UCI Mountainbike World Championships, NZ MTB Team Preview

The 28 strong New Zealand MTB Team is now assembled at Mont Sainte Anne in the beautiful Quebec region of Canada’s west, making final preparations for a week of championship racing.

World Championship racing begins on Wednesday, with the Teams Relay event. This event has traditionally been a stronghold of European strength for many years, however NZ has entered four riders this year who are intent on moving the NZ silver and black into a competitive position. Mike Northcott (Tokoroa) will lead the team out, handing over to Brad Hudson (Christchurch) after his flying lap. Nicola Leary (Rotorua) races the third lap, tagging Carl Jones (Rotorua) in for the fourth and final.

Wednesday is also the Junior (Under 19) Women Cross Country Championship, with Rotorua’s Alexa Peters NZ’s sole representative. Peters is a second year junior, having represented New Zealand for the first time in Canberra at the 2009 World Championships.

The Under 23 Women’s race is held on Thursday. New Zealand has one representative in this event as well, Rotorua’s Samara Sheppard. Sheppard has been enjoying a recent and rapid form rise, having spent her World Championships build-up competing at selected World Cups and other high profile events, trading laps in the Olympic format sport with the world’s best.

Friday is the busiest day of competition with several NZ events on the schedule. At 11am the Junior (under 19) Mens Cross Country Championship race starts. Richard Anderson (Blenheim) has been racing in Europe since the end of May, and has several top ten results to his name against the best athletes Europe has in this class in 2010. The Mont Sainte Anne Cross Country course suits Anderson’s technical strength, and the Blenheim flyer is carrying high confidence into his race. Three other Juniors will be alongside Anderson – Bradley Hudson (Christchurch), Oceania Champion Mathew Waghorn (Palmerston North) and Locky McArthur (Auckland). Hudson is straight off a podium third at last weekend’s New York World Cup, and is another athlete quietly confident of his form and ability to put together a competitive top of the field result on Friday.

Dirk Peters and Carl Jones (both Rotorua) line up for the Under 23 Championship race at 2pm. Peters has been campaigning in Europe with Anderson, regularly racing Europe’s best Elite athletes as part of his World Champs preparation. Racing the separate Under 23 field on Friday is something Peters has been looking forward to for some time now, and the tough racing he has under his belt from the last three months will stand him in good stead to compete at the front. Jones has also managed a compressed build-up campaign which has shown real promise with strong results over the last three weeks.

Christchurch’s Daniel Franks races the Four Cross under lights on Friday night. Franks is a dual code NZ representative – having raced for the NZ BMX Team recently and returning to his favoured disciplines of Four Cross and Downhill. Franks likes his first look at the Mont Sainte Anne Four Cross course – a true monster with spectacular jumps and berms working their way down the Quebec mountain.

Saturday is the feature Elite Cross Country Championship race day. The Women’s race at 11am and the Men’s at 2pm. Rosara Joseph (Christchurch), Nicola Leary (Rororua), Fiona MacDermid (Palmerston North) and Jenny Smith (Gunnison, USA) present a very strong NZ contingent, with Beijing Olympian Joseph leading the charge. Mike Northcott and Stu Houltham (Wellington) will be working together amongst a fiercely competitive mens race to make an impact this year. Both are highly experienced multi-lap racers, and have a preference for the technical riding this race course offers.

Sunday is Gravity day with the Downhill Championship races taking place. The Junior (Under 19) Men and Women start their race runs at 10.30am. Madeline Taylor (Napier), Charlotte Clouston (Muriwai) and Sarah Atkin (Wellington) are competing in NZ colours for the first time, but have a maturity in their approach to racing that is well advanced. All three riders could well be in the medal hunt after their runs on the Mont Sainte Anne course. George Brannigan (Hastings), Rupert Chapman (Christchurch), Jed Rooney (Oamaru), Sam Baker (Waimauku), Jimmy Wilson (Christchurch) and Jimmy Wilson Christchurch) bring a wealth of talent to this race. New Zealand carries a strong tradition of producing medallists in this category, and Brannigan especially wants the World Champion title, after narrowly placing runner-up in the 2010 World Cup Junior title hunt.

At 2pm on Sunday, the Elite Downhill categories take to the course. Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui) and Justin Leov (Dunedin) are consistent top ten World Cup athletes, with Blenkinsop fresh off his overall third place in the 2010 World Cup. Showing real form coming into this event is current Junior World Champion Brook MacDonald (Napier) who has posted back to back top tens at the last two World Cup events. MacDonald has successfully made the step from the Junior ranks in 2009 to the Elite field this year and is carrying the kind of pace and poise that could see him challenge for the rainbow stripes. Wyn Masters (New Plymouth and Kieran Bennett (Nelson) round out the NZ Elite field and are both capable of breakthrough results this weekend.