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| Left to right David Coventry Ben Oliver Mtich Campbell |
2012/13 Race Season
North Canterbury Cycling Juniors
See the race report below from David Oliver.
David & Kathryn have had a busy year organising the junior team & raising funds for attendance at races. We are lucky to have theier enthusiasm & experience to assist the juniors. The majority of funds raised in late 2012 came from The Mainland Foundation & Pub Charity. The applications for such funding require a significant paper work effort & accurate accounting with competetive quotes required for travel expenses etc & a strict accountability follow-up after the funds have been spent.
Race Report
The 2012/2013 Mountain bike season started off well for the Junior members of our club. The team of Craig and Ben Oliver, Mitch Campbell, Corey Milne and Luke Gold won the Junior category at the Mac Lean’s Island 12 hour but also took out the Overall.
The Oliver brothers rode two events in Hanmer before Christmas with 1st and 2nd Overall in the Spring Crusher and the Hammer Head, Cameron Richard’s rode all three races in Hanmer with two firsts and a second place in the U15 and Luke Gold competed in the Hammer Head and got 2nd in the U15.
Craig, Ben, Mitch, Luke and Cameron all went to Invercargill to the first round of the NZ Mtb Cup Series held on Bluff Hill Jan 6th, unfortunately Craig came down with a very nasty stomach virus and could not compete in the race and on his return home had two trips to hospital and lost 5 kgs of weight, for those of you that know Craig he did not have it to lose. The others rode well with Ben taking out the U19,Mitch 3rd U19, Cameron 5th U17 and Luke 8th in the U15. The course was quite different from when some of the boys rode there in the South Island Secondary School event in 2012 with lots more work being done on the up hill sections making more single track climbing, the club down there has a great place to ride.
On the 20th of Jan all the boys travelled to Nelson to compete in the newly named Top Gun Mtb race. Craig was back riding his bike but not up to racing yet so he helped the other boys with riding lines and enjoyed watching and supporting. The race is held on the
Codgers trails, Ben, Mitch and Cameron had to do 4 laps and Luke in the U15 race 3. Luke had a great race with another rider and just missed out on gaining a second place finishing 3rd, Cameron unluckily got a flat tyre and ended up finishing 5th after being up with the leaders at the start. Ben won the U19 and Mitch finished 3rd. The North Canterbury Cycling would like to acknowledge the support of the MAINLAND FOUNDATION .
Craig and Ben are travelling to Wellington for their round of the NZ Mtb Cup on the 3rd of Feb which will give Craig a good idea how he has recovered from the set back and following that Mitch, Craig and Ben will compete in Auckland at the final round of the Cup Series on the 10th and then a week in Rotorua before the NZ National Mtb Champs on the 16 - 17th Feb in Rotorua.
Craig and Ben have a big year a head of them with plans well under way to race in the Oceania Mtb Champs in Hobart at Easter and round 1 and 2 of the World Mtb Series in Germany and Czech Republic end of May and all going well be selected in the NZ Mtb team to race in the World Mtb Champs in South Africa in September 2013
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North Canterbury arguably has some of the leading young guns of competitive mountain biking in New Zealand.
Already Anton Cooper is winning the Open/Elite categories of major Kiwi races like Motutapu, Kaiwara Classic, and Karapoti.
Both Craig Oliver and Anton won gold at the Oceania Championship at Shepparton, Victoria Australia.
It will be worthwhile watching the progress of our three young stars and other emerging talent.
Crain and Ben Oliver AKA "The Ollies" continuing the path set by their club-mate Anton Cooper...
North Canterbury Junior Riders excelled in NZ MTB Cup Race Meet Living Springs
Anton Cooper, Craig oliver and Ben Oliver mastered tough race conditions against strong fields to excel in their race categories.
Anton and Craig took 1st and 2nd respectively in Mens Junior U19 category.
Anton won outright against all comers winning the Mens Elite Category. Craig's race times had him right there in the top Elite racers as well with his race lap times indicating about 4th outright.
Ben Oliver won the Mens U17 Category in shocking conditions pushing hard to outright leader on course against a strong field of Masters Category Racers. Ben's lap times would have placed him amongst the the top handful of Elite racers as well.
