Mitch Thompson wins International Downhill Federation's Newtown's Nation at Bathurst

As the home city hope in the International Downhill Federation's opening round, Newton's Nation, Thompson never buckled under the pressure and was outstanding through the weekend's racing.

In the process Thompson became not only the first Australian to take out the Newton's Nation open downhill category but also became the country's first ever IDF World Cup event champion.

Thompson had finished third at Newton's Nation in 2017 but crashed out in the quarter-finals of last year's event.

Following the podium presentation - complete with a victory 'shoey' - Thompson was almost lost for words.

"It's surreal. It didn't feel real at the bottom," he said.

"I yelled from the finish line to when I got off my board. I got the podium in 2017 and I crashed out last year so I came back looking for some redemption and I got it.

"It's something to put in the history books. It's going to take a while for the feeling to set in properly."

Thompson qualified as the ninth seed in the opens finals bracket of 64 riders.

He made it through the opening two rounds unscathed before arriving at the quarter-finals - the place his campaign came to an end last year.

Thompson was expecting to come up against fastest qualifier Brennan Bast in the race but the latter, who finished runner-up in last year's event, had failed to progress past the second round.

The Bathurst rider cleared the mental obstacle with ease and booked a spot in the final eight.

He came second in the semi-final to Max Capps but was going to get his revenge in the decisive race.

In fact, he saved some of his best corners for the run which mattered most.

"I pushed off in front. They were close behind but at The Dipper I got a bit of a boost and got through there well and boosted away," Thompson said, regarding the final.

"Coming into the elbow I held it through there and got the best exit speed I'd gotten all weekend and stayed away."

What makes Thompson's efforts all the more special is that it was his first race back since injury.

Thompson had to spend almost half a year away from racing and required shoulder surgery (due to frequent dislocations), which meant he had limited practice time in the run towards Newton's.

"I only started skating again only a month and a half ago and spent probably six months off the board. There was a lot of conditioning," he said.

"Coming back into this I didn't get the chance to do much skating but I went out there to prove myself and that's what I did."

Daina Banks beat Morgan Owens to third place in the final.

Jackson Shapiera (Dirty 30s), Emily Pross (Women's), Nick Broms (Juniors) and Abdil Mahdzan (Luge) won the other categories.

The next events on the IDF calendar will be Tame The Taipan (April 12, Gold Coast) and the Philippines double of Seaside (April 22) and Keeping It High (April 25).