New Zealand mountain bikers, led by Sammie Maxwell, have revelled in the cold and muddy conditions to bag a handful of podium performances in the latest round of the UCI MTB World Series in Leogang.
Maxwell (Decathlon Ford) finished second in the women’s cross-country race to extend her lead in the championship in her rookie season in elite category.
In a nearby part of the Austrian Alps, three kiwi riders earned podium places in the fourth round of the Enduro World Series in challenging cold, muddy and slippery conditions.
Charles Murray enjoyed his best finish of the season to date, with second in the elite men to be third in the overall rankings for the Specialized Gravity rider.
Fellow Christchurch rider, Winni Goldsbury bagged her second podium in her debut season in women’s elite, finishing third to move the teenager to fifth overall, while compatriot George Swift (Yeti Fox) was sixth.
Alexandra’s Cooper Millwood was second in the junior men’s enduro to be second on the overall standings.
It completed a remarkable World Series weekend for New Zealand riders, following on from victory for Kaikoura’s Oli Clark (MS Racing) in the junior men’s downhill yesterday, along with third for Tauranga’s Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Racing) in the junior women.
Elite riders Lachlan Stevens-McNab and Jess Blewitt were fourth and fifth respectively in the elite finals to round out arguably the most successful weekend for kiwi mountain bikers on the UCI World Series.
While Dutch star Puck Pieterse dominated the women’s elite cross-country race rivelling in the challenging cold and muddy conditions, Maxwell again showed maturity beyond her 23 years to finish second.
The Decathlon Ford professional pushed clear of the rest of the field in the tough conditions, recovering from a dropped chain to finish 36 seconds clear of third place, while 50sec behind the winner.
Maxwell is 290 points clear at the top of the elite women’s standings with the next stop in Italy in two weeks marking the midway point in the championship.
In the elite men Anton Cooper (Lapierre Racing) continued his gradual improvement after a year out of the sport, finishing 34th in the elite men with compatriot Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 53rd as he recovers from illness.
In the nearby Leogang mountains, the enduro riders battled not only the tough conditions, but extreme cold in the high mountains in a mammoth eight hours of competition with six timed staged and over 80kms of liaison riding.
Murray started strongly to win the opening stage, but dropped out of the lead with a fall on stage four. The Christchurch rider recovered to place fifth on stage five and fourth on the final stage to finish second overall 13 seconds down on winner Jesse Melamed from Canada.
The kiwi remains third in the overall competition but has closed to within 100 points from second placed Daniel Booker (Australia).
“I am so stoked. It has been tough couple of months with injuries, so to be on the podium and pushing for the win, I couldn’t ask for more,” said Murray.
“In those conditions, then the more people are complaining, the more I like it. I know they are struggling more. I like the trails here and was finally feeling fit and strong, so I enjoyed it and coped well today and felt remarkably good.
“It is an awesome boost to the confidence and stoked to be up to third with three more races to go. I want to make the last three count and the title is still within reach if all goes well.”
Rotorua’s Yeti Development NZ rider Joe Millington had a strong race to finish 13th with the Pivot Factory riders Matthew Walker and Ed Masters 22nd and 45th respectively.
Meanwhile Christchurch teenager Goldsbury scored another podium performance in third, starting strongly with second in the first two stages but dropped nearly 30 seconds on stage three. She recovered with three strong stages to finish third and remain fifth overall but just 100 points from third.
“It started well but then I messed up a bit and had five hugies. I had a negative attitude midway through but told myself that I am living my life goals here so I should be stoked to be out there,” said Goldsbury.
“Everything then got a lot better. It was hard in those conditions but everyone crashed at times. It was the hardest conditions of the season, and challenging mentally in the cold, mud and wet and a long day on the tools.”
Nelson’s George Swift (Yeti Fox) also revelled in the tough going, finishing sixth for her best finish so far this year.
There was more good news for enduro riders with Alexandra’s Cooper Millwood continuing his outstanding season. The Yeti NZ Development rider won the opening stage but moved back to second after dropping time on stage four. Millward recovered to win stage five and second on stage six to finish runner-up, just seven seconds behind winner Melvin Almuies (FRA).
Millwood remains second on the season standings, 100 points behind the Frenchman but has moved 250 points clear of third.
The UCI MTB World Series action moves to Italy’s Val di Sole in two weeks, with competition for cross-country and downhill before a break.
Results:
Cross-Country:
Female Under-23: Fiona Schibler (SUI) 1:12.44, 1; Monique Halter (SUI) at 57s, 2; Elina Benoit (SUI) at 2:23, 3. Also NZer: Amelie MacKay at 10:37, 36.
Male Under-23: Finn Treudler (SUI) 1:14.02, 1; Paul Schehl (GER) at 47s, 2; Nicolas Halter (SUI) at 52s, 3. Also NZers: Ethan Rose (Trek Future Racing, Christchurch) at 4:22, 21; Coen Nicol (Taupo) 1 lap, 62; Bailey Fredericksen (Whakatane) 3 laps, 72.
Female Elite: Puck Pieterse (NED) 1:26.39, 1; Sammie Maxwell (Decathlon Ford, Taupo, NZL) at 50s, 2; Ramona Forchini (SUI) at 1:26, 3. Standings: Maxwell 1022, Nicole Koller (SUI) 732, Evie Richards (GBR) 634.
Male Elite: Ondrej Cink (CZE) 1:25.05, 1; Mathias Fluckiger (SUI) at 18s, 2; Fabio Puntener (SUI) at 27s, 3. Also NZers: Anton Cooper (Lapierre Racing) 1:30.57, 34; Sam Gaze (MS Racing) 1:34.01, 53.
Enduro:
Elite men: Jesse Melamed (CAN) 24:46.028, 1; Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity, Christchurch, NZL) at 13.980s, 2; Slawomir Lukasik (POL) at 19.539, 3. Also NZers: Joe Millington at 55.372, 13; Matthew Walker (Pivot Factory) at 1:15.694, 22; Lachie Ross at 1:46.373, 31; Edward Masters at 2:12.685, 45; Oliver Jenkins at 2:29,391, 55; Asher Hart at 3:37.992, 76; Regan Doig at 6:27.039, 96. Standings: Slawomir Lukasik (POL) 1370, 1; Daniel Booker (AUS) 1080, 2; Murray 960, 3. Also: Millington 638, 16.
Elite women: Ella Conolly (GBR) 30:04.459, 1; Simona Kuchynkova (SVK) at 16.379, 2; Winni Goldsbury ( Specialized Gravity, Christchurch, NZL) at 35.383, 3. Also NZers: George Swift (Yeti Fox, Nelson) at 2:04,899, 6. Standings: Conolly 1500, 1; Kuchynkova 1010, 2; Morgane Charre (FRA) 970, 3. Also NZers: Goldsbury 850, 5; Swift 750, 8.
Junior men: Melvin Almueis (FRA) 26:20.431, 1; Cooper Millwood (NZL) at 7.325, 2; Aron Babo (HUN) at 46.589, 3. Also NZers: Eli Robertson at 3:15.308, 13; Marcus Sayers dnf. Standings: Almueis 575, Millwood 475, Tommy Bougon (FRA) 225. Also NZers: Marcus Sayers 80, 13.