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RaboPlus NZ MTB Cup NI XC Round 3 Results

Monday 19 January 2009, 8:05AM

By Cycling New Zealand

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WELLINGTON

The third and final round of the NZCT North Island Cross Country Cup was held around Mt Victoria in Wellington today as part of the RaboPlus NZ Mountain Bike Cups presented by Nature Valley.

 

Mike Northcott (Taupo) was in the lead from lap one, placing first in the Elite Men category. Carl Jones (Whakatane) found a welcome return to form crossing the finish line second with Gavin McCarthy (Upper Hutt) hot on his heels placing third.

 

Placing first in the Elite Women category was local rider Samara Sheppard, racing on her home track giving her an advantage over Nic Leary (Palmerston North) placing second and Katherine O’Neill (Auckland) placing third.

 

Dirk Peters (Rotorua) remained at the top of the podium in the Under 19 Men Category finishing an astounding 6 minutes and 3 seconds ahead of Patrick Avery (Rotorua), cementing his North Island Cross Country Cup title.

 

The track was deemed the most technical of the series so far, and high rainfall this morning resulted in an extra challenging track. The sun and wind dried out the track for the afternoon race and riders in the Elite and Under 19 categories raced under ideal conditions.

 

Sasha Smith (Manukau) who placed first in the Under 19 Women said ‘I thought it was the best course of the three North Island races and we were lucky with the weather drying up the course for the afternoon’. Smith, who has been mountain biking for five years, raced all three races in the North Island Cup and will be heading to Nelson in February for the New Zealand National Championships.

 

The South Island Cross Country Cup is held in February with races being held in Dunedin, Timaru and Queenstown. The best four results from the six North Island and South Island Cups accrue points for riders towards the overall 2009 Raboplus MTB Cup title in each category.

 

Next weekend brings Downhill racers to Levin for the last round of the North Island Downhill Cup. Competitors will then head to the South Island to race in Dunedin, Queenstown and Blenheim before both cross country and downhill disciplines compete in the New Zealand National Mountain Bike Championships.

 

 

Results - North Island Cross Country Cup Round 3 – Wellington

Elite Men

1 Mike Northcott, Taupo, 2:14.56; 2 Carl Jones, Whakatane, 2:17.26; 3 Gavin McCarthy, Upper Hutt, 2:17.49

 

Elite Women

1 Samara Sheppard, Wellington, 2:10.09; 2 Nic Leary, Palmerston North, 2:15.16, 3 Katherine O’Neill, Auckland 2:15.55

 

Full results available at www.bikenz.org.nz/mtbcups