Leov, Siegenthaler prevail in Elite downhills

By published

Olorenshaw dominates U19 category

Image 1 of 5
Matthew Scoles(Image credit: John Harrison)

The 600m vertical drop Fringed Hill course on Nelson's backdrop had been eagerly anticipated by the New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup competitors for some time. In what is a rare opportunity to race on such a long course, the level of competition in all categories showed a quality and depth which represents the strength of this popular sport in New Zealand.

Friday's practice day was tough - Trek World Racing's Justin Leov summed up the approach needed for such a draining challenge.

"Again it's super hot here, and there's dust a foot deep covering a lot of the steeper sections of the course," said Leov. "Arm pump was an issue today and managing energy tomorrow will be key. It's going to be a sketchy race run in these conditions and over five minutes for the winning time I'd say."

Leov's prediction on time wasn't far off, but sub-five minute race run times became the revised target when six riders went quicker than that benchmark after their first opportunity to post seeding times against the clock.

Leov seeded quickest in the Elite Men's category with times extremely tight given the massive race course, and Brook MacDonald (MS Evil) was nipping at his heels only fractions of a second off his pace.

Leov backed his fast seeding time up in the race run, going three seconds quicker and holding off a pack of quality riders for the win. 2007 Junior World Championship bronze medalist Mat Scoles (Cingolani Protone) rode to his best result of the season to finish second, and 2009 Junior World Champion MacDonald was right in the mix again this week in third.

In the elite women's race, Harriet Harper (Santa Cruz) couldn't convert her fast seeding time to a race win after failing to finish, with Emilie Siegenthaler (Scott 11) seizing the opportunity to win at this Nelson double header.

Junior under 19 winner Reuben Olorenshaw impressed all weekend to crush his competition, and continues to show the kind of form through this series that may signal a big future in the sport. Seeding fifth quickest from all competitors, Olorenshaw raced to an overall sixth in his race run which deservedly placed him in the prize money pool among vastly more experienced elite riders.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite Men
1Justin Leov0:04:46.46
2Matthew Scoles0:04:48.41
3Brook Macdonald0:04:50.49
4Nathan Rankin0:04:52.38
5Cam Cole0:04:55.87
6George Brannigan0:04:56.16
7Kieran Bennett0:05:02.10
8Edward Masters0:05:03.16
9Gerard Wolfe0:05:03.17
10Rupert Chapman0:05:06.29
11Hayden Lee0:05:06.92
12James Dodds0:05:07.22
13Hajime Imoto0:05:07.68
14Reon Boe0:05:09.63
15Ewan Doherty0:05:10.48
16Joseph Nation0:05:10.66
17Sam Baker0:05:11.06
18Tim Mackersy0:05:13.05
19Daniel Mailink0:05:13.69
20Matt Walker0:05:16.76
21Daniel Heads0:05:20.49
22Thomas Jeandin0:05:20.90
23Richard Leacock0:05:22.75
24Reuben Miller0:05:26.88
25Freddie King0:08:28.59
26Tom Matthews0:09:52.46
DNFDan SimsRow 26 - Cell 2
DNSRob VenablesRow 27 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite Women
1Emilie Siegenthaler0:05:56.02
DNFHarriet HarperRow 1 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
U19 Men
1Reuben Olorenshaw0:04:55.96
2Daniel Franks0:05:03.40
3Reece Potter0:05:10.15
4Nick Bygate0:05:17.52
5Zach Baker0:05:21.18
6Hunter Jenkinson0:05:22.92
7Louis Hamilton0:05:23.88
8Jake Robinson0:05:23.94
9Mat Prior0:05:28.11
10Kurt Mcdonald0:05:28.76
11Tim Adams0:05:28.79
12Dan Mccombie0:05:29.08
13Warrick Trompetter0:05:33.46
14Brandon Ransfield0:05:34.77
15Joel Tunbridge0:05:39.64
16Lukas Chalmers0:06:36.91
17Lloyd Jenks0:07:13.03
18Mark Shillingford0:08:03.39
19Ricky Hamilton0:09:06.56
20Adam Mcclintock0:09:50.75
DNFBen BrakenridgeRow 20 - Cell 2
DNSAlex FaulknerRow 21 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
U17 Men
1Kurt Summerfield0:05:25.06
2Josh Mccombie0:05:31.29
3Harry Chapman0:05:34.46
4Michael Melles0:06:02.03
5Andy Wilson0:06:13.50
6Jake Paddon0:06:21.15
7Alfie Simmons0:06:26.25
8Cameron Hancox0:06:28.37
9Raphael Kammlein-Cutler0:06:30.43
10Toby Walker0:06:32.56
11Lewis Mcewan0:08:00.40
12Alex Collings0:08:20.22
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Senior Men
1Bryn Dickerson0:05:00.59
2Jake Boylett0:05:05.05
3Tom Winwood0:05:09.19
4Nick McConachie0:05:12.75
5Jimmy Pollard0:05:13.33
6James McConachie0:05:16.93
7Kurt Lancaster0:05:17.73
8Dominic Stulen0:05:18.70
9Leighton Kirk0:05:23.04
10Adrian Loo0:05:27.10
11Nick Mead0:05:27.45
12Carl Edmondson0:05:27.71
13Kieran Thompson0:05:31.06
14David Balderstone0:05:32.20
15Orion Daley-Coers0:05:32.92
16Cam Johnson0:05:34.52
17Allie Diamond0:05:40.17
18Jon Stout0:05:47.18
19Tristan Ratcliff0:05:47.81
20Russell Paver0:05:48.31
21Ben Tyas0:05:50.34
22William Mathieson0:05:52.75
23Guy Hewitt0:05:59.92
24Mike Reader0:06:01.52
25Oscar Tatom0:06:11.04
26Bungeye Mathews0:06:22.43
27Scott Taylor0:06:27.19
28Lindsey Rush0:06:36.13
29Brandon Sbordone0:06:45.31
30Jeff Austin0:09:13.70
DNFTyrone PriceRow 30 - Cell 2
DNFOlly MorrisRow 31 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Master 1 Men
1Derek Winwood0:05:13.48
2Hayden McKay0:05:16.84
3Boyd Grinstead0:05:27.61
4Ricky Pincott0:05:31.51
5Craig McGinnity0:05:35.01
6Nick Sutcliff0:05:40.06
7Shaun Hodges0:06:05.65
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Master 2 Men
1Darryn Henderson0:05:53.81
2John Baddiley0:06:20.46
3John Boylett0:06:23.86
4Sean Cox0:07:17.43
5Vaughan Love0:07:23.12
6Mike Stylianou0:07:38.70
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Hardtail Men
1Scott Bedford0:05:58.05
2Ben Walker0:09:26.67
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Open Women
1Amanda Pearce0:06:55.71
2Pippa Holdom0:08:22.79
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Junior Women
1Sophie Tyas0:06:05.02
2Sarah Atkin0:06:08.21
3Veronique Sandler0:06:49.37
4Phoebe Coers0:08:31.46
Swipe to scroll horizontally
U15 Boys
1Connor Sandri0:06:19.16
2D J Holmes0:06:54.75
3Hayden Melles0:06:59.41
4Joshua Botting0:07:52.39
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Sweeper
1George Diver0:06:38.40
DNFJohannes NeumeierRow 1 - Cell 2

Latest on Cyclingnews