Hanlen and McConnell double up championship titles

Cross country racing took place at the Oceania Mountain Bike Championships on Saturday in the Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua. The multi-lap, Olympic format races drew a strong presence from Australia, and at the end of the day across the six UCI categories (U19, U23 and elite), Australian athletes claimed two championship titles while New Zealand athletes kept four for their own.

In the morning age group category races, the best athletes this summer all came together again to try to claim the coveted Oceania titles. Form athletes took wins today, with stand-out performances coming from especially the three masters male category winners. Karl Patterson admitted having a very strong premonition of winning this event overnight, and for the ex-elite downhiller following through on that for the win was an empowering experience, taking the masters 30-40 title. Rotorua legend Garth Weinberg owned the masters 40-50 category, and Wellington's Ian Paintin, like Weinberg followed through on his recent national campionship win to also take the Oceanias 50+ win.

The afternoon races were a feast of action, and national pride was on the line through U19, 23 and elite races.The Under 19 men's race delivered a breakthrough win for Rotorua local Nigel McDowell, after Sam Gaze had to withdraw due to a collision at the end of the first lap, with a ruined drivetrain. McDowell was pushed all the way by Nelson's Tom Filmer and Australia's Ben Bradley, and he held on for a very popular win. Another Rotorua local, Amber Johnston won the women's U19 race.

In the under 23s, Australia's Rebecca Henderson was too strong for the New Zealand challenge, while in the under 23 men's race, Rotorua's Dirk Peters again showed the aggression and raw desire for winning he has finely developed this summer for another championship win.

The elite races were pure excitement. New Zealand's male athletes couldn't stay with the pace set by Australia's best exponents of this brutal sport, with Dan McConnell winning this year's Oceania title, to add to his Australian National Championship win earlier this summer. Rotorua's Carl Jones was the best of the New Zealanders with fifth place.

In the elite women's race, the head to head contest between Rosara Joseph and Karen Hanlen drew a large crowd, with an increasing understanding forming of the pure quality of these two athletes. The two were stuck tightly together through the first three laps, both having some issues with a very difficult technical section of the course. However, as she has done several times this summer already, Hanlen applied the blowtorch on the third lap, gapping out to a lead that she stretched and then protected through to the win. Hanlen, like Australian McConnell doubled her championship haul with this Oceanias win, adding this to her 2012 National Championship title.

Both Hanlen and Joseph now pack up for the long trip to South Africa for the first round of the UCI World Cup next weekend, where they will continue their rivalry in the lead-up to potential selection for the London Olympics.

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