitive under-15 Gravity Enduro format this year.
Despite a number of challenges early on he has steadily improved all season.
Now he has sights set on podium finishes in 2025.
Addison Belling
The 14-year-old has always loved riding.
Belling has only just started racing after being invited by one of her teachers to ride in the Toowoomba round of the Rocky Trail Academy series.
She has now competed in two rounds of the series, achieving some excellent results for her first year in competition.
Belling loves the supportive nature of the riding community and enjoys challenging herself with more technical trails to build her skill levels up.
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