Peters and Hanlen win first elite cross country titles

Age group categories warmed up the cross country course on Saturday morning at Codgers MTB Park in Brook Valley, Nelson, before the elite and junior racers got their turn in the afternoon.

The elite races provided excitement and anticipation for the very vocal crowd watching on a race course designed in part to allow fantastic viewing options. Dirk Peters rode like a man possessed today in the six-lap elite men's race, and led from start to finish to win by over two minutes. Any slight threat of a challenge and Peters had the perfect answer - more pace and aggression which carried him to his first national championship title as an elite athlete. Peters couldn't have been happier, and clearly enjoyed his win against the deepest field of competition seen at a national championship for many years.

In the elite women's race, the contest was always going to be between Beijing Olympian Rosara Joseph and in form New Zealand MTB Cup leader Karen Hanlen. Hanlen sat on Joseph's wheel for the first two laps, before applying the throttle during lap three to hammer home an unbeatable lead.

Hanlen stretched her legs for the remainder of the race to win by a stunning three minutes, and the smiling ex-multi-sporter reinforced her form with her first national championship title. Both Hanlen and Joseph are gunning for the 2012 London Olympics spot, and Hanlen's early season challenge to what has been Joseph's domain in recent years is providing a fascinating prelude to the upcoming Olympics selection process.

Anton Cooper is fast becoming a drawcard at these events, and his race craft and domination of his junior rivals something of a talking point. Starting two minutes behind the elites, Cooper first paced away from his U19 competition and then steadily clawed back the outright leader on course (Peters), before passing him on the fourth lap. Cooper won comfortably from surprise package Sam Gaze and claimed back-to-back national championship wins in the juniors.

Like Cooper, Mary Gray also won her second junior national championship title in the women's event. She led from the start.

The contest between Wellington riders Gavin McCarthy and Tony Keith in the Masters 30-39 went right down to the wire. Only a slight slip on the last descent by McCarthy prevented what was sure to be an all out sprint for the line after both riders were inseparable for their four laps. Keith eventually took the title by 18 seconds.

Other racers that shone and took home championship titles were Garth Weinberg (Masters 40-49), Eden Cruise (U15 Men), and Ben Oliver (U17 men) and Shannon Hope (U17 women).

