Mosgiel to host national cross country round

MOTORCYCLING’S national cross country championships are heading south.

The Mosgiel District Motorcycle Club will host the second round of the fourstage championships at Lee Stream on Sunday.

Cross country racing is the sport’s version of a marathon, rather than the shorter races, which are more like a sprint.

Senior riders will ride for three hours, and the one which goes the farthest in that time will win.

Beforehand there will be a junior race, which will run for 90 minutes.

Raglan’s Jason Dickey led the way after the first round, held at Norsewood, while Sam Brown had finished second.

Series defending champion Brad Groombridge was in third, although will not compete on Sunday due to injury.

Sam Cuthbertson looks to be among the top local hopes.

Motorcycling New Zealand cross country commissioner Chris Smyth said the venue had been used before and should be ‘‘reasonably fast and open’’.

‘‘There may be some swampy patches to watch out for and plenty of tussock too.

‘‘It should be a great track. Everybody seemed to enjoy it last year.

‘‘With Brad Groombridge, and [Wairoa’s] Reece Lister too, dropping out with injury, it opens it up a bit for some of the other riders.

‘‘I expect the points table will look quite different after this weekend.

‘‘There are a lot of strong riders lining up on Sunday and anything can still happen.’’