NZ Mountainbikers Schooling the Locals!

Kiwi racing exploits coming to you from three different events and locations in the Northern Hemishere, from the weekend of June 27/28th.

With the UCI MTB World Cup in spring recess for four weeks the racing Kiwi downhillers have dispersed, some looking for a break and a refresh, others opting to keep the competitive race programme running. Four downhill athletes based in Italy cleaned out the Drop Down DH race in Canazei in the Trento region's Val di Fassa in Italy on Sunday.

Matt Scoles (Wide Open, Alexandra) won the event, with fellow Kiwis Nathan Rankin (Playbiker, Levin) 2nd, Brook MacDonald (Ancillotti, Hawkes Bay) 3rd and Wyn Masters (Ancillotti, New Plymouth) 4th. Australian junior Shaun O'Connor slotted into fifth place, meaning a complete ANZAC shut-out for the Italians at this event.

Meanwhile, around the globe in Canada, several cross country athletes are getting into high level racing mode amongst quality international fields.

Tony Hogg (R&R, Dunedin) started the third edition of the Britsh Columbia Bike Race, a seven day stage race. Hogg is competing as a solo rider, and finished the first days racing in 3rd. This stage race has drawn many of North America's top competitors among the 400 entrants, riding as teams or solos.

Mark Lieshman and Nic Leary (Team N-Duro) won their respective Elite races at the Cardiac Classic which also doubled as the British Columbia XC Champs for 2009. Being non-residents, Leishman and Leary weren't eligible to win the titles or the winners jereseys that went with them, but enjoyed the well deserved success none the less.

Issued for MTBNZ Performance