It was the third year in a row I’d raced at Coronet Peak, this year for Oceania Champs rather than Nationals. It was also the first time an XCC race had been held at Oceania Champs which gave riders a chance to earn some more points.
The XCO course had some changes to the second half of the course with a rocky descent added in but overall most of it was the same. Lots of steep climbing and some fast, flowy descents meant I opted for the hardtail once again. I lead from the start and kept the pace high, and lap by lap whittled down the field. On lap 3 I had cleared out by myself in front and by halfway around lap 4 of 7 I had established a comfortable lead, which I felt I would be able to keep extending or at least manage until the finish.
That’s when disaster struck on a fast descent when I hit a sharp rock, putting a hole in my front tyre as it pinched on the rim. I nursed it to the tech zone and changed the wheel, losing around 2minutes in the process and getting passed by three riders.
I chased hard over the remaining three laps but was starting to pay for my earlier efforts and wasn’t able to make any significant inroads, eventually having to settle for second place in the elite men behind Aussie national champion Sam Fox and Kiwi under 23 rider Ethan Rose who took out the overall win. A shame to lose my winning streak having won every Elite XCO title since 2016, but you can’t get them all!
The following morning was an early start for the first ever Oceania Continental XCC race. I was determined to make up for the day before and head home with at least one Continental title. I played a patient race and moved forward on the second to last lap, and attacked up the final climb to go clear and take the win. It was nice to finish the weekend on a high note and now I could turn my attention to the upcoming World Cups.