South West Academy of Sport scholarship holder Aiden Wright has outraced some of Western Australia’s best up-and-coming riders on Nannup’s new tracks to claim an under-17 cross-country mountain biking championship title.

The 16-year-old speedster built on his state series to cross the finish line first in his category of the 2022 Auscycling WA XCO State Championships, held earlier this month.

“It was so good to win the championships,” Wright said.

“It was quite a tough course so I was happy to win that. All the training and SWAS workshops definitely paid off.”

Fresh from his cross-country victory on home soil in the South West, the Bunbury athlete changed gears to take on the gnarly enduro course of the 2022 Auscycling Gravity Enduro National Championships at Red Hill in Victoria over the weekend. Wright finished sixth in his under-17 category.

The emerging athlete will have a chance to rest up before putting himself to the test in the AusCycling Cross Country National Championships early next year in Thredbo.