Lap times here:
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Race report from NZ Mountain Biker Magazine:
NZ MTB Cup Cross Country Wrap from Christchurch
The Living Springs Farm Park in Governors Bay, Christchurch hosted the second round of the NZ MTB Cross Country Cup today, with all entrants being kept right on their toes dealing with the sudden and brutal changes in racing conditions.
The Elite and U19 Junior races delivered the same four winners from the Cups first round last weekend in Dunedin. Mary Gray (Dunedin) faced a greater depth of competition than on her home track last weekend, but the 2011 National Junior champion still won comfortably from Amber Johnston (Rotorua).
Likewise Anton Cooper (Woodend) who rode through the whole Elite field again this week to win the U19 Juniors - Cooper was in a class of his own at Living Springs and continues to delight spectators and competitors alike with his devastating pace and hunger for the front of the race.
The Women's Elite race was without Beijing Olympian Rosara Joseph this week however Karen Hanlen (Whakatane) seemed on a mission to win this race with as much style as possible, and Hanlen put daylight between her and second placed Katie O'Neill (Rotorua). Switzerland's Jolanda Neff challenged O'Neill for that second position from the gun, but could not find that elusive burst of pace to catch and pass.
The Men's Elite race was a tough contest. Christchurch's Brad Hudson led for the first three laps, but slipped back to third mid-race when Carl Jones (Whakatane) launched an aggressive attack for the lead. Dirk Peters (Rotorua) tussled with Hudson through the last three laps and the two riders rapidly chipped away at Jones's lead to bring them within striking distance at the end of their six laps. Only 10 seconds separated the three at the line, with Jones clearly relieved to have clung onto the lead and the win at the NZ Cup second round.
These three had paced themselves right away from the rest of the Elite field, eventually ending nearly eight minutes ahead of Patrick Luthi (Switzerland) who outsprinted Rotorua's Sam Shaw for fourth.
The age group categories raced in terrible conditions, but put on a real show for the crowd of spectators. Master 30-39 rider Phil Patterson (Christchurch) rode his wheels off for that category win, and also to try to maintain lead rider position on course from U17 rider Ben Oliver (Christchurch).
Oliver eventually passed Patterson and moved through to outright leader on course with super consistent and fast lap times, to win his category again this week.
The NZ MTB Cup now takes a break before resuming for its final rounds in February in the North Island.
All riders are now converging on Nelson for the National Mountain Bike Championships which begin on Friday 27th January and finish on Sunday afternoon 29th January.
Four events and championship titles will be contested next weekend - the Super D and Cross Country Eliminator events making their first appearances at national level in NZ, joining the traditional downhill and cross country standards.
Tough Season Coming Up
NCCC Junior Riders Tough Season Coming UpThe North Canterbury Junior MTB team (Mitch Campbell, Craig and Ben Oliver) have a busy eight weeks ahesd of them, they are off to compete in Round 1 of the NZ Cup Series in Dunedin this coming weekend 13th -15th January.
The Dunedin round sees a completely new venue and track this year and the boys are all looking forward to practise riding it on Friday. Mitch and Ben are competing in the U17 and Craig has moved up to the U19 age group, a big challenge ahead, he will be racing the boys that represented NZ at the World Champs last year, including Anton Cooper.
The following weekend 22nd Jan they race at Living Springs in CH CH round 2 NZ Cup, a great opportunity to go and support them and see the Elite men race. Details times etc can be found on the MTBNZ web site, We think racing will start at 10.30am
On the 27th-29th it is off to Nelson for the National Champs, where all three boys are hoping for top 3 finishes.
They then get two weeks off. Round 3 of the NZ Cup is being held in Wellington 16th-19th Feb and that will see the end of the series for the boys as their best three out of four results count towards a overall result for the Series, and the fourth round is in Napier.
The next race of the season is in Rotorua, The Oceania Champs, leaving Rangiora on the 7th March and returning the 13th, racing is on the 11th and 12th, the boys are hoping to race some new competition from Australia and are looking forward to riding on a different track.
