The downhill seeding round took place at the Lucas tops downhill seeding round at Oceania Mountain Bike Championships today ©Oceania Cycling Confederation

Dean Lucas topped the standings in the seeding round of the men’s downhill event at the Oceania Mountain Bike Championships in Bright.

The seeding round officially began the Championships, following the cancellation of the team relay competition yesterday at Mystic Park.

Australia’s Lucas produced a strong performance in the seeding round, as he completed the course in a time of 3min 27.256sec.

He ended narrowly ahead of his compatriot Connor Fearon, who was just 0.273 seconds off the pace.

The top three was completed by Jackson Frew, as the Australian achieved a time of 3:31.631.

Only two cyclists started the women’s event.

Sian A’Hern posted the fastest time in the seeding round as she clocked 4:10.545.

Anton Cooper will hope to retain his men's cross-country title tomorrow ©Getty Images
Anton Cooper will hope to retain his men's cross-country title tomorrow ©Getty Images

She was 25 seconds quicker on the course than her fellow Australian Tegan Molloy.

The finals of the downhill and cross-country competitions are due to both take place tomorrow.

New Zealand’s Anton Cooper will be hoping to win the men’s cross-country title for the fourth successive year.

Samara Sheppard, also of New Zealand, will bid for a third straight victory.

Under-23 and 19 events are also scheduled to take place.