Peters demolishes competition in elite men's cross country

Cross country racers battled a heat wave at the New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup round at the Eskdale Mountain Bike Park in Napier on Sunday.

The day began with age group competition taking to the start in the morning. By 2:00 pm, the elite, under 23 and under 19s lined up as temperatures climbed into the 30s (degrees Celsius). The pressure was on with high quality fields ready to chase valuable UCI Olympic ranking points on a brutal Napier race course which offered races no place for respite.

Dirk Peters (Santa Cruz) cleared out from an aggressive race start to lead at the end of his first lap of six. Peters wasn't content to simply protect his lead and he proceeded to demolish the elite men's field with a calculated display of powerful riding.

Peters kept the pressure on, extending his lead every lap to win by two minutes ahead of Tokoroa's Mike Northcott. The pressure Peters applied from the gun reflected the experience the Rotorua U23 flier has been gaining over the last two northern hemisphere race seasons, where he has learned to fight for every small gain on offer.

The rest of the elite men's field crossed the line one after the other, absolutely shatterred and knowing in no uncertain terms that Peters had raised the bar on expectations for the rest of the New Zealand competitive racing season.

The elite women's race provided a different contrast, with last weekend's winner Karen Hanlen facing stiffer competition in Napier. The experienced Fiona MacDermid matched Hanlen wheel for wheel over their five-lap race. Their front of the field tustle cleared them away from the chasing field.

MacDermid was patient and made her move on lap three, but had to conjure up some brilliance to hold off the charging Hanlen right to the line with a mere four seconds her margin after 101 minutes of fierce competition.

The under 19 men's race provided the perfect platform for Rotorua's Nigel McDowell to demonstrate he is on song in his first year as a junior at this level. McDowell racing within the elite top 10 for his five-lap race and won by a comfortable margin over Northland rider Harley Going.

The next round of the New Zealand cross country mountain bike cup, another UCI-category 2 race, will happen in Nelson on February 13.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Dirk Peters1:46:42
2Mike Northcott0:01:59
3Carl Jones0:02:35
4Stuart Houltham0:02:44
5Mark Leishman0:05:05
6Patrick Avery0:05:41
7Kyle Wood0:06:14
8Bradley Hudson0:07:03
9Gavin Mccarthy0:08:27
10Samuel Shaw0:09:37
11Scott Green0:09:42
12Calum Chamberlain0:12:56
13Oliver Shaw0:14:18
14Logan Horn0:18:51
-1lapNick MillerRow 14 - Cell 2
-2lapsAdrian RetiefRow 15 - Cell 2
-2lapsDarry StevensRow 16 - Cell 2
-2lapsDominic FurkertRow 17 - Cell 2
DNFConor CorbettRow 18 - Cell 2
DNSRichard AndersonRow 19 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Fiona Macdermid1:41:43
2Karen Hanlen0:00:04
3Katherine O’Neill0:02:37
4Samara Sheppard0:03:34
5Eloise Fry0:04:37
6Bridget Keegan0:08:29
7Raewyn Morrison0:10:25
8Sasha Smith0:14:49
9Alexa Peters0:17:28
DNFAnnika SmailRow 9 - Cell 2
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Under 19 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Nigel McDowell1:32:29
2Harley Going0:04:11
3Tom Fox0:06:08
4Ryan Hunt0:09:00
5Tom Bradshaw0:09:33
6Martin Mccrudden0:09:56
7Josh Parkin0:10:20
-5lapsMathew WaghornRow 7 - Cell 2
DNSGareth OwenRow 8 - Cell 2
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Under 19 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Veronique Sandler1:42:52
2Sophiemarie Bethell0:06:31
3Natalie Retief0:27:18
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Senior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Miles Davies1:38:43
2Luke Osborne0:00:36
3Ben Murphy0:01:24
4Stephen Butler0:03:41
5Wilson Jones0:24:45
-1lapBrandon SbordoneRow 5 - Cell 2
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Senior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kathryn Campbell1:41:22
2Emma Prestidge0:02:49
DNFEmma JohnstonRow 2 - Cell 2
DNSKate FlukerRow 3 - Cell 2
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Master 1 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonty Taylor1:23:44
2Jarred Scollay0:04:52
3Russell Florens0:40:48
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Master 1 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sarah Beadel1:17:27
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Master 2 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Steven Sawyers1:25:36
2Brett Irving0:01:57
3Carl Paton0:02:52
4Carl Johnston0:03:13
5Andrew Macdonald0:03:51
6Ross Castle0:10:12
7John Mcrae0:15:00
DNSCraig HoskinRow 7 - Cell 2
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Master 3 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Marco Renall1:24:37
2Geoffrey Notman0:02:28
3Bryan Prestdige0:17:26
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Junior under 17 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Frank Sutton1:23:26
2Gareth Cannon0:01:10
3Jack Compton0:02:40
4Peter Bethell0:04:06
5Kurt Standen0:11:42
6Jordan Castle0:30:50
DNFTom CoombesRow 6 - Cell 2
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Junior Under 17 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Toshiko Knight1:11:27
2Amber Johnston0:02:49
3Caitlin Louise Holmes0:03:53
4Alice West0:12:09
5Olivia Wadman0:13:21
6Siobhan Macdonald0:34:42
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Junior Under 15 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Fred Dagg1:09:59
2Connor Mcrae0:04:09
3Nathan Johnston0:08:43
4Henry Carr0:10:42
DNFDuncan McCroryRow 4 - Cell 2
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Junior Under 15 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Britteny Baker0:56:36

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