Cooper charges to fourth in mountain bike world championships

A furious charge through the field over the final two laps has seen Kiwi mountain bike teenage star Anton Cooper finish agonizingly seven seconds from the podium in the men’s under-23 cross-country world championships in South Africa today.

The 19 year old, in just his first year in the under-23 category, recovered from the effects of the white hot start amid unseasonal wet conditions which made for slippery and treacherous conditions at the Cascades Mountain Bike Park in Pietermaritzberg.

The Cannondale Factory Team rider found his racing legs after dropping back to 13th mid-race to be the fastest rider over the final two laps to jump to fourth, only seven seconds behind bronze medallist Michiel van der Heijden (NED).

It was an impressive debut in the category for last year’s junior world champion, who has a further three years in the class and in light of his recent two month break from the sport after a incapacitating virus forced him to return to New Zealand.

“Not many first year riders are able to finish in the top five in their first year in the under-23s,”said Anton Cooper. “So I am really happy with that. It’s been a rough first half of the year. Mont Sainte Anne I had a great race but worlds is a different story and everyone brings their A Game here so I am really happy with my fourth.

“It was super tough. Half way around the first lap at the start of the second climb the Italian pushed the pace and I tried to stay with him but it hurt my legs. As a result I lost quite a bit of ground over the next few laps.

“The pace was always going to be really fast, it was a fast track. I was disappointed to feel like I did in the first few laps but also happy to hang in there for the whole race. I am really, really pleased with how I rode the last few laps.”
European champion Gerhard Kerschbaumer, who rode for Italy at the London Olympics, started with a blistering pace along with Germany’s Markus Schulte-Luenzum who would later pay for the ultra-fast pace, fading to 10th.

The Italian, in his final year in the category, saw his 1m45sec lead begin to evaporate but he had enough fuel in the tank to win in 1:28.55 from Germany’s Julian Schelb who finished 58 seconds back.

Van der Heijden, the 21 year old Rabobank professional and 2010 world junior champion, found enough legs to hold off the flying Cooper for the final place on the podium.

He settled for a consistent pace in the low 15 minute range for each of his first four laps, while the leader pushed 2min 46sec clear of the Kiwi. But the North Canterbury rider was the only rider to dip under 15 minutes for each of the final two laps, finishing 1m30sec behind the winner.

Cooper returned to World Cup racing earlier this month from an enforced two month break after he was unable to shake off a serious virus. His return, after three weeks of serous training, resulted in a superb win in the World Cup in Canada when he held off Schelb for the victory.

Kiwi teammate Dirk Peters enjoyed a strong performance to finish 17th, fading slightly in the final part of the last lap after he had pushed powerfully up to 14th half way around the lap.

It was his best finish to top off an impressive season while fellow Rotorua rider Sam Shaw enjoyed a creditable 38th place, passing five riders on the last lap.

Meanwhile Rotorua’s Lawrence Cawte was the best of the Kiwi junior downhill riders, finishing 30th in the start of the action for the gravity brigade. He was 24 seconds adrift of winner Richard Rude Jnr (USA) and just ahead of teammate Michael Melles (Wellington) and Joshua McCombie(Dunedin), while Auckland’s Kyle Lockwood withdrew after suffering a shoulder injury in practice.

Tomorrow features London Olympian Karen Hanlen in the women’s elite cross country while Cooper, Shaw and junior Sam Gaze are in action in the open men’s cross-country eliminator.

Action on the downhill course features official timed training runs for the elite riders in readiness for Monday’s final.

Results, Men Under-23, 6 laps: Gerhard Kerschbaumer (ITA) 1:28.55, 1; Julian Schelb (GER) 1:29.53, 2; Michiel van der Heijden (NED) 1:30.19, 3; Anton Cooper (NZL) 1:30.26, 4; Julien Trarieux (FRA) 1:30.37, 5. Also: Dirk Peters (NZL) 1:34.08, 17; Sam Shaw (NZL) 1:38.09, 38.

Downhill, Men Junior: Richard Rude Jnr (USA) 4:06.640, 1; Loris Vergier (FRA) 4:12.367, 2; Michael Jones (GBR) 4:14.043, 3; Also New Zealanders: Lawrence Cawte 4:31.386, 30; Michael Melles 4:31.420, 31; Joshua McCombie 4:32.941, 33; Connor Harvey 4:34.142, 37; Jamahl Stringer 4:34.933, 40; Raphael Kammlein-Cutler 4:35.953, 41; Kyle Lockwood dns.