New Zealand enduro pioneer, Rae Morrison scored a top-10 performance to lead the kiwi riders at the inaugural UCI MTB Enduro World Championships in Italy.
Heavy snowfalls led to a one-day delay, with course modified under the snow-line at Val de Fassa Trentino in the Italian Pyrenees.
Morrison (LIV Racing), in her final competition as a fulltime professional, celebrated with 10th place in the first-ever enduro world championships to lead all kiwis, after world No 3 ranked kiwi Charles Murray, withdrew with illness in the men’s competition.
Super-talented young kiwis made their mark as the leading teenagers, with junior world champion in downhill, Erice van Leuven (Commencal les Orres) finishing 14th overall and Rotorua’s Joe Millington 42nd overall respectively among the elites.
The Enduro course included five special stages within the total 42.4 kms, comprising 1,200m of climbing and 2,800m descending.
French riders provided the shut-out, winning both male and female elite titles in Enduro and E-Enduro classes.
Morrison, after a decade on the world circuit paving the way for kiwi enduro riders, was delighted with her effort, finishing 2:59 down on winner Isabeau Courdurier (FRA). The kiwi rider was consistent throughout in the challenging conditions, finishing 10th fastest in each of the last two stages to confirm her strong placing.
There was considerable merit in the performance of van Leuven, just 17, after claiming her second junior downhill world title two weeks ago, finishing 14th overall in the elite enduro world championship.
Meanwhile Nelson’s George Swift was an excellent fifth place in the women’s e-enduro, 2m8s down on winner Estelle Charles (FRA) after being consistently in the top five for most of the stages.
Best of the kiwi men was Bay of Plenty’s Matthew Walker who finished 11th overall, with the Pivot Factory rider, a regular on the downhill world circuit, finishing 1:04 down on the winner.
He was followed by teammate Edward Masters 19th, Brady Stone 31 and 18-year-old Rotorua prospect, Joe Millington 42nd overall and leading teenager.
Results:
Male: Alex Rudeau (FRA) 21:54.131, 1; Louis Jeandel (FRA) at 22.860, 2; Richard Rude Jr (USA) at 24.261, 3. Also NZers: Matthew Walker 1:04.710, 11; Edward Masters at 1:26.102, 19; Brady Stone 1:44.741, 31; Joe Millington at 2:14.093, 42; Nils Heiniger at 3:09.172, 68; Tyler Waite at 3:14.993, 73; Lachie Ross at 3:29.089, 82; Dylan Waghorn at 5:16.177, 112,
E-EDR: Kevin Miquel (FRA) 29:02.250, 1; Andreas Garibbo (ITA) at 6.22, 2; Kevin Marry (FRA) at 13.587, 3.
Women, elite: Isabeau Courdurier (FRA) 26:24.168. 1; Melanie Pugin (FRA) at 11.00, 2; Morgane Charre (FRA) at 1:01.854, 3. Also NZers: Rae Morrison at 2:59.187, 10; Erice van Leuven at 3:32.752, 14.
E-EDR: Estelle Charles (FRA_ 34:14.036, 1; Florencia Espineira Herreros (CHI) at 32.460, 2; Raphaela Richter (GER) at 1:21.863, 3. Also NZer: George Swift (Yeti-Fox) at 2:46.822, 5.