The Last important race of the season is the NZ Secondary School Champs in Levin on the 30th March -1st April, this is a great event where they compete in a Up hill, Down hill and Cross country races for an overall Champion.
Craig, Ben and Mitch would all like to thank the NCCC committee for all their help in applying for funding and the support shown to them.
To their respective sponsors Craig and Ben say a big thank you to Chain Reaction for their assistance and Mitch to Push Bikes for theirs. The trio are also very appreciative for the support of Mainland Foundation, and Pub Charity for the grants towards the costs of getting to and entering these events. It is very costly and the financial assistance makes competing at these events possible.
North Canterbury Juniors Beat Open Men at Timaru
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/sport/6008823/Cooper-standout-in-day-night-race
Race results and course information here
http://www.timaru12hourmtb.co.nz/
North Canterbury Juniors Take Out Win at Hanmer Spring Crusher
A powerful performance in a tough event saw the NCCC Junior Race Team show the way to the finish line. Our team powered to victory taking out two 1st places, a 2nd and 4th in the Junior classes and 1st, 2nd. 3rd and 11th in Open Class racing and beating all-comers.
http://www.hanmerevents.co.nz/Annual-Events/spring-crusher.html
Seems our guys thrive on tough. In conditions far from perfect, with a very wet and muddy track start to finish made for exciting rides. They enjoyed every minute of it. The slipperier it gets and more technical it is, the better they all like it.
They're planning to back in the same area for the Hanmer Hammerhead Races
http://www.hanmerevents.co.nz/Annual-Events/hanmer-hammerhead.html
Anton Cooper won the 2011 Sir Richard Hadlee award for Best Young Sportsman of the Year at the Sport Canterbury awards on Friday last week.
This award tops off a stellar and unprecedented season of achievement for the Under 19 Cross Country mountainbike racer. Winning Gold medals in two World Cup events in Europe and silver in the World Championship race earns Anton's UCI number one ranking in his category.
Cooper was in fine company at the CBS Canterbury Arena function, with other prestigious awards going to Richie McCaw for Best Sportsman of the year, Andrea Hewitt for Best Sportswoman (Triathlon) and Sophia Batchelor for Best Young Sportswoman (Swimming).
Cooper also won the Zonta Canterbury Secondary School Best Sportsman, and the Mainland Power North Canterbury Best Sportsman awards earlier in the week.
McLeans Island 12 Hour Endurance Race
In a powerful performance the NCCC Junior Team excelled again this time winning the Junior Race Category. In the process they very nearly took outright 1st against all-comers. But for a puncture and having to run all the way pushing a bike with a flat, Mitch Campbell kept the team in contention for outright honours. As it was they had a deficit of only 1 minute 50 seconds! NCCC Juniors are very good at what they do. The concentration of talent in our club is amazing.
Team members L to R: Mitch Campbell, Craig Oliver, Anton Cooper, Jacob Stuthridge and Ben Oliver.
Great effort!
Mountain bike racers Craig and Ben Oliver Move Up to Bigger Things
Mountain bike racers Craig and Ben Oliver are having their talent recognised.
Darryn Giles, is the owner of Chain Reaction Cycles. He has provided support to this very tallented pair by providing latest model Specialized bikes! In addition, they have jumped on to 29ers - bigger wheels.
After becoming familiar with their new machines they've decided they like them very much scoring great results in their first two races.
As they became more used to the bigger wheels they highly recommend you try one. It works for us!
Latest Races
Their first race on the new bikes was the Cheviot Hills in September racing overland from near Culverden to Cheviot. In a power display that delighted their new sponsor, Craig aged 16 won the Junior expert class and was fastest overall. Ben aged 14 scored a great 2nd in the Junior expert and sixth overall.
http://www.kaiwaraklassic.co.nz/index.php?cid=9
Craig and Ben have just finished competing in the South Island Secondary School Champs in Bluff. This event was held over three days consisting of Hill climb, Down hill and a Cross Country race.
Craig and Ben both won their Hill climb and Cross Country races. Craig finished 9th in the Down hill and Ben finished 2nd. This was a great result as they were riding full suspension mountain bikes -Not downhill racers as many others were. With these great results Craig won the U16 overall title and Ben won the U15 overall title.
http://www.sissmtb.co.nz/
The next event for Craig and Ben is the Mcleans Island 12 hour, teaming up with mates to have a fun day and some hard racing.
