Madeline Sinderberry has won the 2026 Australian World Cup Qualifying Series, finishing just three points ahead of Rhys Stones after nine legs of competition.

With 72 points from her best five results, Madi secured the series ahead of Rhys on 69, with James Paterson-Robinson finishing third on 61. Across a season that featured 57 riders on the final leaderboard, the leading five each took a different route to their result.

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For Madi, a superb start proved decisive. Riding Camie Z, she placed third in the opening leg for 15 points before winning the next two legs, adding the maximum 20 points on each occasion. Those three performances delivered 55 points and established her as a serious contender early in the season.

Madi competed in seven of the nine legs. With only each rider’s best five scores counting towards the final standings, she dropped two one-point results, retaining scores of 20, 20, 15, 11 and six to finish on 72.

Rhys contested every leg and kept the pressure on through to the final competition at Boneo with third place aboard Riverton All Star.

Consistency defined his season. Although a leg victory eluded him, Rhys finished in the top five on five occasions. His counting scores comprised three 15-point results and two worth 12 points, while scores of zero, one, five and six were discarded. It was a determined season-long effort that left him just short of the title.

James produced an impressive finish to claim third overall, collecting 43 of his 61 points in the final three legs.

Victory with Diamond B Vivienne at Stonewall, earned James 20 points. He followed that with 11 points in Sydney and another 12 for fifth place aboard Kampari at Boneo. Those late results, added to his earlier scores of three and 15, secured his place in the season’s top three.

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Fourth went to Sarah McMillan on 58 points, following a campaign built on strong early performances. Sarah won the opening leg with Tyrone, then collected 17 points in the second leg and 13 in the third. A further five points in the fourth leg brought her tally to 55 before the season had reached its halfway point. Three points at Boneo completed her final total.

Josh Collins needed just three appearances to finish fifth on 49 points. Starting his campaign in the fifth leg, Josh won with Cornel and repeated that success in Sydney. Eighth place in the final leg added nine points to his two 20-point victories, securing a top-five finish from a short and highly successful campaign.

Phillip Lever finished sixth on 48 points, just one behind Josh. Victoria Stuckey and Jamie Kermond shared seventh on 45, while Melissa Blair and Sam Overton finished equal ninth on 43. Sam ended the season with victory at Boneo aboard Oaks Cassanova, delivering two clear rounds to finish ahead of Jamie on Yalambi’s Lord Byron and Rhys on Riverton All Star.

For Madi, the final standings confirmed the value of those outstanding early performances with Camie Z. Two consecutive victories, backed by three further counting results, earned her the 2026 Australian World Cup Qualifying Series title.

2026 Australian League Final Result

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