Stuart Houltham and Monique Avery won their respective elite races in round two of the North Island Cross Country Cup series in Auckland, New Zealand, last weekend. Houltham captured elite men's race ahead of Mike Northcott and Gavin McCarthy. The top two riders swapped positions from round one the week prior.
In the women's race, Monique Avery kept Samara Sheppard right on her wheel for much of the race. It wasn't until the final stages that Avery pulled away from Sheppard for a well deserved win at a margin of 55 seconds. Nicole Swain finished third, five minutes back.
Rotorua rider and U19 men's winner Dirk Peters, who placing first in the Under 19 men's category, wasn't deterred by the sandy track. "It was a fun course with some good downhill," said Peters. "I really enjoyed the sandy sections, but the heat made it a testing race."
See Cyclingnews' full coverage of round two of the New Zealand North Island Cross Country Cup.
