After facing wet conditions during the track walk and training sessions on Friday, the weather was in favour of athletes and trail builders alike. Exposed to plenty of sunshine throughout the weekend, the Taniwha trail in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa forest was in pristine condition for the first Crankworx event of the year, marking both the kickoff of the Crankworx World Tour and the exhilarating 10-year anniversary of Crankworx Rotorua. Some of the world’s top athletes gathered to compete on the iconic volcanic soil of Aotearoa. The young guns fired in resounding fashion in downhill competition to dominate the honours at the Torpedo7 MTB National Championships in Queenstown. After some inclement weather for cross-country yesterday, riders and fans enjoyed warm and sunny conditions at the excellent Coronet Peak facilities.
Canterbury’s Anton Cooper bagged his ninth elite cross-country title with an emphatic performance at the Torpedo7 MTB National Championships in Queenstown.
The 29-year-old Trek Factory professional was in a class of his own, opening a 22 second gap on the opening lap of six at Coronet Peak, going on to win by a minute after buttoning off over the final lap. Meanwhile Under-23 World champion Sammie Maxwell from Taupo claimed her fourth straight elite women’s crown in equally dominant fashion, winning by nearly five minutes in a display of power and precision. Teenage MTB World Champion, Erice van Leuven is expecting a testing time when she sports her rainbow jersey at the Torpedo7 MTB National Championships in Queenstown this weekend. The Under-19 Downhill World Champion believes her competition among the junior gravity riders at Coronet Peak on Sunday will be akin to a world cup contest. Van Leuven will compete against fellow kiwis Poppy Lane and Sacha Earnest, who joined her on the world championship podium in Glasgow last year.
Two rainbow jerseys amid a bunch on international professionals will be on display at the 2024 Torpedo7 MTB National Championships at Coronet Peak in Queenstown this weekend. There are 270 riders who will contest the two-day championships with cross-country races on Saturday, ahead of downhill competition and the second national short-track XCO titles on Sunday. It is the second straight year that the championships have ventured south, with the Queenstown MTB Club providing support for the Coronet Peak organisation and the Cycling New Zealand events team.
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