Palmerston North teenager Jonty Williamson bagged his third straight under-23 downhill victory at the UCI MTB World Series in Leogang, Austria today.
The 18-year-old kiwi, who rides for the Yeti-Fox Factory team, produced a stunning performance in challenging conditions following a week of extremely wet weather that turned the famed course into a quagmire.
Williamson becomes just the second person to win three under-23 downhill world series races in a row. In a sport often decided by fractions, the young kiwi rider blitzed the field by over seven seconds in the final today.
It proved a kiwi 1-2, with Queenstown’s Malik Boatwright, riding for the Continental Atherton pro team, finishing second in his first UCI World Cup podium this season.
“I am so happy with that. It obviously doesn’t feel real at the moment. I put down a super-strong run and couldn’t have been happier, honestly,” said Williamson.
“I was definitely struggled in practice with the wet and choosing my tyres, especially this morning it was super-wet for practice. I came in to the run with muds on and not super-confident but I put down a super-good run.
“I think I surprised myself a bit today. I didn’t expect to go seven seconds up. There’s definitely a long season ahead of me but I need to try to stay consistent. I am super-stoked with my consistency so far. I feel I am riding really well right now, so hope to keep it rolling into the next round in Lenzerheide.”
Boatright went to the top of the standings as the sixth-to-last rider, holding off the field until Williamson produced his extraordinary ride, seemingly oblivious to the challenging conditions.
Kiwis Sterling Stevens-McNab (The Alliance, Rotorua) and New Plymouth’s Seppy Binsbergen finished ninth and 17th respectively.
Cube Factory pro Jenna Hastings finished top-10 in the elite women, the fastest through the speed-trap at a tick under 60kph, while fellow Rotorua gravity rider Tuhoto Ariki-Pene (MS Racing) was the leading kiwi male in 25th in the elite men.
There is no time to rest with the next round at Lenzerheide, Switzerland this weekend, then one week off ahead of back-to-back rounds in Italy and Andorra.
Jonty Williamson in action. (Credit: Craig Cox)