The New Zealand Mountain Bike National Championship programme will conclude on Sunday with the downhill and cross country eliminator races in Nelson.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Dirk Peters1:36:34
2Mike Northcotte0:02:39
3Brad Hudson0:03:24
4Ethan Glover0:04:53
5Tom Bradshaw0:06:10
6Carl Jones0:06:54
7Tim Wilding0:08:21
8Adrian Retief0:10:02
9Mathew Waghorn0:10:40
10Harley Going0:10:53
11Patrick Luthi0:11:54
12Nick Miller0:12:37
13Dean Fulton0:13:43
14Ash Hough0:14:36
15Noel MacMillan0:15:10
16Darry Stevens0:15:20
17Oliver Shaw0:15:30
18Mark Dunlop0:16:40
19Matt Andrew0:18:19
20Alex Revell0:20:45
21Logan Horn0:24:30
-1lapEdwin CrosslingRow 21 - Cell 2
-2lapsJeremy InglisRow 22 - Cell 2
-2lapsChris SharlandRow 23 - Cell 2
-2lapsNick ClarkRow 24 - Cell 2
-2lapsIan BurgessRow 25 - Cell 2
DNFSamuel ShawRow 26 - Cell 2
DNFJustin PriceRow 27 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Karen Hanlen1:30:53
2Rosara Joseph0:02:59
3Fiona Macdermid0:09:49
49Jolanda Neff0:10:26
5Katherine O Neill0:11:26
6Samara Sheppard0:11:57
7Kate Fluker0:15:36
8Raewyn Morrison0:16:41
9Katrine Gellatly0:17:00
10Jeanette Gerrie0:17:40
11Sasha Smith0:21:07
12Melissia Newell0:22:09
13Ingrid Richter0:24:40
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U19 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Anton Cooper1:16:07
2Sam Gaze0:07:14
3Nigel McDowell0:07:35
4Craig Oliver0:09:45
5Tom Filmer0:10:52
6Bradley Jones0:15:17
7Tom Fox0:15:36
8Jake Glover0:16:58
9Josh Parkin0:17:17
10Brett Stokman0:19:47
11Ryan Hunt0:21:05
12Elliot Pearce0:22:05
13Frank Sutton0:23:47
-1lapSimon LawsonRow 13 - Cell 2
-1lapGuy HirstRow 14 - Cell 2
-1lapSam BamfordRow 15 - Cell 2
-1lapHayden CleminsonRow 16 - Cell 2
-2lapsPeter CramptonRow 17 - Cell 2
-2lapsCameron FitzgeraldRow 18 - Cell 2
DNFKristoff FordRow 19 - Cell 2
DNFLogan CallesenRow 20 - Cell 2
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U19 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mary Gray1:25:18
2Samantha Hope0:02:37
3Amber Johnston0:06:23
4Caitlin Holmes0:08:30
5Toshiko Knight0:18:27
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U17 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ben Oliver1:06:09
2David Ashby-Coventry0:02:15
3Jack Compton0:06:09
4Mitchell Campbell0:08:49
5Scott Barr0:10:02
6Tom Coombes0:11:27
7Henry Jaine0:13:38
8Peter Bethell0:13:54
9Gareth Cannon0:15:06
10Sam Dakin0:15:54
11Dylan Vile0:16:15
12Cameron Ford0:16:36
13Nathan Johnston0:17:47
14Jacob Anderson0:17:58
15Ryan Craggs0:19:12
16Daniel Cleminson0:19:40
-1lapBradley ChandlerRow 16 - Cell 2
-1lapAlex BeavenRow 17 - Cell 2
DNFBen FrielRow 18 - Cell 2
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U17 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Shannon Hope1:06:24
2Jemma Manchester0:01:43
3Olivia Miller0:02:13
4Harriet Beaven0:02:46
5Brooke Hudson0:15:56
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U15 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Eden Cruise0:55:17
2Paul Weright0:08:40
3Connor McRae0:09:29
4Joe Sutton0:24:50
5Bailey Ford0:33:40
6Max Meffan0:36:53
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U15 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Zia Macdermid0:47:45
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Senior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ollie Radford1:20:30
2Mark Richards0:02:17
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Senior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Naomi Whitehead1:13:45
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Masters 1 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tony Keith1:11:23
2Gavin McCarthy0:00:18
3Karl Paterson0:01:53
4Jonty Taylor0:07:10
5Phil Patterson0:08:49
6Jason Smith0:15:09
7Daniel Bremner0:15:34
8Jared Scollay0:16:25
9Jon Shutt0:17:54
DNFAndy PetrieRow 9 - Cell 2
DNFJosh FindlayRow 10 - Cell 2
DNFSam ThompsonRow 11 - Cell 2
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Masters 2 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Garth Weinberg1:12:16
2Warrick Spence0:03:08
3Clive Bennett0:04:16
4Ray Hope0:06:05
5Al Killick0:07:13
6Jake Stow0:07:24
7Stephen Owens0:11:02
8Andy MacDonald0:14:52
9Tom Bamford0:16:54
10Jerome Sheppard0:19:01
11Dion Chapman0:21:51
12John McRae0:22:13
-1lapSteven LawsonRow 12 - Cell 2
DNFWade JenningsRow 13 - Cell 2
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Masters 3 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ian Paintin1:16:37
2Derek Milne0:03:46
3Cliff Bowman0:07:07
4Andrew Scott0:07:14
5Geoffrey Notman0:07:24
6Patrick Meffan0:08:56
7Marco Renall0:09:27
8Paul McDowell0:09:48
9Tony Beaven0:11:53
10Wayne Pool0:13:59
11Ash Sparks0:15:51
12Doug Sharland0:19:28
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Masters 1 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kim Hamer-Hurst1:02:38
2Kristie Fogarty0:09:34
3Merrin Brewster0:45:56
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Masters 2 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Linda Hope1:25:10
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Masters 3 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sarah Beadel1:18:04

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