Kiwi junior world champion Erice van Leuven led a New Zealand onslaught of the podium in the penultimate stop in the UCI MTB World Cup downhill in France.
The remarkable 17-year-old, who races for the Commencal les Orres professional team, won the junior women’s competition at Loudenvielle in the French Pyrenees to lead the UCI World Cup with one round remaining in Canada next month.
Van Leuven led a kiwi charge on the podium at Loudenvielle to mark the final round on European soil.
She finished in 4:09.898 down the challenging and drying course, fastest at every time check and 55kph through the speed check. She finished three seconds ahead of Great Britain’s Heather Wilson with fellow kiwis Sacha Earnest (Trek Factory) third, newcomer Bellah Birchall from Rotorua fourth and Tauranga’s Eliana Hulsebosch (Union) sixth.
Van Leuven takes over the lead in the overall standings on 290 points ahead of Wilson 275, Hulsebosch 270 and Earnest 230 with plenty at stake in the final round at Mont Sainte Anne next month.
There was also a powerful kiwi presence on the podium in junior men with Hawkes Bay rider Tyler Waite (Yeti Fox) finishing second behind Frenchman Max Alran and Christchurch’s Luke Wayman (Gravity Cartel) third.
Waite was just 0.1s behind the Frenchman at the halfway stage and 1.54s back at the finish, with Wayman sixth through the midway point before speeding down the bottom half to grab third, 4.391s behind the winner.
Alran assumes the lead in the competition with Wayman third and only 21 points from second with the Canadian round to complete the season.
Frenchman Benoit Coulanges claimed the elite men’s title from Great Britain’s Reece Wilson with Rotorua’s Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Union) having his challenges to finish back in 28th but is in 13th place overall.
The French dominance spilled over to the elite women, won by Myriam Nicole from Austria’s Valentina Holl who retains a healthy lead in the overall standings where kiwi Jess Blewitt is 11th.
The remaining stop of the World Cup for downhill is at Mont Sainte Anne in Canada in a month.
Results, UCI MTB Downhill World Cup, Loudenvielle:
Junior women: Erice van Leuven (NZL, Commencal les Orres) 4:09.898, 1; Heather Wilson (GBR) at 3.034s, 2; Sacha Earnest (NZL, Trek Factory) at 6.180, 3. Also NZers: Bellah Birchall at 15.796, 4; Eliana Hulsebosch (Union) at 17.019, 6. Standings: Van Leuven 290, 1; Wilson 275, 2; Hulsebosch 270, 3; Earnest 230, 4.
Junior men: Max Alran (FRA) 3:31.707, 1; Tyler Waite (NZL, Yeti Fox) at 1.54, 2; Luke Wayman (NZL, Gravity Cartel) at 4.391, 3. Points: Alran 272, Asa Vermette (USA) 239, 2; Luke Wayman 218, 3. Also: Oli Clarke 68, 15
Elite men: Benoit Coulanges (FRA) 3:40.480. 1; Reece Wilson (GBR) at 2.231, 2; Andreas Kolb (AUT) at 2.743, 3. Also: Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Union) 4:11.900, 29. Points: Loic Bruni (FRA) 1613, 1; Amaury Pierron (FRA) 1302, 2; Ronan Bunne (IRL) 1127, 3. Also Stevens-McNab 596, 13;
Elite women: Myriam Nicole (FRA) 4:06.440, 1; Valentina Holl (AUT) at 1.145, 2; Phoebe Gale (GBR) at 4.802, 3. Points: Holl 1669, Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) 1321, Marine Cabirou (FRA) 1181. Also: Jess Blewitt (NZL) 480, 11;