McConnell outsprints Norris for cross country win

Cross country racers faced ideal conditions at Forrester Park on Saturday. When the dust settled, Daniel McConnell and Nic Leary walked away with the Oceania titles in the elite men's and women's races, respectively.

The elite and under 23 women's race featured a quality field and a tantalising trans-Tasman rivalry between Nic Leary (New Zealand) and Rowena Fry (Australia). Leary attacked for the lead on the first pinch climb in what was a decisive tactical move, and maintained her lead for the rest of the four lap race, despite Fry's best efforts to reel her in. New Zealand's Fiona McDermid also challenged and finished the race in third only seconds behind Fry, completing a great day' racing for the Manawatu.

In the elite men's race, a different challenge unfolded. Lachlan Norris (Australia) and Daniel McConnell (Australia) claimed the clear air at the front of the race to work together on extending a healthy lead during the six-lap race.

It was behind these two that the race had some chasing excitement - Paul van der Ploeg (Australia), Andrew Blair (Australia) and Adrian Jackson (Australia) provided an effective Australian block on the rest of the field. However, New Zealand's Mike Northcott worked steadily away at the strong Australian presence to finally break free at the end of the fifth lap into third position, which he held to the line.

At the front, the race win came down to a sprint finish between Norris and McConnell, which McConnell claimed after an inside pass on the final corner.

From start it was clear that a lot was at stake in the under 19 men's race, a group of six athletes tussled and exchanged race positions at the front of the pack for the first four laps of their five-lap race. During the fifth lap, a surprise winner emerged who had absolutely demolished any hope of being challenged for the lead heading to the line. Mathew Waghorn of New Zealand won to the delight of the New Zealand crowd and his supporters.

Age group racing took place in the morning and showcased a strong field of Dunedin local entries, with many top New Zealanders and a sprinkling of Australian and French Polynesians. Mark Lieshman (Masters 30+) and Anton Cooper (Under 17) raced four laps in their respective classes and provided an amazing demonstration of experience versus youth at the front of the field. Both won their categories easily, and Lieshman was full of praise for the tactical nous of the young Christchurch rider, being able to observe very closely the way Cooper built his win.

