Kiwi teen races to first podium
New Zealand's flying teens made their mark in the latest rounds of the UCI MTB World Series for Enduro and Downhill in the French Pyrenees resort of Loudenvielle-Peyragudes yesterday.
Christchurch 18-year-old Winni Goldsbury scored her first podium, finishing third in the latest round of the Enduro World Series in her first season in elite competition.
Across the mountain resort, a bunch of Kiwi gravity riders have qualified in the top 10 ahead of today's finals in the second round of downhill competition.
They were led by two-time junior world championship medallist Sacha Earnest, 19, who was 10th fastest in qualifying in just her second start as an elite rider for her new Trek Factory pro team.
This earned her a direct start in today's final on the exciting downhill track.
The "old man" of the Kiwi contingent flying fast in Loudenvielle in qualifying was Rotorua's Tuhoto Ariki Pene, 24, who qualified for the finals in the elite men.
After missing out in the first qualifying session, the MS Racing professional produced a stunning ride of 3min 17.313sec, up with the fastest of the day to top the second qualifying session.
He was among the fastest 10 in the second qualifying to move through to today's final, along with Canterbury's Luke Wayman, 18, (Continental Atherton pro team) managing seventh fastest.
However, Rotorua's Lachlan Stevens-McNab, exceptionally fast on the open section, made a mistake in the tight second part of the course.
Goldsbury, 18, earned a breakthrough performance in the elite women's Enduro competition, in just her third start this season.
She was super-fast throughout the competition, third after the opening stage, seventh in the second, fifth in the third, third in the penultimate stage and second fastest in the final stage.
She finished just 0.40sec from second-placed Morgan Charre (France) with series leader Ella Conolly (GBR) winning by 26sec and jumps to seventh overall in the standings after three rounds.
Nelson rider George Swift (Yeti Fox) was seventh to be ninth overall.
Australian Daniel Booker took out the elite men's competition with Kiwi Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity) finishing eighth overall ahead of fellow Kiwis Joe Millington, the Yeti Development NZ rider from Rotorua, who was 11th after finishing third fastest and second fastest in the last two stages.
Murray moved up one spot to seventh in the overall standings.
— APL
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