Rosara Joseph 21st , Karen Hanlen 38th at Offenburg, Germany: UCI World MTB Cup
Rosara Joseph (Christchurch, RaboBank-Giant) raced to a 21st at the Offenburg World Cup on Sunday. A dry, fast course had the pace brutal right from the gun, with the winning time five minutes faster than the same event last year. Riders had absolutely no time or chance to rest, and the field chased the leaders hard but ultimately the high pace led to a thinned out finishing field. Whakatane's Karen Hanlen raced to a 38th place finish at her second World Cup and maintains a handy position on the World Cup standings with a months break to Round 4 in Canada at the start of July.
Also racing his first World Cup was Rotorua's Sam Shaw in the U23 mens event. Shaw was happy to get this race under his belt after arriving in Europe on Thursday and feeling tired going in. But Shaw now looks forward to a solid European campaign and heads to the next Racer Bikes Cup in Switzerland knowing the strength of his competition.