Leov doubles up on national titles with downhill win

The New Zealand Mountain Bike Championships finished today with the downhill and cross country eliminator events contested on the slopes of Fringed Hill in the Brook Valley, Nelson. The hot, windy weather continued and the sunshine heralded new national champions in two very tough cycling disciplines - one new and one well established.

The downhill event drew a huge crowd, with a win on the Fringed Hill course considered one of the ultimate prizes in New Zealand downhill racing. Right through the lead-up age group categories, the in-form riders from the early part of the New Zealand MTB Cup seemed to hold advantages over their chasing rivals. Two Nelson riders who hadn't yet made NZ Cup appearances upset the form book by winning their categories - Hayden McKay in the Master Men 30-39, and Tania Carson in the Open Women. McKay's win gave him back-to-back championship titles in this very competitive category. Another Nelson rider, Leo Sandler in his first year in the junior U19s won the gold, and in a stunning time that placed him within the top 10 elite times.

But it was the elite contest that captivated the Fringed Hill crowd. Multi-time national champion Harriet Harper held the fastest seeding time in the elite women's category by a mile, but had to settle for second place today after a truly inspired race by Sarah Atkin. Any doubt that the young Lower Hutt downhill exponent could foot it with Harper (the fastest female rider in New Zealand over recent years) was put to rest with her national championship title today.

In the elite men's race, the times were close. Matt Walker attacked from an early start position to lead for some time before Bryn Dickerson unseated him from the top of the leaderboard. New Zealand-based amateur Dickerson put the bike down on the last corner as well, loosing valuable seconds which he would rue while nervously watching the last starters come to the line one by one. George Brannigan (Havelock North) snuck past Dickerson, but Justin Leov confirmed his liking and success history with Nelson race courses to win by just over a second. The downhill national championship win made it two titles for Leov for the weekend, joining his Super D gold from Friday night.

Leov and Atkin will now proudly wear their race jerseys this year on the world stage with right sleeves constructed as a New Zealand flag, the internationally recognised downhill national champions identification.

The New Zealand MTB Cup resumes for downhill in Rotorua on February 11-12.

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