Queenstown’s Jess Blewitt overcame injury to post a top-10 finish in the elite women’s downhill at the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Leogang, Austria today.
The New Zealand champion fell heavily in her qualifying run at the opening round of the UCI world Series last weekend in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, which forced her to withdraw.
However the GT Factory professional recovered sufficiently to race this week, qualifying ninth fastest, ninth in the semifinals and ninth again in the final, 13 seconds back from winner Valentina Holl. (AUT)
“I didn’t think I’d be riding at all this week so it feels pretty good to ride down into p9,” said Blewitt.
The 20 year old has moved into the top-10 overall despite not picking up any points in the first round.
For the second successive week, 22-year-old Tuhoto-Ariki Pene was the leading kiwi male gravity rider, qualifying 18th and finishing 22nd in the final, just 5.78s behind winner Andreas Kolb (AUT).
National champion Toby Meek finished 28th, with the pair of MS Mondraker team professionals, the only kiwis to qualify for the final.
Action turns to cross-country tomorrow where Anton Cooper (Trek Factory) starts on the outside of the front row which should ensure a clean start, while compatriots Ben Oliver (MitoQ) will have to deal with traffic from the seventh row start and Rotorua’s Sam Shaw is near the back of the field as is the case for Wellington’s Mary-Ann Moller in the elite women’s race.
In elite junior action, national champion Sammie Maxwell (NZ MTB Academy) is on the second row and joined in action by fellow kiwis, comprising the Team Talley’s NZ MTB Collective trio of Amelie Mackay, Mia Cameron, and Annabel Bligh along with Rotorua’s Ruby Ryan.
Auckland’s Matthew Wilson and his Talley’s teammate Ethan Rose (Canterbury) are the leading hopes in the junior men’s race, starting off the third and fourth row respectively. Other kiwis on the start list include Caleb Bottcher (Palmerston North), Jacob Turner (Team Talley’s), Adam Francis (Palmerston North), James Officer (Team Talley’s NZ MTB Collective) and Bailey Fredericksen (Whakatane).
Downhill results:
Men semifinal: Finn Iles (CAN) 3:03.070, 1; Loic Bruni (FRA) at 0.93s, 2; Troy Brosnan (CAN) at 1.26s, 3. NZers: Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (MS Mondraker) at 3.65s, 18 (Qual); Toby Meek (MS Mondraker) at 4.94s, 22 (Qual); George Brannigan (NS Bikes UR) at 9.55s, 46; Sam Blenkinsop at 11.00s, 52.
Final: Andreas Kolb (AUT) 2:59.336, 1; Bruni at 0.68s, 2; Jackson Goldstone (CAN) at 0.911s, 3. Also: Pene at 5.78s, 22; Meek at8.56s, 28.
Female semifinal: Valentina Holl (AUT) 3:26.737, 1; Nina Hoffman (GER) art 5.65s, 2; Camille Balanche (SUI) at 5.68s, 3. Also NZ: Jess Blewitt (GT Continental) at 14.35s, 9 (Qual)
Final: Holl 3:23.222, 1; Balanche at 4.30s, 2; Rachel Atherton (GBR) at 7.33s, 3. Also: Blewitt at 13.081, 9.