UCI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – TRACK, ROAD, MTB, BMX, PARA-CYCLING – GLASGOW – NZ WRAP DAY 2
Young kiwi gravity riders created history with a clean sweep of the podium in the junior women’s downhill at the UCI World Championships in Scotland.
The trio tamed the beast at Fort William, the longest of the major downhill courses, set in the picturesque Nevis Range in northern Scotland.
Downhill mountain bike was the focus along with track on day two of the Super-Worlds, with 13 cycling disciplines all staging world championships over 11 days in and around Glasgow.
Hutt Valley’s Erice van Leuven, who was fastest in qualifying yesterday, claimed the title with the second last run of the competition, winning by over five seconds from compatriots in Mt Maunganui’s Poppy Lane with Auckland’s Sacha Earnest third.
Lane was the second rider off and claimed the lead before spending most of the race on the top of the Hot Seat until she was nearly edged out from Earnest, who clocked the top speed of 56kph as she flew to within 0.4s of Lane’s time down the 2.9km track.
The pair then watched as van Leuven, only sixth fastest through the first time check, crushed it on the bottom half of the run to win in 5:15.613, just over five seconds faster than her fellow kiwis and clear of the other 26 starters.
The trio watched anxiously until the final rider went outside the time, then hugged and celebrated the occasion.
It makes it two junior women’s downhill world titles in a row for New Zealand after Rotorua’s Jenna Hastings won the junior women’s title last year. It also marks 20 years since Queenstown’s Scarlett Hagen prevailed, with both winning their titles at Les Gets in France.
In the junior men’s final, Luke Wayman (Christchurch) was the best of the kiwis in 23rd place, 13 seconds off winner Henri Kiefer (GER), with Angus Ferguson (Christchurch) 29th, Josh Bonnar (KiwiDH, Arrowtown) 30th and Ty Muirhead (Kiwi DH, Wanaka) 42nd.
Earlier the veterans led the way for the kiwis in the elite men’s downhill qualifying, with Edward Masters (Pivot Factory, Taranaki) best in 17th fastest, 5.9sec behind top qualifier Loic Bruni FRA).
Sam Blenkinsop (Crestline, Christchurch), who claimed his first of six world championship top-10s at Fort William in 2007, was second fastest of the kiwis in 23rd. He was followed by Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (MS Mondraker, Rotorua) 39th, George Brannigan (NS Bikes UR, Queenstown) 40th and Brook MacDonald (MS Mondraker, Napier) 41st. Also James MacDermid (The Alliance, Hamilton) 57th and national champion Toby Meek (MS Mondraker, Queenstown) 63rd completed the kiwis to qualify for tomorrow’s final.
In the elite women qualifying, last year’s junior world champion Hastings (Pivot Factory, Rotorua) was 21st fastest and Wanaka’s Kalani Muirhead 23rd to both earn places in the final.
TRACK CYCLING DAY 2
The women’s team pursuit made their mark, qualifying second fastest in the 4000m qualifying event in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
The quartet of Ally Wollaston, Michaela Drummond, Emily Shearman, and Bryony Botha clocked an outstanding 4:11.777s to be second fastest behind defending world champions Great Britain in qualifying.
Drummond bounced back in the evening programme to score a superb bronze medal in the womens scratch race.
It is the first time this combination has competed together at a world championship, finishing one second slower than the British combination.
They were three seconds off the national record that the quartet set in winning the Nations Cup in Jakarta earlier in the year.
They meet USA in tomorrow’s first round with the winner advancing to the gold medal clash later in the evening.
Coach Paul Manning was delighted with the first-up effort from the combination that only came together this year.
“The ride was a great team performance, delivering what we have seen in training, under the pressure of competition,” said Manning.
“We had an early starting position in the competition, start so setting the standard and keeping focus to do the basics well gives them a great platform to take through to tomorrow.
“We have been a team for the last 12 months, but just haven’t seen it at worlds level, and from here ironing out form and team flow will allow us to push the limits going forwards.”
Tomorrow in round one action top qualifiers Great Britain take on France and New Zealand meet USA, with the winners through to the gold medal final. The fastest two times from t the two losers and the other ride0offs with Italy vs Canada and Germany vs Australia will ride for the bronze.
Meanwhile the men’s team pursuit will ride off against Australia for the bronze medal tomorrow.
The kiwi quartet of Nick Kergozou, Tom Sexton, Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart were beaten in the round one ride by their nemesis Italy, who edged them out at the Tokyo Olympics when both went under the world record time.
The Italians, who meandered through their qualifying ride with their squad only recently returned from a road race tour, got their act together to get in front early against the kiwis. They opened a half second lead after the opening 1000m, and stretched to 1.4 seconds at the midway point. When the kiwis dropped to three riders, they mounted a push to get back within 0.8s but the pressure took its toll as the Italians prevailed in 3:46.855.
It was a similar story with Denmark too strong for Australia in the other match, with both losers riding 3:48 to set up a tight battle for the bronze medal.
Earlier Rebecca Petch clocked 34.062 in qualifying for the 500m time trial, just outside her own national record, to be 14th fastest, missing out on the final.
Drummond, backing up after her strong ride in the team pursuit, earned her first individual world championship medal in the 10km scratch race. The Manawatu professional was prominent throughout, circulating well through the pack and pushing wide on the penultimate lap, getting into third place and holding off the charge from behind.
American Jennifer Valente sprinted her way to the victory from Maike van der Duin (NED) and Drummond.
Day three comprises track competition with New Zealand contesting the men’s sprint with Sam Dakin, women’s keirin and women’s and men’s team pursuit medal deciders.
Road racing begins with the junior men and junior women road races in Glasgow along with the elite men’s and women’s downhill mountain bike at Fort William.