Cooper and Gray earn back-to-back junior championships
Age group categories warmed up the cross country course on Saturday morning at Codgers MTB Park in Brook Valley, Nelson, before the elite and junior racers got their turn in the afternoon.
The elite races provided excitement and anticipation for the very vocal crowd watching on a race course designed in part to allow fantastic viewing options. Dirk Peters rode like a man possessed today in the six-lap elite men's race, and led from start to finish to win by over two minutes. Any slight threat of a challenge and Peters had the perfect answer - more pace and aggression which carried him to his first national championship title as an elite athlete. Peters couldn't have been happier, and clearly enjoyed his win against the deepest field of competition seen at a national championship for many years.
In the elite women's race, the contest was always going to be between Beijing Olympian Rosara Joseph and in form New Zealand MTB Cup leader Karen Hanlen. Hanlen sat on Joseph's wheel for the first two laps, before applying the throttle during lap three to hammer home an unbeatable lead.
Hanlen stretched her legs for the remainder of the race to win by a stunning three minutes, and the smiling ex-multi-sporter reinforced her form with her first national championship title. Both Hanlen and Joseph are gunning for the 2012 London Olympics spot, and Hanlen's early season challenge to what has been Joseph's domain in recent years is providing a fascinating prelude to the upcoming Olympics selection process.
Anton Cooper is fast becoming a drawcard at these events, and his race craft and domination of his junior rivals something of a talking point. Starting two minutes behind the elites, Cooper first paced away from his U19 competition and then steadily clawed back the outright leader on course (Peters), before passing him on the fourth lap. Cooper won comfortably from surprise package Sam Gaze and claimed back-to-back national championship wins in the juniors.
Like Cooper, Mary Gray also won her second junior national championship title in the women's event. She led from the start.
The contest between Wellington riders Gavin McCarthy and Tony Keith in the Masters 30-39 went right down to the wire. Only a slight slip on the last descent by McCarthy prevented what was sure to be an all out sprint for the line after both riders were inseparable for their four laps. Keith eventually took the title by 18 seconds.
Other racers that shone and took home championship titles were Garth Weinberg (Masters 40-49), Eden Cruise (U15 Men), and Ben Oliver (U17 men) and Shannon Hope (U17 women).
The New Zealand Mountain Bike National Championship programme will conclude on Sunday with the downhill and cross country eliminator races in Nelson.
Full Results
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Elite men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Dirk Peters
1:36:34
2
Mike Northcotte
0:02:39
3
Brad Hudson
0:03:24
4
Ethan Glover
0:04:53
5
Tom Bradshaw
0:06:10
6
Carl Jones
0:06:54
7
Tim Wilding
0:08:21
8
Adrian Retief
0:10:02
9
Mathew Waghorn
0:10:40
10
Harley Going
0:10:53
11
Patrick Luthi
0:11:54
12
Nick Miller
0:12:37
13
Dean Fulton
0:13:43
14
Ash Hough
0:14:36
15
Noel MacMillan
0:15:10
16
Darry Stevens
0:15:20
17
Oliver Shaw
0:15:30
18
Mark Dunlop
0:16:40
19
Matt Andrew
0:18:19
20
Alex Revell
0:20:45
21
Logan Horn
0:24:30
-1lap
Edwin Crossling
Row 21 - Cell 2
-2laps
Jeremy Inglis
Row 22 - Cell 2
-2laps
Chris Sharland
Row 23 - Cell 2
-2laps
Nick Clark
Row 24 - Cell 2
-2laps
Ian Burgess
Row 25 - Cell 2
DNF
Samuel Shaw
Row 26 - Cell 2
DNF
Justin Price
Row 27 - Cell 2
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Elite women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Karen Hanlen
1:30:53
2
Rosara Joseph
0:02:59
3
Fiona Macdermid
0:09:49
4
9Jolanda Neff
0:10:26
5
Katherine O Neill
0:11:26
6
Samara Sheppard
0:11:57
7
Kate Fluker
0:15:36
8
Raewyn Morrison
0:16:41
9
Katrine Gellatly
0:17:00
10
Jeanette Gerrie
0:17:40
11
Sasha Smith
0:21:07
12
Melissia Newell
0:22:09
13
Ingrid Richter
0:24:40
