Blenkinsop blasts to victory

By published

Harper beats number one seed Siegenthaler in women's downhill

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Reuben Olorenshaw(Image credit: Bruce Wilson)

New Zealand's crop of elite, world ranked top 25 riders wasn't holding back at the final race of the New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup on Sunday in Christchurch, with the pressure on for both the event win and also the overall Cup titles.

Wanganui's Sam Blenkinsop (Lapierre International) had taken a couple of weeks off the series, missing the previous two rounds in Nelson, but returned to competition in Christchurch in blistering form. Teammate Cameron Cole of Christchurch had set the pace in seeding but the pressure ratcheted up for the race run, with Blenkinsop racing a clean and blistering fast run to claim the win. George Brannigan (Ancillotti) had his best podium result of the series with a second, and Justin Leov was third.

Leov was rushed all day - destroying a rear wheel in seeding, the Trek World Racing rider had barely enough time to repair the damage before needing to be at the start line for the race, and pulling out the third was a bonus considering the lack of a seeding run to base that on.

Fasest seeds Cam Cole and Brook MacDonald (MS Evil) couldn't post competitive times - Cole punctured at the top of the course, and MacDonald had a nightmare first corner, missing a corner peg and loosing so much time that he knew his run was effectively over.

Nelson's Harriet Harper (Santa Cruz) turned the tables on fastest elite women's seed Emilie Siegenthaler (Scott 11) to win in Christchurch, and the reigning National Champion looks to be holding the sort of form that will take her to next weekend's National Championships as the hot favourite.

Again this weekend, the Junior under 19 race was something special to see. Reuben Olorenshaw showed a maturity coupled with the speed and composure worthy of his seventh fastest time of the day to bounce back from a seeding run down the order to win again this weekend. His challengers have been hot on his heels right through the New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup, but Olorenshaw has worked out the elusive formula of racing to win, also claiming the series title for his stellar season.

New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup riders will switch modes to a National Championship focus. Dunedin is host to this important event in 2011, and a six-event schedule kicks off on Thursday February 24 with a dual slalom and hill climb, Four cross racing on Friday February 25, Cross country on Saturday, February 26, and short track cross country and downhill racing on Sunday, February 27.

