BikeNZ mountainbikers make final Beijing bid

New Zealand’s star mountainbikers, Kashi Leuchs and Rosara Joseph hope to nail their Beijing Olympic bids with solid performances at the UCI World Championships in Italy this weekend.

They are part of a 24-strong New Zealand mountainbike team to compete in the championships beginning tomorrow at the alpine resort town of Val di Sole, Trentino.

Leuchs, 30, is well placed to seal a place in his third Olympics, going into the championships ranked 18th in the world. The France-based Dunedin rider has enjoyed two top-10 finishes in the World Cup this year including sixth in Madrid.

Joseph, 26, was fifth in the world championships last year but has rather less ambitions this year, coming back from a leg injury that has sidelined her for the past few weeks.

She will be joined in the elite women’s race by Auckland’s Kaytee Boyd.

New Zealand manager and former top downhiller, John Kirkcaldie says recent snow and rain has given way to a superb day for the opening races of the championships.

“Last week there was plenty of rain and a good dump of snow last Friday which has made it not only cool but heavy and quite boggy,” Kirkcaldie said.

“But it is clear skies today and hopefully with a good forecast it should dry out quickly.”

Both Leuchs and Joseph rode a lap in the team relay yesterday with Joseph taking things quietly in her first time on the bike for more than a month.

“Kashi has been in good form this year but Rosara is using the event to work back to top form for Beijing.”

Kirkcaldie said that Boyd should acquit herself well in the elite women’s race, while Wellington’s Samara Sheppard, 19th last year, is first on the track in the junior women’s race.

"It’s going to be a tough one alright,” Sheppard said. “There’s heaps of riding on grass, a lot of which is boggy, and some muddy downhill sections with tight rocks. There are a few climbs on grass and up gravel roads that are easy enough to ride, but there is one steep muddy and rocky pinch that may be a pushing section if the track gets carved up.”

New Zealand is looking with confidence to their downhillers, particularly the Yeti Fox Shox pro teammates Justin Leov (Blenheim) and Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui) who are ranked 11th and 15th in the world respectively this year.

“We are also strong in our junior men and Scarlett Hagen says she was very happy with her first practice run,” Kirkcaldie said.

He believes the downhill course could be the toughest ever for a world championship with steep, rocky descents and also big tree roots protruding as they race through the forests.

“It’s extremely technical and will should the highly skilled riders rather than brute speed.”

The junior women’s crosscountry race is tomorrow, with junior men on Friday, under-23 men on Saturday, downhill on Sunday and elite crosscountry on Monday (NZ time).

The New Zealand team is:

Crosscountry:
U19: Samara Sheppard (Wellington), Ashley Hough (Tauranga), Scott Green (Rotorua), Dirk Peters (Rotorua), Kieran Hambrook (Nelson), George Bennett (Nelson).

U23: Josh Barley (Wellington).

Elite: Rosara Joseph (Wellington), Kaytee Boyd (Auckland), Kashi Leuchs (Dunedin).

Downhill:
U19: Brook MacDonald (Napier), Matt Walker (Kawerau), Aari Barrett (Havelock North), Richard Leacock (Wellington).

Elite: Scarlett Hagen (Queenstown), Amy Laird (Christchurch), Justin Leov (Christchurch), Nathan Rankin (Levin), Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui), Kieran Bennett (Nelson), Mike Skinner (Auckland), Cameron Cole (Christchurch), Wyn Masters (Wanganui).

Elite Four Cross: Masters, Craig Pattle (Rotorua), Walker, Cole.