New Zealand’s leading cross-country riders, Sam Gaze and Anton Cooper recorded top-15 results in the second round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series at altitude in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Gaze, the Alpecin-Deceuninck professional, climbed to seventh after running into traffic on the opening lap, while Cooper worked his way through from the third row for his best finish of 15^th this season.

National women’s champion, Sammie Maxwell from Taupo, in just her second World Cup start, pushed her way to sixth place in the under-23 women’s race, while Canterbury’s Ethan Rose- (Team Talleys Kiwi MTB) led the men’s under-23 finishers in 17^th.

There was considerable interest in the men’s cross-country race with Swiss superstar, Nino Schurter revelling in the fine conditions at the gruelling 1600m altitude, grabbing the race by the throat early and then smashing his way to the record 34^th victory. This is one more than the 33 wins of French star Julien Absalon, although it was marred by a collision with compatriot Mathias Fluckiger late in the race, and a fine post-race.

Gaze ran into a wall of riders from the start to find himself in 20^th with the Commonwealth Games double gold medallist working his way to sixth after the third lap and then up to third with two laps remaining.

The kiwi rider made the decision to chase Schurter, who attacked up the main climb, but Gaze paid the price for his exertions at altitude as he dropped time, finishing 1:18 from the Swiss record-breaker and settle for seventh place.

“I was trying to ride to the limit without going overboard at altitude, ”said Gaze. “After riding back up to third, I made the mistake of instead of settling in to compete for third place, I went a bit overboard trying to chase down Nino’s attack and paid the price,” said Gaze. “So I am pleased overall, but disappointed with that mistake which cost me a podium.”

Cooper worked hard from his third row start to be in fifth place after the opening lap, but the early efforts took a toll, slowly drifting back. He recovered as the race went on, jumping six places to finish 18^th, 2:54 back from the flying Schurter.

Canterbury’s Ben Oliver found himself buried outside the top 50 after the turmoil of 110 starters pushing into single track at altitude. He gradually picked off riders, climbing more than 20 places to finish 33^rd, which was 3:49 from the winner.

The women’s under-23 race did not start perfectly for Maxwell, coming down in the first lap, and losing 1:20 to the leaders. From that point the Taupo rider produced four ultra-consistent laps to climb her way from 15^th to sixth in an excellent performance that will give her undoubted confidence for the rest of the season.

Fellow Taupo rider Mia Cameron (Team Talleys-MTB Collective) finished in 47^th place with a consistent effort, followed by Ruby Ryan (Rotorua) 50^th and Annabel Bligh (Team Talleys) in 66^th.

Rose had his best finish in the men’s under-23 race in 17^th after dropping back to 21st and then picking off placings with a strong finish at one of the sport’s toughest tests. He will likely enjoy the strong climbing test in the World Cup in Leogang, Austria next weekend.

Results:

Cross-country, elite men: Nino Schurter (SUI) 1:24.04, 1; Alan Hatherley (RSA) at 15s, 2; Jordan Sarrou (FRA) at 16s, 3. Also: Sam Gaze (NZL, Alpecin-Fenix) at 1:18, 7; Anton Cooper (NZL – Trek Factory) at 2:54, 18; Ben Oliver (NZL) at 3:49, 33; Sam Shaw (NZL) at 3 laps, 100.

Elite women: Loana Lecomte (FRA) 1:24.41, 1; Anne Terpstra (NED) at 18s, 2; Alessandra Keller (SUI) at 32s, 3. Also: Marry-Ann Moller (NZL) at 3 laps, 80.

Under-23 Men: Dario Lillo (CAN) 1:12,33, 1; Carter Woods (CAN) at 2s, 2; Adrien Boichis (FRA) at 12s, 3.: Also NZers: Ethan Rose (Team Talleys-NZ MTB Collective) at 2:33, 17; Caleb Bottcher at 10.06, 97; Jacob Turner (Team Talleys) at 10.13, 100; Adam Francis at 1lap, 106; James Officer (Team Talleys) at 1lap, 106; Bailey Fredericksen at 3laps, 123; Matthew Wilson (Team Talleys) and Matthew Walker DNF.

Under-23 women: Heby Sofie Pedersen (DEN) Ronja Blochlinger (SUI) Sara Cortinovis (ITA) Samara Maxwell at 2:37, 6; Mia Cameron (Team Talleys) at 11.04, 47; Ruby Ryan at 11.32, 50; Amelie Mackay (Team Talleys) at 13.34, 54; Annabel Bligh (Team Talleys) at 1lap, 66.