The afternoon super D event was run in brilliant conditions, with a varied, quality field taking on some of Whaka's best and most well-known trails. A wide range of racers were represented, with several of New Zealand's top cross country athletes getting a chance to stretch their legs against some of the areas best trail riders and downhillers before racing the cross country.
U23 local Sam Shaw won the senior men's race in style in the quickest overall time of the evening. Shaw had dealt with some mechanical issues during practice, but raced a clean, calculated run to outpace his competition on a course that turned out to be a superb test of fitness and nerve. The second, third and fourth placed athletes contained a vast amount of combined experience between them - Byron Scott, Craig Pattle, ex-elite and international class downhill athletes, and John Kirkcaldie returning from a six-year retirement after a stellar career on the US national circuit. Shaw was more than a match for their experience however, and a five-second margin was his buffer for the inaugural Oceanias super D.
Raewyn Morrison had already claimed the national championship super D title earlier this summer, and added the Oceania senior women's title to her swag today in Rotorua. Morrison withstood a strong challenge from Auckland's Sasha Smith, taking a solid 10-second win. Other category winners of note were Jamie Nicoll who like Morrison added the Oceania title to his National Championship title in the masters 30-40, and locals Pete Calnan (masters 40+) and Connor Hamilton (juniors) winning well in their respective classes.
