Kiwi riders Samara Maxwell and Sam Gaze have finished at the sharp end of the penultimate round of the UCI MTB World Series cross-country in USA today.
Maxwell (Decathlon Ford) finished 11th in the elite women’s race at Soldier Hollow, Utah, 2min down on winner Martina Berta (ITA).
The Kiwi rider’s chances were dealt a major blow when she was caught in a crash on the opening lap, dropping a minute to the leaders. Maxwell fought back through the field to finish 11th, with her final lap the fifth fastest overall.
Meanwhile Gaze (Alpecin-Premier Tech) finished 10th in the men’s race, having ridden up to the leading bunch for much of the second half of the race, but eased back on the last lap to finish with former world champion Jordan Sarrou, 35s from winner Martin Vidaurre Kossmann from Chile.
It is the first top-10 for Gaze this season and follows his dramatic victory in the short-course sprint event earlier in the week.
The UCI MTB World Series moves back to the Downhill competition at Whistler in Canada this weekend, followed by the final round for both cross-country and downhill at Lake Placid, New York in two weeks.
Gaze in action in the USA (Credit: StaronPhoto)