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U19 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Anton Cooper
1:16:07
2
Sam Gaze
0:07:14
3
Nigel McDowell
0:07:35
4
Craig Oliver
0:09:45
5
Tom Filmer
0:10:52
6
Bradley Jones
0:15:17
7
Tom Fox
0:15:36
8
Jake Glover
0:16:58
9
Josh Parkin
0:17:17
10
Brett Stokman
0:19:47
11
Ryan Hunt
0:21:05
12
Elliot Pearce
0:22:05
13
Frank Sutton
0:23:47
-1lap
Simon Lawson
Row 13 - Cell 2
-1lap
Guy Hirst
Row 14 - Cell 2
-1lap
Sam Bamford
Row 15 - Cell 2
-1lap
Hayden Cleminson
Row 16 - Cell 2
-2laps
Peter Crampton
Row 17 - Cell 2
-2laps
Cameron Fitzgerald
Row 18 - Cell 2
DNF
Kristoff Ford
Row 19 - Cell 2
DNF
Logan Callesen
Row 20 - Cell 2
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U19 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Mary Gray
1:25:18
2
Samantha Hope
0:02:37
3
Amber Johnston
0:06:23
4
Caitlin Holmes
0:08:30
5
Toshiko Knight
0:18:27
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U17 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Ben Oliver
1:06:09
2
David Ashby-Coventry
0:02:15
3
Jack Compton
0:06:09
4
Mitchell Campbell
0:08:49
5
Scott Barr
0:10:02
6
Tom Coombes
0:11:27
7
Henry Jaine
0:13:38
8
Peter Bethell
0:13:54
9
Gareth Cannon
0:15:06
10
Sam Dakin
0:15:54
11
Dylan Vile
0:16:15
12
Cameron Ford
0:16:36
13
Nathan Johnston
0:17:47
14
Jacob Anderson
0:17:58
15
Ryan Craggs
0:19:12
16
Daniel Cleminson
0:19:40
-1lap
Bradley Chandler
Row 16 - Cell 2
-1lap
Alex Beaven
Row 17 - Cell 2
DNF
Ben Friel
Row 18 - Cell 2
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U17 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Shannon Hope
1:06:24
2
Jemma Manchester
0:01:43
3
Olivia Miller
0:02:13
4
Harriet Beaven
0:02:46
5
Brooke Hudson
0:15:56
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U15 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Eden Cruise
0:55:17
2
Paul Weright
0:08:40
3
Connor McRae
0:09:29
4
Joe Sutton
0:24:50
5
Bailey Ford
0:33:40
6
Max Meffan
0:36:53
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U15 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Zia Macdermid
0:47:45
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Senior men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Ollie Radford
1:20:30
2
Mark Richards
0:02:17
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Senior women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Naomi Whitehead
1:13:45
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Masters 1 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Tony Keith
1:11:23
2
Gavin McCarthy
0:00:18
3
Karl Paterson
0:01:53
4
Jonty Taylor
0:07:10
5
Phil Patterson
0:08:49
6
Jason Smith
0:15:09
7
Daniel Bremner
0:15:34
8
Jared Scollay
0:16:25
9
Jon Shutt
0:17:54
DNF
Andy Petrie
Row 9 - Cell 2
DNF
Josh Findlay
Row 10 - Cell 2
DNF
Sam Thompson
Row 11 - Cell 2
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Masters 2 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Garth Weinberg
1:12:16
2
Warrick Spence
0:03:08
3
Clive Bennett
0:04:16
4
Ray Hope
0:06:05
5
Al Killick
0:07:13
6
Jake Stow
0:07:24
7
Stephen Owens
0:11:02
8
Andy MacDonald
0:14:52
9
Tom Bamford
0:16:54
10
Jerome Sheppard
0:19:01
11
Dion Chapman
0:21:51
12
John McRae
0:22:13
-1lap
Steven Lawson
Row 12 - Cell 2
DNF
Wade Jennings
Row 13 - Cell 2
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Masters 3 men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Ian Paintin
1:16:37
2
Derek Milne
0:03:46
3
Cliff Bowman
0:07:07
4
Andrew Scott
0:07:14
5
Geoffrey Notman
0:07:24
6
Patrick Meffan
0:08:56
7
Marco Renall
0:09:27
8
Paul McDowell
0:09:48
9
Tony Beaven
0:11:53
10
Wayne Pool
0:13:59
11
Ash Sparks
0:15:51
12
Doug Sharland
0:19:28
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Masters 1 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Kim Hamer-Hurst
1:02:38
2
Kristie Fogarty
0:09:34
3
Merrin Brewster
0:45:56
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Masters 2 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Linda Hope
1:25:10
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Masters 3 women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Sarah Beadel
1:18:04
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