Riding to nationals victory
MOUNTAINBIKING: Palmerston North Boys’ High School riders have put in a strong showing at the National Schools Championships.
They won the junior boys’ teams relay and dominated the under-16 boys’ cross-country race in Rotorua last week.
In that race, Adam Francis led from the start to take a well-earned win, while Ben Orr worked his way through the 60-strong field to finish third. Mathew Hainsworth rode some slick lines and hit every jump he found to come away with 18th.
Hayden Storrier battled hard all race in the under-17 boys’ crosscountry and finished 11th. In the competitive under-20 boys’ race, Jamie Todd rode strongly and finished a good eighth place.
The under-16 boys teamed up in the junior boys’ team relay. Hainsworth, Orr and Francis combined to ride away from the field, finishing more than two minutes clear of any other team.
Liam Valentine, competing in the under-20 boys’ downhill, came 16th.
At the Australian National Cross Country series, two Manawatu¯ Mountain Biking Club members, Max Taylor and Caleb Bottcher, as part of the MTB National Performance Hub, were in action at the weekend.
Taylor came fifth in the first of their under-19 races, while Bottcher, who was feeling ill, finished 11th. Taylor came eighth in the next race.
Bottcher suffered a flat tyre, but still finished 20th.