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Blenkinsop starts season in style with victory

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Ulrich wins women's race

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Scott McGregor

Scott McGregor (Image credit: Jono Church)
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A Monster Energy rider in Tauranga.

A Monster Energy rider in Tauranga. (Image credit: Jono Church)
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Brook MacDonald (MS Evil) raced to 19th

Brook MacDonald (MS Evil) raced to 19th (Image credit: Jono Church)
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Louis Hamilton in the under 19 race

Louis Hamilton in the under 19 race (Image credit: Jono Church)
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Sam Blenkinsop (Lapierre International) races to a win at the New Zealand MTB Cup opener in Tauranga.

Sam Blenkinsop (Lapierre International) races to a win at the New Zealand MTB Cup opener in Tauranga. (Image credit: Jono Church)

Tauranga delivered frantic competition to match the hot and humid weather at the first round of the RaboDirect New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup over the weekend. The Cycle Obsession MTB Park / Summerhill mix of courses in Welcome Bay proved a hit.

Sam Blenkinsop (Lapierre International) started his summer downhill campaign in dominant style, reflecting his stunning 2010 world ranking of number 4. Seeding in front of a quality world class field on Saturday morning, Blenkinsop screwed the pressure on for the winner take all race run to shatter his likely challengers.

In chasing Blenkinsop's seeding pace, George Brannigan (Ancillotti), Brook MacDonald (MS Evil) and current National Champion Wyn Masters (Wide Open) all came to grief on a deteriorating downhill course that required absolute accuracy and supreme bike control to conquer cleanly. Only seasoned campaigner Nathan Rankin (Levin, Monster Energy) could stay with Blenkinsop's pace, but he was still more than a second off the winning time.

Age group categories in Saturday's downhill race were also hotly contested, with incredibly close margins separating riders. The supporting Under 19 category was won by Nelson's Rueben Olorenshaw by only 0.01 seconds after a two-minute descent on the 160m vertical metre course, and in a storming time that would have placed him ninth in the elite field.

The RaboDirect New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup continues this weekend in Napier for both cross country and downhill racers, at the Eskdale MTB park.

Full Results

Elite men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sam Blenkinsop0:02:00.64
2Nathan Rankin0:00:01.73
3Matt Walker0:00:02.19
4Edward Masters0:00:04.01
5Richard Leacock0:00:04.16
6Joseph Nation0:00:04.21
7Glenn Haden0:00:04.23
8Sam Baker0:00:04.85
9James Dodds0:00:05.71
10Daniel Mailink0:00:05.81
11Daniel Heads0:00:06.54
12Mike Davis0:00:06.60
13Mike Skinner0:00:06.91
14Gerard Wolfe0:00:07.07
15Dan Sims0:00:08.54
16Ewan Doherty0:00:08.63
17Tom Matthews0:00:08.83
18Wyn Masters0:00:11.50
19Brook MacDonald0:00:15.96
20George Brannigan0:00:26.68
DNFJames Rennie
DNFThomas Jeandin

Women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Tamara Ulrich0:03:03.36
2Pippa Holdom0:00:19.96
DNSAmy Laird
DNSBronwyn Sax

Under 19 junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Reuben Olorenshaw0:02:06.20
2Jay Barrett0:00:00.01
3Buillard Temarii0:00:01.03
4Jake Robinson0:00:01.55
5Brandon Ransfield0:00:03.96
6Reece Potter0:00:04.13
7Kirk Fisher0:00:05.24
8Brandon Jackson0:00:07.72
9Mat Prior0:00:08.23
10Dan Mccombie0:00:08.77
11David Browne0:00:09.98
12Harrison Redshaw0:00:10.59
13Nick Bygate0:00:10.89
14Kurt McDonald0:00:12.33
15Tom Rose0:00:13.96
16Jason Lang0:00:14.33
17Louis Hamilton0:00:17.00
18Mitch Townsend0:00:17.43
19Jack Sharland0:00:17.44
20Andrew Bias0:00:19.44
21Zachary Small0:00:19.70
22Campbell Mercer0:00:20.06
23Joel Tunbridge0:00:23.45
24Michael Gunter0:00:26.45
25Zach Baker0:00:30.54
26Craig Tomsett0:00:38.66
27Giulio Laura0:00:40.89
28Mitch Thomas0:00:43.58
29Alex Faulkner0:00:46.81
30Ryan Hunt0:00:50.17
31Scott Anson0:00:54.94
DNSZach Ryan
DNSNathan Sheppard
DNSCorey Penney
DNSMitch Thomas

Under 17 junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Lawrence Cawte0:02:08.02
2Leo Sandler0:00:01.88
3Kurt Summerfield0:00:02.34
4Kieran De Grey0:00:03.91
5Harry Chapman0:00:07.42
6Cole Smith0:00:07.95
7Jamahl Stringer0:00:08.29
8Jack Arnopp0:00:08.57
9Josh McCombie0:00:10.23
10Cam Barrett0:00:10.77
11Dan Lawton0:00:11.94
12Cealab Drummond0:00:13.26
13Kyle Lockwood0:00:14.59
14Connor Hamilton0:00:15.14
15Michael Melles0:00:15.29
16Reuben Stovold0:00:17.90
17Jack Dodd0:00:19.20
18Morgan Taylor0:00:20.06
19Callum Sprosen0:00:20.37
20Scott Dockary0:00:21.00
21Danie Kattenberg0:00:22.27
22Cameron Hancox0:00:22.46
23Izac Anderson0:00:22.71
24Lee Ormsby0:00:23.71
25Josh Airey0:00:29.14
26Marcus Slack0:00:33.07
27Jack Harrington0:00:39.93
28Bryan Schofield0:00:40.98
29Hanan Cawley0:00:43.96
30Lewis McEwan0:00:43.99
31James Paling0:00:44.31
32Chris Ryder0:00:51.53
33Luke Hooper0:00:55.14
34Brett Wilkie0:00:57.61
35Benjamin Watkins0:01:03.02
36Chase Shearman0:01:09.44
DNSReece Clements

Under 15 junior men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jack Humphries0:02:32.04
2Matt Lawton0:00:07.78
3Hayden Melles0:00:08.66
4Ihakara Pene0:00:19.72
5Dino Rutten0:00:24.94
6Kale Edwards0:00:26.17
7Nick Goodson0:00:33.28
8Matt Goodson0:00:47.91
DNSSimon Gwynn
DNSCameron Osborne

 

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