New Zealand mountain bikers faced tough conditions on the first day of competition at the penultimate European rounds of the UCI MTB World Cup in Les Gets, France.
The rain earlier in the seek eased but added to a brutal course for downhill qualifying and a slippery surface for short track cross-country riders at the resort town in the Haute Savoie region.
The kiwi gravity riders showed their fortitude in the demanding conditions with 10 riders through to tomorrow’s grand finals.
Leading the way in elite men’s competition was Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Trek Factory) on his return to Europe from a brief break back home in Rotorua.
No kiwi riders qualified in the challenging first run, but Stevens-McNab was some 25 seconds faster down the super-tough downhill run to earn a spot in the final.
He is joined by Christchurch rider Luke Wayman, with the Continental Atherton rider securing a spot in the final.
All three kiwi females are through in the 15-strong group for the elite women’s final, led by former junior world champion Jenna Hastings from Rotorua. The Cube Factory rider was brilliant to qualify fourth fastest, and is joined by Queenstown’s Jess Blewitt (Cube Factory) who was sixth fastest.
Auckland’s Sacha Earnest (Trek Factory), who missed out in the first qualifying session, was fastest in the second session, to move into the grand final.
Tauranga’s Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Synd) is the only kiwi rider to make the final in junior women, as she continues to push for an overall podium placing, currently third in the season standings.
A powerful quartet are through to the final in the junior men, led by Yeti-Fox Factory rider Jonty Williamson (Palmerston North) who was third fastest in qualifying.
He is joined by Clive rider Tyler Waite (Yeti Fox), currently second in the championship standings, Rotorua’s Sterling Stevens-McNab joining his older brother on finals day, and Kaikoura’s Oli Clark (MS Racing).
Waite made a mistake in his first qualifying run, but bounced back brilliantly to be fastest in the second qualifier.
In the short track cross-country, Sammie Maxwell (Decathlon-Ford) impressed with a strong performance to finish third. The Taupō rider will be looking to carry that form into the Olympic-distance XCO on Sunday, where she will be joined by fellow Kiwi Olympians Sam Gaze and Anton Cooper.
The downhill finals start from 9pm (NZT) on Saturday with cross-country finals on Sunday starting from 9pm (NZT).
The competition moves on to nearby Valais for the world championships, remaining in Switzerland for the final European round in Leizerheide ahead of two rounds in USA and Canada to round out the world series.