Day 1 NZCT South Island Secondary Schools MTB Championships
Thursday 2 October 2008, 11:38AM
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It was a great day of racing on the opening day of the New Zealand Community Trust South Island Secondary Schools MTB Championships in Blenheim.
Local rider Richard Anderson (Marlborough Boys High School) recorded the fastest lap time of the day on the 8km XC circuit in the picturesque setting of Wither Hills.
Racing in the Intermediate grade, Anderson led from the front and never looked like being passed in the 2 lap race held in brisk, windy conditions.
BikeNZ representative at the 2008 World MTB Championships, Kieran Hambrook (Waimea College), was a dominant force in the Senior Boys grade, clocking an impressive time of 1hour 10 minutes for the 3 lap course.
Roncalli College's Rachel Richards, the NZ Junior hillclimb champion, won the Senior Girls race by an impressive 12 minute margin.
Sarah Kate MacDonald's (Dunstan High School) win in the Intermediate grade came after a busy week of riding for the Central Otago rider. MacDonald is one of the many riders competing in the SIMTB Champs who competed in the Perry Foundation NZSS Road Championships and/or the Manawatu Novice Tour held in Palmerston North last weekend.
Attention switches tomorrow to Stratham Peak for the hillclimb commencing at 9.00am and always the crowd favourite, the Downhill competition starting from 1.00pm.