That’s right, after Greg Minnaar and Gee Atherton rode an almost identical season—both with two wins and two second places—it came down to the World Cup Final this morning and Gee took the win, with Greg in second and Blenki in third. The top ten looked good for us Kiwis though with Brook MacDonald in 8th and Justin Leov (pronounced ‘Leo’, Mr Warner) in 10th. Good times. Other notable results saw pro freerider Thomas Vanderham in 43rd, Wyn Masters in 28th and Kieran Bennett in 30th. Full results and overall below. READ MORE
Episode 8 kicks off with Gee heading for the British Champs up in Scotland without his injured siblings, Rach and Dan. Gee finds that he misses the inspiration and support of his brother and sister during competition but at the same time realises that to stay at the top, sometimes, he’ll have to manage on his own. Then it’s on to World Cup Round 4 in Champery, Switzerland. With brother and sister still at home, Gee takes on the highly technical and challenging course alone. After some lightning-quick qualifiers on a dusty track, some serious rain sets in and turns it all to treacle. With Gee neck and neck with Greg Minnaar in the overall placings this season, anything less than a win is a disappointment. Can he beat the mud and bring the points home?
Two years in a row I’ve managed to somehow get out of racing the Santa Cruz Coppermine Epic, but this year it’s on. See that, I just told you all that I’ll be taking part in New Zealand’s premier (or is that only) all-mountain event; there’s no way I can get out of it now. I might even win a complete Santa Cruz bike as a spot prize but I won’t be winning the $1000 cash that’s up for grabs for the fastest girl and guy. You can enter now right HERE. Do it!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or in a cave deep on the West Coast somewhere you’ll probably be aware of how popular Cyclocross is becoming in New Zealand. Well, the good guys from ‘The Pain Train’ and Hamilton MTB Club are bringing you the NZ Cyclocross Champs race on the 29th of August. Now in its third year (or fourth??) it’s shaping up to be a heck of an event, and judging by the amount of rain we’ve been having here in Hamilton the mud bogs should be, well, muddy.
The proceeds from the event will be going to this little legend….. www.charliesplace.org.nz, so even if you’re not keen on getting dirty, come out and watch, buy some food, heckle some riders and stand under your umbrellas!
Complete entry form available HERE. Right I’m off to hacksaw some bits off my road bike to make room for some bigger tyres! More info after the jump. READ MORE
Hot off the wire, Kelly McGarry is one of the finalists at Crankworx this weekend.
If the weather is crap in your part of the country (it is in mine) then here’s the live feed to keep you entertained. http://www.crankworx.com/webcast/
TriRide.com just posted this sweet little clip from the Val di Sole World Cup round including at 1:10 Justin Leov’s race-ending crash (it happened in his second practice run).
The latest installment of Trek World Racing’s webisode series, In Pursuit, is released today and features highlights and behind the scenes footage from the first ever Crossover Challenge at the Trek World Racing Summer Camp in Chatel, France. Watch Emily Batty and the Flueckiger brothers race downhill for the very first time! Also featured is the Swiss Bike Trophy HC event in Bern, Switzerland.
Sam Blenkinsop has scored some good UCI points by qualifying 2nd for the Val Di Sole (Italy) World Cup round. In front of him, Gee Atherton takes max qualification points and steals the overall lead from Greg Minnaar who is down in 15th. Is he a bit timid after a hefty over-the-bars in practice? Is he playing a tactical game with the on-again-off-again weather, or did the crash he have in quali actually knock him down considerably? Dunedin’s Justin Leov is just inside the top ten (9th) heading into the finals.
