Dominant winter series win by Wilcox
Unstoppable. Manawatu’s Josie Wilcox and Cosmo Bloor of Cambridge stamped their authority on the winter mountain bike series in Rotorua on Sunday, as each made strong statements to their respective rivals, winning the day to make it two from two for the series.
In a year where seemingly every major mountain bike event in Rotorua had been impacted by rain, the 600 competitors were greeted by a crisp but clear morning as the trails once again played host to fantastic racing.
While the men played out a tough and tactical battle, the performance of Wilcox was in complete contrast in the women’s competition.
Simply riding away in a dominant performance to not only win by 10 minutes, but she beat home 90 per cent of the men’s field as well.
Since emerging as a fresh face two months ago at the Craters Classic, Manawatu-based Wilcox continues to go from strength to strength, and the day’s challenging hills played right into her hands as she simply rode away.
‘‘Yeah I love the hills to be honest,’’ she said.
And perhaps scarily for her rivals, she still sees much room for improvement on the trails.
‘‘I don’t get a huge amount of practice on technical single track. But I’m improving for sure, the more I get to ride that kinda stuff.’’
Crossing over to mountain bike after a successful collegiate running career, Wilcox is loving the change and is racing everything she can.
‘‘I’m seeing improvement because I’m racing a lot at the moment.
‘‘The Manawatu Mountain Bike Club series is absolutely awesome for getting more racing in.’’
Wilcox is from Nelson, but studied at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma in the United States and is now living in Manawatu.
While Wilcox rode a solitary race out front, the battle for second was intense, as Samantha Kingsford bested Palmerston North’s Fiona Macdermid by a mere three seconds.
In the feature long course event, men’s winner Bloor was delighted with his victory.
The surprise he had felt with his race one breakthrough, now replaced with a quiet confidence that saw him play his cards perfectly.
‘‘It was really tough out there,’’ he said.
‘‘The pace was really on, and while we didn’t really let up, it did become a bit tactical between the three of us.
‘‘I was lucky to time my move well and make it stick.’’
After nearly two hours of tough racing, trailing Bloor by a mere three seconds at the finish was Brad Jones, and just nine seconds further back, the event’s surprise package in Kyle Smith.
A name and face unfamiliar to most on the startline, Smith surprised even himself with his performance.
Despite his athletics pedigree, Smith remains a rookie when it comes to mountain bike racing.
‘‘I did do a couple of races a couple of years ago, but nothing serious. Coming in I knew I had a good engine, and I did used to do a little motocross and BMX, so I loved the technical descents.
‘‘But yeah, I’m super happy to make the podium.’’
There is five weeks until the series finale in September.