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.
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.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dirk Peters | 1:46:42 |
| 2 | Mike Northcott | 0:01:59 |
| 3 | Carl Jones | 0:02:35 |
| 4 | Stuart Houltham | 0:02:44 |
| 5 | Mark Leishman | 0:05:05 |
| 6 | Patrick Avery | 0:05:41 |
| 7 | Kyle Wood | 0:06:14 |
| 8 | Bradley Hudson | 0:07:03 |
| 9 | Gavin Mccarthy | 0:08:27 |
| 10 | Samuel Shaw | 0:09:37 |
| 11 | Scott Green | 0:09:42 |
| 12 | Calum Chamberlain | 0:12:56 |
| 13 | Oliver Shaw | 0:14:18 |
| 14 | Logan Horn | 0:18:51 |
| -1lap | Nick Miller | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
| -2laps | Adrian Retief | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
| -2laps | Darry Stevens | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
| -2laps | Dominic Furkert | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
| DNF | Conor Corbett | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Richard Anderson | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiona Macdermid | 1:41:43 |
| 2 | Karen Hanlen | 0:00:04 |
| 3 | Katherine O’Neill | 0:02:37 |
| 4 | Samara Sheppard | 0:03:34 |
| 5 | Eloise Fry | 0:04:37 |
| 6 | Bridget Keegan | 0:08:29 |
| 7 | Raewyn Morrison | 0:10:25 |
| 8 | Sasha Smith | 0:14:49 |
| 9 | Alexa Peters | 0:17:28 |
| DNF | Annika Smail | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigel McDowell | 1:32:29 |
| 2 | Harley Going | 0:04:11 |
| 3 | Tom Fox | 0:06:08 |
| 4 | Ryan Hunt | 0:09:00 |
| 5 | Tom Bradshaw | 0:09:33 |
| 6 | Martin Mccrudden | 0:09:56 |
| 7 | Josh Parkin | 0:10:20 |
| -5laps | Mathew Waghorn | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Gareth Owen | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veronique Sandler | 1:42:52 |
| 2 | Sophiemarie Bethell | 0:06:31 |
| 3 | Natalie Retief | 0:27:18 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miles Davies | 1:38:43 |
| 2 | Luke Osborne | 0:00:36 |
| 3 | Ben Murphy | 0:01:24 |
| 4 | Stephen Butler | 0:03:41 |
| 5 | Wilson Jones | 0:24:45 |
| -1lap | Brandon Sbordone | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kathryn Campbell | 1:41:22 |
| 2 | Emma Prestidge | 0:02:49 |
| DNF | Emma Johnston | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| DNS | Kate Fluker | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonty Taylor | 1:23:44 |
| 2 | Jarred Scollay | 0:04:52 |
| 3 | Russell Florens | 0:40:48 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarah Beadel | 1:17:27 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Sawyers | 1:25:36 |
| 2 | Brett Irving | 0:01:57 |
| 3 | Carl Paton | 0:02:52 |
| 4 | Carl Johnston | 0:03:13 |
| 5 | Andrew Macdonald | 0:03:51 |
| 6 | Ross Castle | 0:10:12 |
| 7 | John Mcrae | 0:15:00 |
| DNS | Craig Hoskin | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Renall | 1:24:37 |
| 2 | Geoffrey Notman | 0:02:28 |
| 3 | Bryan Prestdige | 0:17:26 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Sutton | 1:23:26 |
| 2 | Gareth Cannon | 0:01:10 |
| 3 | Jack Compton | 0:02:40 |
| 4 | Peter Bethell | 0:04:06 |
| 5 | Kurt Standen | 0:11:42 |
| 6 | Jordan Castle | 0:30:50 |
| DNF | Tom Coombes | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toshiko Knight | 1:11:27 |
| 2 | Amber Johnston | 0:02:49 |
| 3 | Caitlin Louise Holmes | 0:03:53 |
| 4 | Alice West | 0:12:09 |
| 5 | Olivia Wadman | 0:13:21 |
| 6 | Siobhan Macdonald | 0:34:42 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Dagg | 1:09:59 |
| 2 | Connor Mcrae | 0:04:09 |
| 3 | Nathan Johnston | 0:08:43 |
| 4 | Henry Carr | 0:10:42 |
| DNF | Duncan McCrory | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Britteny Baker | 0:56:36 |
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1