Cross country racers battled a heat wave at the New Zealand Mountain Bike Cup round at the Eskdale Mountain Bike Park in Napier on Sunday.
The day began with age group competition taking to the start in the morning. By 2:00 pm, the elite, under 23 and under 19s lined up as temperatures climbed into the 30s (degrees Celsius). The pressure was on with high quality fields ready to chase valuable UCI Olympic ranking points on a brutal Napier race course which offered races no place for respite.
Dirk Peters (Santa Cruz) cleared out from an aggressive race start to lead at the end of his first lap of six. Peters wasn't content to simply protect his lead and he proceeded to demolish the elite men's field with a calculated display of powerful riding.
Peters kept the pressure on, extending his lead every lap to win by two minutes ahead of Tokoroa's Mike Northcott. The pressure Peters applied from the gun reflected the experience the Rotorua U23 flier has been gaining over the last two northern hemisphere race seasons, where he has learned to fight for every small gain on offer.
The rest of the elite men's field crossed the line one after the other, absolutely shatterred and knowing in no uncertain terms that Peters had raised the bar on expectations for the rest of the New Zealand competitive racing season.
The elite women's race provided a different contrast, with last weekend's winner Karen Hanlen facing stiffer competition in Napier. The experienced Fiona MacDermid matched Hanlen wheel for wheel over their five-lap race. Their front of the field tustle cleared them away from the chasing field.
MacDermid was patient and made her move on lap three, but had to conjure up some brilliance to hold off the charging Hanlen right to the line with a mere four seconds her margin after 101 minutes of fierce competition.
The under 19 men's race provided the perfect platform for Rotorua's Nigel McDowell to demonstrate he is on song in his first year as a junior at this level. McDowell racing within the elite top 10 for his five-lap race and won by a comfortable margin over Northland rider Harley Going.
The next round of the New Zealand cross country mountain bike cup, another UCI-category 2 race, will happen in Nelson on February 13.
Full Results
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Dirk Peters
1:46:42
2
Mike Northcott
0:01:59
3
Carl Jones
0:02:35
4
Stuart Houltham
0:02:44
5
Mark Leishman
0:05:05
6
Patrick Avery
0:05:41
7
Kyle Wood
0:06:14
8
Bradley Hudson
0:07:03
9
Gavin Mccarthy
0:08:27
10
Samuel Shaw
0:09:37
11
Scott Green
0:09:42
12
Calum Chamberlain
0:12:56
13
Oliver Shaw
0:14:18
14
Logan Horn
0:18:51
-1lap
Nick Miller
Row 14 - Cell 2
-2laps
Adrian Retief
Row 15 - Cell 2
-2laps
Darry Stevens
Row 16 - Cell 2
-2laps
Dominic Furkert
Row 17 - Cell 2
DNF
Conor Corbett
Row 18 - Cell 2
DNS
Richard Anderson
Row 19 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Elite women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Fiona Macdermid
1:41:43
2
Karen Hanlen
0:00:04
3
Katherine O’Neill
0:02:37
4
Samara Sheppard
0:03:34
5
Eloise Fry
0:04:37
6
Bridget Keegan
0:08:29
7
Raewyn Morrison
0:10:25
8
Sasha Smith
0:14:49
9
Alexa Peters
0:17:28
DNF
Annika Smail
Row 9 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Under 19 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Nigel McDowell
1:32:29
2
Harley Going
0:04:11
3
Tom Fox
0:06:08
4
Ryan Hunt
0:09:00
5
Tom Bradshaw
0:09:33
6
Martin Mccrudden
0:09:56
7
Josh Parkin
0:10:20
-5laps
Mathew Waghorn
Row 7 - Cell 2
DNS
Gareth Owen
Row 8 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Under 19 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Veronique Sandler
1:42:52
2
Sophiemarie Bethell
0:06:31
3
Natalie Retief
0:27:18
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Senior men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Miles Davies
1:38:43
2
Luke Osborne
0:00:36
3
Ben Murphy
0:01:24
4
Stephen Butler
0:03:41
5
Wilson Jones
0:24:45
-1lap
Brandon Sbordone
Row 5 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Senior women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Kathryn Campbell
1:41:22
2
Emma Prestidge
0:02:49
DNF
Emma Johnston
Row 2 - Cell 2
DNS
Kate Fluker
Row 3 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Master 1 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Jonty Taylor
1:23:44
2
Jarred Scollay
0:04:52
3
Russell Florens
0:40:48
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Master 1 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Sarah Beadel
1:17:27
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Master 2 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Steven Sawyers
1:25:36
2
Brett Irving
0:01:57
3
Carl Paton
0:02:52
4
Carl Johnston
0:03:13
5
Andrew Macdonald
0:03:51
6
Ross Castle
0:10:12
7
John Mcrae
0:15:00
DNS
Craig Hoskin
Row 7 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Master 3 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Marco Renall
1:24:37
2
Geoffrey Notman
0:02:28
3
Bryan Prestdige
0:17:26
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Junior under 17 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Frank Sutton
1:23:26
2
Gareth Cannon
0:01:10
3
Jack Compton
0:02:40
4
Peter Bethell
0:04:06
5
Kurt Standen
0:11:42
6
Jordan Castle
0:30:50
DNF
Tom Coombes
Row 6 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Junior Under 17 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Toshiko Knight
1:11:27
2
Amber Johnston
0:02:49
3
Caitlin Louise Holmes
0:03:53
4
Alice West
0:12:09
5
Olivia Wadman
0:13:21
6
Siobhan Macdonald
0:34:42
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Junior Under 15 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Fred Dagg
1:09:59
2
Connor Mcrae
0:04:09
3
Nathan Johnston
0:08:43
4
Henry Carr
0:10:42
DNF
Duncan McCrory
Row 4 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Junior Under 15 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Britteny Baker
0:56:36
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!