There is a bounty of bling up for grabs for kiwi mountain bikers when titles are decided in the final round of the UCI MTB World Cup this weekend at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec, Canada.
Fittingly the final stop of the season for both downhill and cross-country takes place at the longest-running world series stage and one of the sport’s most challenging courses for both disciplines.
There are seven kiwi riders chasing top-10 season spots in elite, under-23 and junior grades, the strongest position for many years across both gravity and cross-country.
Rotorua’s Lachlan Stevens-McNab, 20, goes into the final round in 13th place overall in the elite men’s downhill standings, the highest for a kiwi in several years, and impressive given it is just his second year in the category, after finishing fourth for the season in the junior ranks two years ago.
He has been consistently strong, gaining points in every round this season in elite company.
Queenstown-based Jess Blewitt, still just 22, goes into the women’s elite downhill finale in 11th place overall, despite injury and illness restricting the multi-national champion to three of six finals this year.
The kiwi gravity presence in junior ranks has grown, built on the remarkable clean-sweep of the junior women’s world championship at Glasgow last year.
That was all-but repeated this year in Andorra, with Erice van Leuven making it two world titles in succession and compatriot Sacha Earnest again in third. Going into this weekend’s final round, van Leuven (Commencal Les Orres) has a narrow lead of 15 points on Great Britain’s Heather Wilson, who is chased by two flying kiwis in Tauranga rookie Eliana Hulsebosch (Union) and Earnest (Trek Factory).
Canterbury teenager Luke Wayman is flying the kiwi flag in the junior men’s category, going into the final round in third overall, only 21 points from second and 54 to the leader. The Gravity Cartel rider has been super-consistent, with a top seven placing in every round, and seventh at the world championships.
Sam Gaze carries the flag for kiwi cross-country, after his meritorious sixth placing at the Paris Olympic Games. Re-signed for a further two years by the WorldTour Alpecin-Deceuninck pro team, Gaze has found it challenging to re-find his best form since the major focus on his Paris campaign.
He goes into the final round in eighth place on the overall standings and second in the short-track, where he is a two-time world champion.
“I definitely would have liked more out of the effort in Lake Placid,” said Gaze. “I cannot say I was stoked that this has been the trend of my past weeks but that’s sport and there’s no room for not being 100 percent despite at the end of such a long season. I will have a full focus to finish the year out on a high note at Mont-Sainte-Anne.”
It is a big weekend of action, starting with the Under-23 short track on Friday (NZ time), downhill qualifying and semifinals on Saturday along with elite short track, with downhill finals on Sunday evening (NZT). The UCI MTB World Cup season concludes with the cross-country races on Monday afternoonand evening (NZT).