Full Results

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Elite and Under 23* men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Daniel McConnell (Australia)2:02:29
2Lachlan Norris (Australia)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Mike Northcott (New Zealand)0:03:42
4Paul van der Ploeg* (Australia)0:04:51
5Adrian Jackson (Australia)0:06:38
6Ben Henderson (Australia)0:07:03
7Stuart Houltham (New Zealand)0:07:30
8Carl Jones* (New Zealand)0:08:34
9Andrew Blair (Australia)0:09:22
10Dirk Peters* (New Zealand)0:10:28
11Joshua Carlson (Australia)0:10:43
12Brenton Jones* (Australia)0:12:51
13Nick Both (Australia)0:14:10
14Scott Green* (New Zealand)0:15:40
15Ethan Glover* (New Zealand)0:15:52
16Scott Lyttle (New Zealand)0:16:15
17Gavin McCarthy (New Zealand)0:16:31
18Alexander Revell (New Zealand)0:17:24
19Cal Britten* (Australia)0:23:03
20James Peacock* (Australia)0:27:08
-2lapsAdrian Retief* (New Zealand)Row 20 - Cell 2
-2lapsJeff Notman* (New Zealand)Row 21 - Cell 2
-2lapsManarii Laurent (French Polynesia)Row 22 - Cell 2
DNFJustin Price (New Zealand)Row 23 - Cell 2
DNFKyle Wood (New Zealand)Row 24 - Cell 2
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Elite and Under 23* women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Nic Leary (New Zealand)1:38:23
2Rowena Fry (New Zealand)0:01:20
3Fiona Macdermid (New Zealand)0:01:22
4Heather Logie (Australia)0:01:30
5Rebecca Henderson* (Australia)0:04:25
6Anja McDonald (New Zealand)0:05:41
7Eloise Fry (New Zealand)0:06:11
8Michelle Ballamy (New Zealand)0:07:21
9Katherine O Neill* (New Zealand)0:07:51
10Katherine O Shea (Australia)0:08:20
11Samara Sheppard* (New Zealand)0:08:59
12Cathy Hamer (New Zealand)0:10:42
13Therese Rhodes* (Australia)0:11:41
14Sara Taylor (New Zealand)0:12:15
15Adrienne Hooper* (New Zealand)0:12:35
16Sasha Smith* (New Zealand)0:12:55
17Raewyn Morrison* (New Zealand)0:18:31
-3lapsLisa Morgan (New Zealand)Row 17 - Cell 2
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Junior Under 19 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mathew Waghorn (New Zealand)1:48:10
2Mitchell Codner (Australia)0:01:07
3Trenton Day (Australia)0:02:10
4Locky McArthur (New Zealand)0:03:14
5Michael Crosbie (Australia)0:03:28
6Kyle Ward (Australia)0:03:54
7Bradley Hudson (New Zealand)0:04:12
8Cameron Ivory (Australia)0:05:42
9Tom Bradshaw (New Zealand)0:06:50
10Logan Horn (New Zealand)0:07:59
11Samuel Shaw (New Zealand)0:09:36
12Conor Corbett (New Zealand)0:09:44
13Casper Oxlee (Australia)0:09:49
14Josh Russller-Gibbs (New Zealand)0:12:19
15Campbell Tannock (New Zealand)0:12:53
16Tane Crosby (Australia)0:17:39
17Ian Burgess (New Zealand)0:20:08
-1lapDominic Furkert (New Zealand)Row 17 - Cell 2
-1lapJames Hanus (Australia)Row 18 - Cell 2
-2lapsRyan Macanally (Australia)Row 19 - Cell 2
DNFThomas Prestidge (New Zealand)Row 20 - Cell 2
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Junior Under 19 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alexa Peters (New Zealand)1:29:05
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Junior Under 17 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Charlie Murray (New Zealand)1:14:28
2David Ashby-Coventry (New Zealand)0:00:13
3Ben Oliver (New Zealand)0:04:50
4Mitchell Campbell (New Zealand)0:09:06
5Craig Murray (New Zealand)0:35:11
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Junior Under 17 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mary Gray (New Zealand)1:25:55
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Junior Under 15 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Anton Cooper (New Zealand)1:25:07
2Nigel McDowell (New Zealand)0:09:23
3Craig Oliver (New Zealand)0:13:41
4Fabian Wybrow-O Brien (New Zealand)0:27:37
5Hayden Cleminson (New Zealand)0:28:01
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Junior Under 15 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Laura Bridger (New Zealand)1:05:46
Row 1 - Cell 0 DNS Samantha Hope (New Zealand)Row 1 - Cell 2
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Senior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Manli Wang (New Zealand)1:38:30
2Chazz Michael (New Zealand)0:03:40
3Daniel Hellyer (New Zealand)0:07:03
4Joel Anderson (New Zealand)0:18:13
5Matt Corbott (New Zealand)0:28:56
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Master 1 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mark Leishman (New Zealand)1:26:02
2Mark Fry (New Zealand)0:14:22
3Scotty Cain (New Zealand)0:18:44
4Roscoe Coltrane (New Zealand)0:34:40
DNFBrad Smith (New Zealand)Row 4 - Cell 2
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Master Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Melissa Newell (New Zealand)1:33:53
2Sarah Beadel (New Zealand)0:05:18
3Andrea Murray (New Zealand)0:10:54
4Pamela Thompson (New Zealand)0:12:54
5Linda Hope (New Zealand)0:20:38
6Anne Gray (New Zealand)0:24:25
7Merrin Brewster (New Zealand)0:42:57
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Master 2 Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Evan James (Australia)1:43:22
2Bruce Jenkins (New Zealand)0:02:31
3Andrew MacDonald (New Zealand)0:05:05
4Peter Bridger (New Zealand)0:10:36
5Craig Bates (New Zealand)0:12:28
6Heiroa Tauraa (French Polynesia)0:25:12
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Master 3 Men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Leith Paterson (New Zealand)1:57:24
2Michael O Brian (New Zealand)0:04:14
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Fastest men's laps
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Daniel McConnell (Australia)0:20:25
2Lachlan Norris (Australia)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Mike Northcott (New Zealand)0:00:37
4Paul van der Ploeg (Australia)0:00:48
5Anton Cooper (New Zealand)0:00:52
6Mark Leishman (New Zealand)0:01:05
7Adrian Jackson (Australia)0:01:06
8Ben Henderson (Australia)0:01:10
9Mathew Waghorn (New Zealand)0:01:13
10Stuart Houltham (New Zealand)0:01:15
11Carl Jones (New Zealand)0:01:26
12Mitchell Codner (Australia)Row 11 - Cell 2
13Andrew Blair (Australia)0:01:34
14Trenton Day (Australia)0:01:39
15Dirk Peters (New Zealand)0:01:45
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Fastest women's laps
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Nic Leary (New Zealand)0:24:36
2Rowena Fry (Australia)0:00:20
3Fiona Macdermid (New Zealand)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Heather Logie (Australia)0:00:22
5Rebecca Henderson (Australia)0:01:06
6Anja McDonald (New Zealand)0:01:25
7Eloise Fry (New Zealand)0:01:33
8Michelle Ballamy (New Zealand)0:01:50

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