World Mountainbike Championships NZ Wrap: Four Cross, Under 23 and Elite Cross Country

After Anton Cooper's fantastic silver medal performance on Thursday in the Junior Mens Cross country race, NZ's Under 23 and Elite athletes racing on Friday and today at Champery were full of confidence with enthusiasm high at the Grand Paradis race venue.

Friday's racing was for the Under 23 Men with a late start time of 5pm. NZ's three starters Dirk Peters and Sam Shaw (both Rotorua) and Brad Hudson (Christchurch) knew the key to working through a good performance was a clean and aggressive start. Hudson kicked away the best of the Kiwis making ground down the outside of the long start/finish straight, but was blindsided from behind at speed leading into a one of the first corners in the start loop. Hudson spectacularly cartwheeled off his bike and it looked like his day was over before it had really begun – he did manage to carry on, but irrepairable damage to the bike's drivetrain led to Hudson not able to make any speed when needed, withdrawn with two laps to go. Shaw was also withdrawn at the same point in the race after hanging on to the frantic pace for as long as he could.

Peters got away to a rotten start, swamped on the line and in damage control going into the narrow single track after the start loop. From 68th after the start loop, Peters clawed back a staggering 32 places to finish 36th and on the lead lap – a result when taken in the context of the brutal Champery race course that Peters was well satsfied with.

Four Cross racing was run under lights last night, with Daniel Franks (Christchurch) NZ's representative. Franks had seeded 27th of the 50 starters, and raced in his first knock-out heat after 9pm. Franks progressed through to the round of eight from his first heat, but couldn't deliver a result in that next heat to take him through to the quarter finals. The Four Cross race was a race of attrition, with many crashes on the very difficult course, including in the championship final where all four starters swapped out positions after crashes and mechanical issues.

In between the race schedule on Friday, the Downhill qualification runs took place. Without too much at stake, the NZ Team took the opportunity to put together clean, consistent runs to measure their pace against the rest of the championship field. Results of note include Reuben Olorenshaw (Nelson) 5th Junior Men, Sarah Atkin (Wellington) 4th Junior Women and Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui) and Mat Scoles (Alexandra) 9th and 10th respectively in the Elite Mens field. Unfortunately one of the fastest riders on the Champery hill this week was cruely taken out of tomorrow's race in the last practice session on Friday. Cam Cole (Christchurch) blew a tyre off the rear rim of his bike on a fast corner on the lower slopes of the race course, breaking his forearm and requiring a helicopter extraction. Cole is currently recovering after surgery to repair the break in Monthery hospital.

Todays Cross Country racing was all about the Elite Men and Womens races. Rosara Joseph (Christchurch) and Karen Hanlen (Wanganui) lined up in positions 25 and 39 on the start grid. Both got away well, with Joseph handily placed at 12th after the initial frenzy of the start loop and first lap. Joseph's season has been a difficult one this year, with a number of factors affecting her form throughout the World Cup season, so this race had always been the target for a top of the field result. Joseph worked away at the riders in front, making clear space for herself in 7th which she drove hard all the way to the line. Relief that everything had come together at just the right time was the reaction from a visibly excited Joseph at the conclusion of the race.

Hanlen also delivered from her mid pack start position. Over the first three laps, Hanlen punched past 16 riders to consolidate and claim an amazing 26th in her first shot at a Mountainbike World Championships. The smiling Hanlen has created a major impression on the World Cup circuit this year, and is looking to continue in 2012 with new goals after a switch from multi-sport racing a year ago.

Whakatane's Carl Jones (now Rotorua) lined up in the silver fern as a lone Kiwi in the 4.30pm Elite Mens race. A start postion of 75 didn't faze Jones who charged as hard as he could to maintain touch with a field strung out from the gun by the dominant players this year, and with rain starting 15 minutes into the race a slippery and unpredicatable riding surface to deal with. While an amazing tussle was happening between Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czechoslovakia) and Nino Shurter (Switzerland) for the lead and the World Championship win, Jones was racing for survival mid pack and having the race of his life. Working into 50th after lap five, Jones looked to have done enough to finish on the lead lap, but Kulhavy's unworldly pace at the front bought the lap out point forward – Jones pulled with one to go.

Tomorrow is the last day of competition for the NZ MTB Team, with the Downhill World Championship races taking place. Hopes are high for medals this year, with several kiwis on song on the steep and treacherous Champery race course. With a weather change to rain this afternoon, tomorrow's Downhill races will be run on a wet and muddy course – conditions the Kiwis trained well in early in the week.