TWO Hovea mountain biking brothers made their mark on the Snowy Mountain’s bike trails and the national stage after competing at the Cannonball mountain bike festival in New South Wales.

Nine-year-old Dane Breznikar competed in the U11 category and was crowned King of Cannonball after he became the overall winner.

Dane dominated during the competition, winning three gold medals and two silver medals across five events.

His older brother Koen, who is 11 years old, competed in the U13 category, securing a bronze medal and finished fifth overall in a highly competitive field.

The major mountain biking event, held from February 10-15, saw riders from across the country battle it out in multiple mountain biking disciplines.

Their mother Katie Breznikar said the atmostphere at the event was very positive and energetic, and although there were professional riders across the nation in attendance, the brothers handled the pressure well.

“The boys handled the pressure really well and the brothers were very supportive of each other throughout the whole thing,” she said.

“Koen had a few mechanical issues in his races so for example in his first race his tire busted off and he rode the rest of the tracks on his rim.

“That’s part of racing and you don’t get a second chance.

“During the event because of the weather, the chairlifts went on hold so the boys actually only got to go for two practise rides before having to compete.

“Usually, you’d get at least five more trial runs, but after the competition, some of the Thredbo riding ambassadors came up asking how many times he’d been on the track.

“Dane had to tell them he had only been on it twice and they were amazed because some of them said they had been on it about 500 times because they lived there.”

The boys had no previous experience or family tradition in mountain biking and had only found their passion for it two years ago, with Mrs Breznikar saying now the whole family rides.

“I don’t race them though,” she said.

Mrs Breznikar said preparation for the event meant a lot of mountain biking in the hills between Mundaring and Kalamunda and the boys had plans to return to the Cannonball mountain bike festival event next year and had their sights on turning professional and riding across the world.