Kaikoura teenage Oli Clark fired the first shot for the 2025 season with the overall win in the opening downhill round of the Mountain Bike New Zealand national series in Dunedin.
The national series began on Saturday with cross-country which doubled as the first round of a new UCI Continental Series which attracted several riders from Australia including triple Olympian and two-time world championship medallist, Rebecca Henderson.
Clark, 18, produced a stunning ride down the drying track after weekend rain at the Signal Hill course, clocking 2:45.56 in the downhill final.
The Gravity Canterbury rider, who enjoyed two world cup top-10 finishes last season, finished just under four seconds clear of Hawkes Bay rising star Tyler Waite, who was the top qualifier.
“The run was good as the track had dried out a lot from the seeding run,” said under-19 winner Oli Clark. “I made a few mistakes at the top so I was pretty angry and rode fast at the bottom and happy with the result.”
Manawatu’s Jonty Williamson was third to complete a clean sweep by under-19 riders with Nelson’s Sam Gale the leading elite in fourth place, clocking 2:52.03 to finish ahead of Canterbury rider Seth Sylie and Rotorua pro Tuhoto-Ariki Pene.
“By the time we got to race it, the track was way better,” said Gale. “My run was good. I tried to keep it smooth and push but there were still places where he could catch you out so I played a bit safe and had a good clean run,”
Rotorua’s under-19 rider Bellah Birchall, who enjoyed some strong results in Europe last season, was the leading female in 3:53.74, just ahead of leading under-17 rider Kiera Vlaar from Wellington with Rotorua’s Usula Summers third.
The young female podium finished within three seconds in a closely fought battle.
Saturday’s cross-country proved a demanding challenge on wet and slippery conditions over an arduous seven-lap test on Signal Hill
Professionals Anton Cooper and Ben Oliver slipped clear but duelled wheel-for-wheel throughout the 90-minute battle with the eight-time national champion edging Oliver in the sprint for the line.
“It was super-fast and muddy. To battle with Ben Oliver for seven laps was what I expected to happen,” said Cooper.
“To be honest it could have gone either way. Ben was possibly slightly stronger than me today. It was one of those courses – on the second half of the course there was not much you could do but recover so I made the pace up the climb quite fast.
“Riding a hard-tail was quite a challenge with a high post in the conditions – really strong in some sections but tough in others. Overall I am happy to start the year with a win and I have a lot of form to build on.”
Likewise Paris Olympian Sammie Maxwell was locked in a battle with Henderson throughout the elite women’s race over six laps.
Maxwell made a mistake and lost ground on Henderson but slowly worked her way back into the battle and dominated the second half of the six-lap race to win in 1:30.03 with the Australian four minutes behind and Cantabrian Mary Gray third.
“You are never sure of your form starting off,” said Maxwell. “I made a mistake on the third lap and got gaped by Rebecca Henderson. I closed it and kept going – so the cards were played pretty early on which was exciting for me. It is always incredible racing with Bec – she pushes me and I push her and it brings the best out of eachother.”
The second round of the series will see downhill racing at Coronet Peak, Queenstown and cross-country in Taupo.
Results: Cross-country, Elite men: Anton Cooper (Christchurch) 1:31.35, 1; Ben Oliver (North Canterbury) at 1sec, 2; Sam Fox (Australia) at 7:03, 3.
Elite women: Sammie Maxwell (Rockrider Ford) 1:30.03, 1; Rebecca Henderson (Australia) at 4:08, 2; Mary Gray (Christchurch( at 12:32, 3.
Under-19: female: Millie Junge (Christchurch) 1:08.15, 1; Millie Donald (PNP) at 7:03, 2; Dulcie Copeland (Tauranga) at 9:59, 3.
Under-19 male: James Climo (Te Miro) 1:08.27, 1; Fletcher Adams (Hamilton) at 2:50, 2; Oscar Talbot (Christchurch) at 3:39, 3.
Downhill, overall male: Oli Clark (Kaikoura) 2:45.56, 1; Tyler Waite (Hawkes Bay) 2:49.29, 2; Jonty Williamson (Manawatu) 2:50.31, 3.
Female: Bellah Birchall (Rotorua) 3:53.74, 1; Kiera Vlaar (Wellington) 3:55.12, 2; Ursula Summers (Rotorua) 3:56.74, 3.