South Island Secondary Schools to hold championships

More than 220 riders from the NZCT South Island Secondary Schools will race their mountain bike championships September 27 and 28 in Alexandra, New Zealand.

The cross country kicks off the championship with its combination of singletrack, gravel road and mainly rocky terrain. A hill climb, featuring a gain of over 220m over 2.5km follows, winding up among briar, craggy outcrops, and thyme fields on Old Coach Road. The 1.7km down hill race will drop 200m over Central Otago's famed rocky terrain.

Names to watch out for this year include Dunstan High School's Alex McGregor and Burnside High School's David Scandrett, both of whom are also recently back from the World Championships held earlier this month in Fort William, Scotland. Other riders of interest will be Rachel Richards (Roncalli College), Georgia Wight (Dunstan High School), Rupert Chapman (Christs College) and Jed Rooney (Waitaki Boys High School). These riders are all title holders from the 2006 Championships.

Past winners include riders like Holly Kernohan-Smith and James Williamson, who also just returned from the worlds in Scotland.