Canterbury’s Anton Cooper bagged his ninth elite cross-country title with an emphatic performance at the Torpedo7 MTB National Championships in Queenstown. The 29-year-old Trek Factory professional was in a class of his own, opening a 22 second gap on the opening lap of six at Coronet Peak, going on to win by a minute after buttoning off over the final lap. Meanwhile Under-23 World champion Sammie Maxwell from Taupo claimed her fourth straight elite women’s crown in equally dominant fashion, winning by nearly five minutes in a display of power and precision. The pair has been at the forefront of XCO racing, with Maxwell winning her first elite title in Christchurch when she was only 19 while Cooper was just 18 when he claimed his first elite honours in Rotorua in 2013.
Cooper, sixth at the Tokyo Olympics, is pleased with his training base as he targets selection for the Paris Olympics. “I am way further ahead than I was for the last two years. Probably more like I was in 2021 on the way to the Tokyo Olympics,” said Cooper. “It’s nice to know and to see that in the performance today and see it is coming together. “I am right where I want to be for this time of year. I know I have a lot of room to improve still, which is a good thing. If I can ride like I did today, and knowing what is still left in the bank and what I can improve on before those two big world cups in two months’ time, then that is nice to know.” He pushed hard from the start to open a 22 second gap on last year’s winner, Matthew Wilson from Auckland, and 50 seconds to good friend Ben Oliver, just home from winning a UCI race in Abu Dhabi. By midway after three laps the gap was a minute with Cooper pushing the margin to 1:21 after four laps before easing back over the final two laps. Wilson remained strong throughout to finish an impressive second ahead of Oliver, while Canterbury rider Ethan Rose claimed the under-23 honours. Rose finished on the podium with Oliver at Abu Dhabi, and will join the Trek Future Racing professional team. Maxwell, sporting her world champion’s rainbow jersey in competition for the first time, was in a class of her own in the combined women’s under-23 and elite race. She pushed away to a 51 second lead on the first lap and by mid-race it was over two minutes, finishing her five-lap race in 1:24.30 with the experienced Nelson rider, Josie Wilcox, the 2020 national champion, finishing runner-up for a second straight time. Christchurch teenager Maria Laurie finished third and took out the under-23 national title. The riders return to Coronet peak on Sunday for the first short track national title, while the focus goes on a 177-strong contingent of gravity riders chasing honours in the downhill. Results: http://mtbnationals.nz/ |
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