Dirk Peters crushes it in the men's race(Image credit: Michelle Bellamy)
Eloise Fry races the elite women in Napier(Image credit: Michelle Bellamy)
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.
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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.
Brit's GC challenge well intact thanks to eighth place finish in Figueres, sits 30 seconds down on Vingegaard ahead of hardest mountain test yet on stage 6