Anton Cooper Blasts to Silver at World Mountainbike Championships at Champery, Switzerland
Woodend's Anton Cooper made New Zealand proud today with a storming silver medal at the UCI World Mountainbike Championships in Champery, Switzerland. The Junior Mens Cross Country race lined up with 98 starters, and Cooper in the middle of the front row for five hard laps of the super technical course at the Grand Paradis event venue.
17 year old Cooper got away to a clear start, but found himself boxed in at the end of the start loop on the only sustained climb on the course -
“I couldn't do anything about it and found riders going past me at a crucial stage of the race. I knew the leaders would get away as soon as they hit the single track descent after the climb, but I couldn't move left or right to counter”.
Cooper was 16th at the top of that climb, and had a tough task ahead to maintain touch with the race leaders. He steadily chipped away during the race with grit and determination, clawing back at the leaders after being down by nearly two minutes mid race. Cooper was sixth at the start of the final lap and exploded with stunning effect during the last 15 minute lap, winning a sprint to the line to take the silver medal.
Cooper was extremely happy with his performance after some reflection.
“I came to Europe targeting top ten results, but quickly reset my goals after my two World Cup wins in Czechoslovakia and Italy. Winning the rainbow jersey here in Champery was achievable, and while I'm dissappointed to not follow through, maybe it is a better result to be runner-up in my first year at this level. I now have another year in the Juniors to claim that prize before moving through into the Under 23s and Elite grades”.
New Zealand's other four Juniors also raced hard and delivered with pride - Mathew Waghorn (Palmerston North) 27th, Tom Bradshaw (Wellington) 31st and Rotorua's Nigel McDowell 39th.
Coopers' silver is only the second World Championship Cross country medal won by a New Zealand athlete, and one better than Kashi Leuch's Under 23 bronze.
The Women's Under 23 Cross Country race was run after Cooper's medal presentation had finished. Katie O'Neil (Rotorua) raced to15th after a slow start, and a heavy fall in the final lap. O'Neil was satisfied with her performance after an up and down few weeks in the lead-in to the World Champs “Its great to come out of these Champs 15th best in the World in this category – I can go home happy to finish my season at this point”.
But her Rotorua friend Samara Sheppard didn't fare so well. Sheppard withdrawing from the race after the start lap after going backwards through the field and not able to circulate at a race pace.
Tomorrow's schedule at Champery includes the timed session for all Junior and Elite Downhill categories, the Under 23 Mens Cross Country race and the Four Cross World Championships in the evening.
Podium photo:
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Race reports:
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ANTON COOPER WINS AGAIN
Anton's last win no fluke winning this time at Val di Sole in Italy
Another gutsy win in World Championship round in Italy. Despite dropping a chain and problems with slower back markers Anton continues to amaze with his hill climbing power
Race reports:
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Anton wins Czech Republic round of World Champs
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Race reports and photos
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Click on "Men Juniors" at right. Anton won by an amazing One Minute 43 seconds
Anton Cooper wins in Switzerland
Published: AUGUST 7, 2011
Anton wins at Torgona, Switzerland
Christchurch’s Anton Cooper (Giant NZ) started his European Cross Country preparations for the September World Championships with a storming win at the Torgona Bike ‘Wind 8′ event in Switzerland on Saturday. Cooper, still a first year Junior was the outright winner on course, clearing out to a comfortable one minute lead by race end. Cooper has been waiting for what seems like a long time for this opportunity as an U19 Junior and has been eagerly anticipating his first appearance on a mountainbike in Europe. While Switzerland’s top riders were competing elsewhere at the European Continental Championships, Cooper’s win was still against a high calibre of competition and will give the young flier a great gauge on where he is at before his first World Cup in Czechoslovakia next weekend. Also competing at Torgona was Dirk Peters (Rotorua, Santa Cruz NZ) who raced strongly to a 4th outright, and second in the open mens category.
NZ National and International Mountain Bike Championships Coming Up
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