A dry and dusty track made for testing times for kiwi gravity riders in qualifying at the fourth round of downhill in the UCI MTB World Series at Val di Sole in Italy.
The conditions took their toll, with only two elite kiwi women and no men advancing to elite downhill finals on the famed Black Snake course.
The kiwi juniors led the way in qualifying with Rotorua riders Kate Hastings and Bellah Birchall finishing second and third fastest to move through to tomorrow’s final. They will be joined in the final by series second placed Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Syndicate) from Tauranga who qualified fifth fastest and Indy Deavoll from Queenstown 10th fastest.
In the elite women, Queenstown’s Jess Blewitt (Cube Factory) and rookie Sacha Earnest (Trek Factory) made it through to tomorrow’s final in the second round of qualifying, finishing in the top five to advance. It was a strong performance from Earnest, back on the bike from a recent crash, but on the course where she won her first world championship junior medal two years ago.
Blewitt was strong in the second qualifying to lead the way into tomorrow’s final.
Just missing out was two-time world junior champion, Erice van Leuven, with the Norco Factory professional seventh fastest in the second qualifying in her return to racing after a significant crash in the summer.
For the first time this season there were no kiwis to advance in the elite men’s finals, with the best from Rotorua’s Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (MS Racing) who was just 5.683s behind the top qualifier in the second qualifying, and just three spots off a final’s place.
However there are three riders to advance in the junior men. Palmerston North’s Jonty Williamson was the best of them fourth fastest, to be joined in tomorrow’s race by fellow Yeti-Fox team rider, Tyler Waite (Hawkes Bay) fifth fastest and Leogang champion, Oli Clark (MS Racing, Kaikoura) 10th quickest.
The cross-country riders blasted off in the short track race, also on a super-dusty and extremely tight course, with Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford) finishing 12th, and only 12 seconds from winner Puck Pieterse (NED).
Maxwell was in front for the first lap but got squeezed on a tight course and was shimmied back. She recovered and rode strongly to earn a place on the front row for Sunday XCO race, where she is the current series leader.
In-form American Christopher Blevins won the short-track race with kiwi Anton Cooper (Lapierre Racing) 37th but only 30 seconds behind the winner in the tightly packed elite men’s race, with compatriot Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) not starting, to focus on Sunday’s race.
In the junior short-track, Taupo’s Coen Nicol was 31st but just 1:03 from the winner, and Ethan Rose (Trek Future) 35th, while Christchurch rider Amelie Mackay was 35th.
Tomorrow’s action is the finals for downhill, with the cross-country racing on Sunday.
Results:
Downhill Qualifying, Junior Female (Top 10 qualify): Rosa Zierl (AUT) 4:23.305, 1; Kate Hastings (Rotorua) at 5.278, 2; Bellah Birchall (High Country, Rotorua) at 7.715, 3. Also NZers: Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Synd, Tauranga) at 9.501, 5; Indy Deavoll (Queenstown) at 21.357, 10.
Junior Men (Top 20 qualify): Max Alran (FRA) 3.42.374, 1; Till Alran at 1.988, 2; Asa Vermette (USA) at 4.601, 3. Also qualifiers, NZ: Jonty Williamson (Yeti-Fox, Palmerston North) at 11.209, 4; Tyler Waite (Yeti-Fox, Hawkes Bay) at 11.214, 5; Oli Clark (MS Racing, Kaikoura) at 14.115, 10.
Elite men, qualifying 1 (Top 20): Jackson Goldstone (CAN) 3:42.221, 1; Troy Brosnan (AUS) at 0.603, 2; Loic Bruni (FRA) at 1.766, 3. Note: No NZ qualifiers.
Elite women, qualifying 1 (top 10): Minika Hrastnik (SLO) 4:15.135, 1; Valentina Holl (AUT) at 0.917, 2; Gracey Hemstreet (CAN) at 1.312, 3. Also: No NZ qualifiers: Qualifying 2 (top 5): Phoebe Gale (GBR) 4:22.017, 1; Jess Blewitt (NZL, Cube Factory) at 0.119s, 2; Gloria Scarsi (ITA) at 0.851, 3. Also: Sacha Earnest (NZL, Trek Factory) at 4.685, 5.
Cross-country, short track, Men Elite: Christopher Blevins (USA) 32.037, 1; Victor Koretzky (FRA) at 1s, 2; Luca Schwarzbauer (GER) same time, 3. Also NZ: Anton Cooper at 33s, 37.
Women Elite: Puck Pieterse (NED) 20.53, 1; Jenny Rissveds (AUT) same time, 2; Laura Stigger (AUT) at 1s, 3. Also: Samara Maxwell (NZL) at 12s, 12.