Bernard Kerr on his way to winning the New Zealand MTB Cup downhill opener (Image credit: BikeNZ)
Great Britain's Bernard Kerr edged out Christchurch downhill superstar Cam Cole by the narrowest of margins to win the first round of the BikeNZ Mountain Bike Cup Series in Bluff on Saturday.
Kerr claimed victory in the elite men's race with a time of 2:52.35, a mere 0.04 of a second ahead of Cole on the 1.37km track descending the iconic Bluff Hill.
Louis Hamilton from Rotorua took third place with 2:55.43.
Kerr won ahead a start-studded line up with riders from France, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and New Zealand.
"My race run wasn't perfect, it was really windy, which made it difficult to do all of the jumps, but overall I'm really happy," Kerr said. "It was really fun, and I'm looking forward to the next races in the series before I leave in February."
Another UK rider, Jess Stone, outrode her opponents to claim the elite women's victory.
Stone rode a time of 3:29.16, over 13 seconds faster than second place Alanna Columb, 3:42.75, and former Oceania Champion Amy Laird, in third place with 3:45.06.
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Local knowledge proved valuable for Connor Harvey who won the under 19 men's category in 3:07.06, with Raphael Kammlein-Cutler and Lawrence Cawte in second and third respectively.
Conditions had improved drastically after unseasonably cold weather mid-week, with the track drying out after five days of rain.
Downhill riders have three more rounds; Mt Hutt next weekend, Levin on February 1-2, and Hunua in Auckland on February 8-9, before the National Championships in Rotorua on the February 15-17.
