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Blenkinsop and Shaw Claim Elite Honours at the Season Opener

Tuesday 11 January 2011, 8:34AM

By Mountain Bike New Zealand

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Sam Blenkinsop - Tauranga
Sam Blenkinsop - Tauranga Credit: Jono Church

TAURANGA

Tauranga delivered frantic competition to match the hot and humid weather at the first round of the RaboDirect NZ MTB Cup over the weekend. The Cycle Obsession MTB Park / Summerhill mix of courses in Welcome Bay proved a hit with the well supported Downhill and Cross Country races on Saturday and Sunday, and close racing through all age groups and the flagship Elite grades was the result.

Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui, Lapierre International) started his summer Downhill campaign in dominant style, reflecting his stunning 2010 World Ranking of #4. Seeding in front of a quality world class field on Saturday morning, Blenkinsop screwed the pressure on for the winner take all race run to shatter his likely challengers. Chasing Blenkinsop's seeding pace saw George Brannigan (Hawkes Bay, Ancillotti), Brook MacDonald (Napier, MS Evil) and current National Champion Wyn Masters (New Plymouth, Wide Open) all came to grief on a deteriorating downhill course that required absolute accuracy and supreme bike control to conquer cleanly. Only seasoned campaigner Nathan Rankin (Levin, Monster Energy) could stay with Blenkinsop's pace but still more than a second off his winning time.

Age Group categories in Saturday's Downhill race were also hotly contested, with incredibly close margins separating riders. The supporting Under 19 category was won by Nelson's Rueben Olorenshaw by only 0.01seconds after a two minute descent on the 160m vertical metre course, and in a storming time that would have placed him 9th in the Elite field.

Sunday drew the country's top Cross Country racers to the Cycle Obsession MTB Park, with a short loop of the Summerhill complex thrown in for good measure. A tough, technical course was softened up in the morning's Age Group category racing for the afternoon Elite/U23 and Under 19 feature. With several highly talented juniors having progressed into the Elite/U23 category for 2011, the racing was eagerly anticipated and the spectators on hand weren't disappointed with the way the feature races unfolded. In the Mens Elite/U23 race, Mike Northcott (Tokoroa) seized an early lead which he stretched each lap for the first three of six. But a collision with a tree at the top of the hill tore his front brake lever off the bike, and Northcott had to somehow try to fend off a stalking Sam Shaw (Rotorua) for the remainder of the race. Northcott almost succeeded, but Shaw played a smart waiting game and attacked at a crucial point to win by 24 seconds. In the Elite/U23 Womens race, a new talent on the NZ MTB Cup circuit shook the field up - established Whakatane multi-sporter Karen Hanlen is trying her hand at Olympic format mountainbike racing this season and led from start to finish to claim a wonderful debut win. No other female athlete could match Hanlen up the two steep climbs, and despite falling heavily on the technical descent in her third lap, Hanlen was never threatened for her win over Rotorua's Samara Sheppard.

In the supporting Under 19 mens race, Oceania Champion Mathew Waghorn held off a determined Nigel McDowell (Rotorua) for a close win, setting up what is sure to be an ongoing tussle for the rest of the NZ MTB Cup national series.

The RaboDirect NZ MTB Cup continues this weekend in Napier for both Cross Country and Downhill racers, at the Eskdale MTB park. Added importance is attached to Sunday's Round 2 Cross Country race, being a UCI Category 2 event - Olympic UCI ranking points are up for grabs as well as a sizeable prize-money purse.

Full results NZ MTB Cup Downhill Round 1 Tauranga
Full results NZ MTB Cup Cross Country Round 1 Tauranga
Photographs NZ MTB Cup Downhill Round 1 Tauranga