Full Results

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sam Blenkinsop0:03:13.06
2George Brannigan0:00:01.05
3Justin Leov0:00:02.77
4Richard Leacock0:00:06.91
5Sam Baker0:00:07.31
6Edward Masters0:00:07.36
7Rupert Chapman0:00:08.47
8Hayden Lee0:00:08.77
9Reon Boe0:00:09.22
10Dan Sims0:00:11.11
11Tom Matthews0:00:12.31
12Ewan Doherty0:00:12.84
13Gerard Wolfe0:00:13.29
14Tim Mackersy0:00:14.19
15Rob Venables0:00:26.32
16Thomas Jeandin0:01:29.56
17Cam Cole0:01:44.87
18Brook Macdonald0:01:52.83
19Mike Davis0:12:21.82
DNFNathan RankinRow 19 - Cell 2
DNSWyn MastersRow 20 - Cell 2
DNSKieran BennettRow 21 - Cell 2
DNSJoseph NationRow 22 - Cell 2
DNSJames DoddsRow 23 - Cell 2
DNSReuben MillerRow 24 - Cell 2
DNSDaniel HeadsRow 25 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Harriet Harper0:03:49.38
2Emilie Siegenthaler0:00:05.54
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Under 19 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Reuben Olorenshaw0:03:20.70
2Daniel Franks0:00:00.99
3Reece Potter0:00:06.68
4Jay Barrett0:00:08.82
5Nick Bygate0:00:09.80
6Zach Baker0:00:10.37
7Louis Hamilton0:00:11.07
8Jake Robinson0:00:13.80
9Brandon Ransfield0:00:14.64
10Dan Mccombie0:00:15.89
11George Diver0:00:18.32
12Warrick Trompetter0:00:21.37
13Tim Adams0:00:26.66
14Harrison Redshaw0:00:28.36
15Kurt Mcdonald0:00:28.59
16Cameron Flick0:00:32.49
17Mitch Townsend0:00:32.64
18Corey Prutton0:00:32.75
19Tyler Brooker0:00:39.59
20Campbell Mercer0:00:42.09
21Michael Gunter0:00:43.93
22Trent Gilchrist0:01:00.87
23Hunter Jenkinson0:01:58.39
DNFMat PriorRow 23 - Cell 2
DNFLukas ChalmersRow 24 - Cell 2
DNSConor SmithRow 25 - Cell 2
DNSMitchell ScammellRow 26 - Cell 2
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Under 17 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Lawrence Cawte0:03:32.29
2Harry Chapman0:00:02.88
3Leo Sandler0:00:06.46
4Kurt Summerfield0:00:11.84
5Josh Mccombie0:00:12.23
6Kieran De Grey0:00:14.43
7Connor Hamilton0:00:17.53
8Bradley Dent0:00:19.43
9Andy Wilson0:00:20.18
10Carl Goodwin0:00:22.28
11Alfie Simmons0:00:24.53
12Dan Lawton0:00:28.56
13Jake Paddon0:00:28.82
14Raphael Kammlein-Cutler0:00:32.30
15Josh Airey0:00:34.75
16Richard Scandrett0:00:35.37
17James Minty0:00:35.44
18Liam Taylor0:00:35.83
19Rod Hall0:00:36.63
20Toby Walker0:00:42.27
21Josh Hicks0:00:47.44
22Dan Prior0:00:48.57
23Nick Brimfield0:00:52.54
DNSCameron HancoxRow 23 - Cell 2
DNSAlex CollingsRow 24 - Cell 2
DNSMichael FranksRow 25 - Cell 2
DNSBen ShawRow 26 - Cell 2
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Senior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Samuel Perry0:03:24.12
2Bryn Dickerson0:00:00.27
3Tom Winwood0:00:00.36
4Jake Boylett0:00:00.48
5Nick McConachie0:00:03.03
6David Balderstone0:00:04.84
7Kieran Thompson0:00:05.11
8Cameron Kay0:00:06.00
9Zach Williams0:00:07.42
10Leighton Kirk0:00:07.58
11Stefan Gardner0:00:07.69
12James McConachie0:00:09.21
13Cam Johnson0:00:09.68
14James Hampton0:00:11.82
15Daryl Webb0:00:12.13
16Jimmy Pollard0:00:12.84
17Dominic Stulen0:00:14.33
18Adrian Loo0:00:15.43
19William Mathieson0:00:18.62
20Ben Tyas0:00:19.01
21Jacob Leach0:00:21.38
22Jeff Austin0:00:22.18
23Jonas Meier0:00:26.81
24Doug Winter0:00:29.10
25Adin Johnson0:00:29.49
26Orion Daley-Coers0:00:32.40
27Oscar Tatom0:00:33.63
28Scott Taylor0:00:40.79
29Brandon Sbordone0:00:41.56
30Allie Diamond0:00:52.67
31Jon Stout0:03:54.76
DNFBrandon DunnRow 31 - Cell 2
DNSJamie LyallRow 32 - Cell 2
DNSOlly MorrisRow 33 - Cell 2
DNSCorey RussRow 34 - Cell 2
DNSTyrone PriceRow 35 - Cell 2
DNSMatthew RiddRow 36 - Cell 2
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Master 1 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Boyd Grinstead0:03:38.99
2Hayden McKay0:00:00.48
3Ricky Pincott0:00:02.56
4Cameron Bisset0:00:05.39
5Shaun Hodges0:00:17.51
6Andy Chapman0:00:27.39
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Master 2 men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Darryn Henderson0:03:48.25
2David Smith0:00:16.46
3Vaughan Love0:00:19.09
4John Boylett0:00:26.79
5Andrew Allen0:00:31.87
6Murray Stark0:00:33.09
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Hardtail men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Peter Ballin0:04:11.77
2Ben Walker0:00:25.35
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Open women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Amanda Pearce0:04:16.39
2Dawn Daley-Coers0:00:53.47
3Pippa Holdom0:01:28.37
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Junior women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sophie Tyas0:03:58.97
2Sarah Atkin0:00:09.10
3Sophiemarie Bethell0:00:14.29
4Veronique Sandler0:00:23.27
5Phoebe Coers0:00:56.76
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Under 15 women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Connor Sandri0:03:52.23
2Matt Lawton0:00:19.93
3Fergus McIntosh0:00:20.05
4D J Holmes0:00:34.00
5Jordan Shadbott0:00:37.12
6Oliver Jarman0:00:38.90
7Kale Edwards0:00:45.17
8Joshua Botting0:00:52.78
9Nils Heiniger0:00:54.20
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Sweeper
Rider Name (Country) Team
Micheal Armstrong

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