Olympians to feature at RaboPLus MTB Cups

Mountain bike Olympian Kashi Leuchs will provide a significant challenge for the country's top XC riders this Sunday in the first round of the RaboPlus South Island XC Cup. Leuchs, NZ's most accomplished cross country racer, has entered the Otago Peninsula Challenge as part of a nationwide road trip competing at and showcasing a number of NZ's most important MTB events.

The Raboplus NZ MTB Cup presented by Nature Valley continues this weekend (Jan 31st / Feb 1st) in Dunedin. The NZ MTB Cup comprises six Cross Country and Six Downhill events (three in each of the North and South Islands) during January and February, wrapping up with the Raboplus National Mountainbike Championships in Nelson between February 26 and March 1st.

The North Island leg of the Raboplus NZ MTB Cup has now been completed, and Dunedin is the first venue of the South Island leg. Competitors have travelled to some of the most exciting venues in the north island including Rotorua, Auckland, Wellington and Levin, and now look forward to Dunedin this weekend, followed by events in Timaru, Coronet Peak Blenheim and finally Nelson.

Dunedin hosts the fourth round of the Raboplus NZ Downhill Cup on Saturday on Signal Hill, and also the fouth round of the Raboplus NZ Cross Country Cup on Sunday on the Otago Peninsula.

Sunday's cross country race is combined with the 44km point to point Otago Peninsula Challenge which is now in its third year of running. The OPC as it is affectionately known is a once a year opportunity to traverse the spectacular Otago Penisula across a large measure of private land, from Smails Beach to Taiaroa Head at the very tip of the peninsula.

Leuchs knows his OPC competition well. Team-mate Marcus Roy (Invercargill) is also racing, along with Jon Richardson (Dunedin) who specialises in point to point style events and knows this terrain in detail. The Mens Elite field also includes Brendon Sharratt and Tim Madgwick (both Christchurch) so there should be a close and tactical duel at the front of this race all the way to the finish line. In the Elite Womens race Sara MacDonald and Erin Greene will both be competing on home turf, but will be challenged by race fit Samara Sheppard (Wellington) and several other top performers. In the age group categories, a number of U19 rising stars have a rare opportunity to measure themselves against not only the 44km OPC course on Sunday, but also against the Elite field over the same distance.

Saturday's Downhill race sees the return to NZ domestic racing of Trek professional Justin Leov. NZ's highest ever mountainbike athlete in World Rankings at #5, Leov (Christchurch) has spent his time since the end of the 2008 World Cup season recharging and recovering from injury, and his return to competition will be one to watch amongst the high quality Elite field. Leov will be aware of the very high level of competition entered in Dunedin which includes on form Rotorua charger James Dodds, 2007 World Champs bronze medallist Matt Scoles (Alexandra) and NZ's Junior talents Aari Barrett and Brook MacDonald (both Hawkes Bay). Several international stars are also in Dunedin this weekend - Danny Hart (UK) and the Scottish podium raiders Ben Cathro, Gary Forest and Joe Barnes, all aiming to challenge for podium spots against NZ's best Elite riders. Former Junior World Champion Scarlett Hagen (Queenstown) also returns to national competition for the first time this summer and faces off against race fit Harriet Harper (Blenheim) and Harriet Ruecknagel (Germany) in the Elite Womens race.

Additionally to the premier Elite level competition, age group categories from Masters 50+ through to the emerging U15 age groups in their first national events will be just as hotly contested at all NZ MTB Cup events.