Sunday drew the country's top cross country racers to the Cycle Obsession MTB Park, with a short loop of the Summerhill complex thrown in for good measure. A tough, technical course was softened up in the morning's age group category racing for the afternoon elite/under 23 and under 19 feature.
With several highly talented juniors having progressed into the elite/under 23 category for 2011, the racing was eagerly anticipated and the spectators on hand weren't disappointed with the way the feature races unfolded.
In the men's elite/under 23, Mike Northcott seized an early lead which he stretched each lap for the first three of six. But a collision with a tree at the top of the hill tore his front brake lever off the bike, and Northcott had to somehow try to fend off a stalking Sam Shaw for the remainder of the race. Northcott almost succeeded, but Shaw played a smart waiting game and attacked at a crucial point to win by 24 seconds.
In the elite/under 23 women's race, a new talent on the NZ MTB Cup circuit shook the field up - established Whakatane multi-sporter Karen Hanlen is trying her hand at Olympic format mountain bike racing this season and led from start to finish to claim a wonderful debut win.
No other female athlete could match Hanlen up the two steep climbs, and despite falling heavily on the technical descent in her third lap, Hanlen was never threatened for her win over Rotorua's Samara Sheppard.
In the supporting under 19 men's race, Oceania Champion Mathew Waghorn held off a determined Nigel McDowell for a close win, setting up what is sure to be an ongoing tussle for the rest of the NZ MTB Cup national series.
The RaboDirect New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup continues this weekend in Napier for both cross country and downhill racers, at the Eskdale MTB park. Added importance is attached to Sunday's Round 2 cross country race, being a UCI Category 2 event - Olympic UCI ranking points are up for grabs as well as a sizeable prize-money purse.
Full Results
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Elite men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Samuel Shaw
1:33:12
2
Mike Northcott
0:00:24
3
Stuart Houltham
0:02:14
4
Kyle Wood
0:02:54
5
Richard Anderson
0:04:27
6
Gavin McCarthy
0:08:19
7
Adrian Retief
0:10:56
8
Ash Hough
0:13:04
9
Darry Stevens
0:14:31
10
Dominic Furkert
0:17:37
11
Conor Corbett
0:20:28
-lap
Nick Miller
Row 11 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Karen Hanlen
1:33:47
2
Samara Sheppard
0:02:14
3
Eloise Fry
0:05:22
4
Sasha Smith
0:05:57
5
Bridget Keegan
0:08:17
6
Raewyn Morrison
0:10:26
7
Sadie Parker-Wynyard
0:11:22
-2laps
Michelle Bellamy
Row 7 - Cell 2
-2laps
Monique Avery
Row 8 - Cell 2
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Under 19 junior men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Mathew Waghorn
1:20:35
2
Nigel McDowell
0:00:24
3
Harley Going
0:05:01
4
Ryan Hunt
0:11:37
5
Martin McCrudden
0:14:26
6
Elliot Pearce
0:22:55
7
Ian Burgess
0:23:31
-3laps
Gareth Owen
Row 7 - Cell 2
DNF
Josh Parkin
Row 8 - Cell 2
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Under 19 junior women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Veronique Sandler
1:30:38
2
Sophiemarie Bethell
0:13:20
-2laps
Natalie Retief
Row 2 - Cell 2
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Under 17 junior men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Bradley Jones
1:10:38
2
Gareth Cannon
0:02:14
3
Frank Sutton
0:04:17
4
Jack Compton
0:04:42
5
Tom Coombes
0:07:25
6
Kurt Standen
0:08:29
7
Jordan Castle
0:08:47
8
Peter Bethell
0:11:38
9
Dan Lawton
0:20:57
10
Callum McElroy
0:28:51
-2laps
Samuel Gaze
Row 10 - Cell 2
DNF
Stephen Brunskill
Row 11 - Cell 2
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Under 17 junior women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Toshiko Knight
1:07:25
2
Amber Johnston
0:00:54
3
Caitlin Louise Holmes
0:06:45
4
Harriet Bevan
0:13:03
5
Alice West
0:18:20
DNF
Olivia Wadman
Row 5 - Cell 2
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Under 15 junior men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Paul Wright
1:05:29
2
Nathan Johnston
0:02:10
3
Connor McRae
0:04:41
4
Henry Carr
0:29:09
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Under 15 junior women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Britteny Baker
1:00:17
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Senior men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Luke Osborne
1:27:13
2
John Sanderson
0:02:03
3
Ben Murphy
0:04:18
4
Sam Thompson
0:12:51
-1lap
Brandon Sbordone
Row 4 - Cell 2
DNF
Wilson Jones
Row 5 - Cell 2
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Senior women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Kate Fluker
1:28:50
2
Bronwyn Sax
0:02:06
3
Emma Johnston
0:10:46
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Masters 1 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Jonty Taylor
1:37:04
2
Richard Taylor
0:05:08
3
Jared Scollay
0:12:17
4
Vaughan Ayson
0:12:36
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Masters 1 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Sarah Beadel
1:12:51
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Masters 2 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Craig Hoskin
1:37:13
2
Carl Johnston
0:02:10
3
Andrew MacDonald
0:04:56
4
Steven Sawyers
0:06:06
5
Carl Paton
0:08:35
6
Roger Hoebers
0:09:32
7
Ross Castle
0:14:28
8
John McGrail
0:15:40
9
John McRae
0:22:06
DNF
Scott Wright
Row 9 - Cell 2
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Masters 3 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Marco Renall
1:20:20
2
Martyn Pearce
0:12:13
3
Tony Bevan
0:14:49
4
Bryan Prestdige
0:25:47
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