All Eyes On Jackson Connelly

We love seeing our Mountain Bike Ambassadors succeed – but there’s something special about a story like Jackson Connelly, the born and bred Thredbo local that simply never gives up.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jacko🇦🇺 (@jackson_connelly)

This past weekend, Jackson came 13th in the 2026 Val di Sole Elite DH World Championships… one of his best results yet. While we are extremely proud of Jackson, it comes to no surprise that his hard work and tenacious spirit is clearly paying off.

It’s exactly the kind of result the Thredbo community has been waiting to see. Every year at the Cannonball MTB Festival, the crowd lining the Australian Open Downhill track holds its breath as Jackson comes through the finish corral, hoping this is the year he finally takes the title on home soil. He’s been close before: agonisingly close, more than once. But there’s a reason people keep showing up to watch. Everybody who knows Jackson knows he’s capable of winning it. It’s just been a matter of when.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jacko🇦🇺 (@jackson_connelly)

If his form in Val di Sole is anything to go by, that day might not be far off and bringing that form home to Cannonball is exactly what this community has been hoping for.

There’s still racing to be done before he lines up at Cannonball, too. With two rounds of the World Cup season left, in Whistler and Lake Placid, and this kind of confidence behind him, we can’t wait to see what Jackson pulls off next.

So when the gates drop at this year’s Australian Open Downhill, expect the crowd at Cannonball to be louder than ever. Jackson Connelly has done the hard yards on his own terms, and Thredbo is right behind him.

Congratulations Jacko. We can’t wait to see you race at home.