Pickard Dominates RaboDirect North Island BMX Competition

Kurt Pickard confirmed his position as the top locally based BMX rider when he won the male Superclass at the RaboDirect North Island Championships at Gisborne today.

But the Tauranga rider had to withstand a strong challenge from local Nick Fox. Pickard won the first and third motos of the three race final, while Fox took out the second.

The finish line camera had to be used to separate the pair in the third, with the judges giving the nod to Pickard. Fox spoiled his efforts by crashing in the first moto and had to be content with third overall over the three races.

Pickard will join the country’s top rider, Marc Willers, at the ABA Grand Finals in the United States next month to gain more experience as he continues to press his claims for Olympic selection for London.

Runner-up went to the consistent Trent Jones of Kaiapoi who took out the junior men’s title on Saturday.

Gisborne had plenty to celebrate when 16-year-old Monique Smith, in her first venture out of the challenge classes, won the women’s Superclass.

With Olympian Sarah Walker bypassing today’s competition because of a niggling injury, Smith dominated to beat off the challenge from Taranaki’s Victoria Hill and Waikato’s Elyse Imber in the combined contest.

After finishing second behind Walker in yesterday’s North island Championship and victory in the Superclass today, Smith has signalled that she is a real prospect for the future.

Meanwhile Waiuku’s Maynard Peel led the New Zealand Boy’s Mighty 11s team to victory over their Australian counterparts winning all five motos of the test series and the team finishing a substantial 61 points ahead. Peel also went through his age group unbeaten to record 13 wins over the two days of racing.

New Zealand’s 11 year old girls matched their male riders in their test match against Australia winning by just two points. The visitor’s only success came in the male senior test where they beat the Kiwis by 17 points over the five races. The New Zealand senior female side were also successful by 27 points.

Results.-
Rabodirect North Island BMX Championships
Gisborne
Women’s Superclass: Monique Smith (Gisborne) 1, Victoria Hill (New Plymouth) 2, Elyse Imber (Cambridge) 3, Shannon Alexander (Chch) 4, Nicole Eady (Whangarei) 5.
Men’s Superclass: K Pickard (Tauranga) 1, Trent Jones (Kaiapoi) 2, Nic Fox (Gisborne) 3, Mat Cameron (New Plymouth) 4; Matthew Davies (Christchurch) 5.
Australia v NZ Tests:
Mighty 11s, Girls: New Zealand (J Donaldson, L Roguski, M Roberts-Craig) 91 points, 1; Australia 89, 2.
Mighty 11s, Boys; New Zealand (M Peel, C Lush, J Fleming, B Davis, L Goodwin)128 points, 1; Australia 67, 2.
Senior Female: New Zealand (R Patch, H Smarten, T Hansen, G Campbell) 111 points, 1; Australia 84, 2.
Senior Male: Australia 106 points, 1; New Zealand (C Merito, L Roguski, C Martin, D Bowers-Wilson) 89, 2.