Earnest on podium at UCI MTB World Series, Italy
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- 3 min read
Auckland gravity rider Sacha Earnest grabbed the second elite podium of her career with third place in the latest round of the UCI MTB World Series in La Thuile, Italy.
The 1.84km course is the steepest on the World Cup circuit, with the Trek-Unbroken rider showing her poise and class to build throughout her run. Her outstanding run earned the leader’s hot seat for a short time before being edged by Austrian Valentina Holl and Swiss star Lisa Baumann by just 0.4s.
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Earnest, who now moves into the top-10 in overall points, pipped compatriot Jess Blewitt who finished fourth, as the Scott Downhill rider from Queenstown returned to her best form.
Tauranga teenager Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Syndicate) was 12th in her first elite final in her rookie season in the top league.
The kiwi elite men’s trio who qualified for the final were solid without reward. They were led by Rotorua’s Lachie Stevens McNab (Trek Unbroken) in 11th from Christchurch’s Luke Wayman (Continental Atherton) in 14th and Hawkes Bay’s Tyler Waite (Yeti Fox Factory) 18th.
It is the first time this season that three New Zealand riders have qualified for the elite men’s final.
The record-breaking winning run in elite junior men’s competition came to an end for Palmerston North’s Jonty Williamson. The Yeti-Fox rider finished 17th in the junior men’s final, after finding challenges on the extraordinarily steep and swift course.
Queenstown’s Malik Boatwright led the way for the kiwis, finishing second in a superb run – his third podium of the season. The Continental Atherton team rider from Queenstown was quick all week. He was fourth fastest in qualifying and took the lead with a brilliant run only to be edged by the last rider, Finland’s Kasper Hickman.
It has moved Boatwright to fourth overall in the standings, with Williamson still leading.
Queenstown’s Indy Deavoll was the best of the kiwis in junior women, finishing seventh after a strong performance which sees the Stoic Racing teenager up to fifth on the overall points.
There was another strong effort from Warkworth rider George Swift, who finished sixth overall in the elite women’s enduro, staged amid spectacular mountains with four stages comprising 300m ascent and 4.4km of descending.
Swift, the e-enduro women’s world champion, was sixth on the opening stage, eighth in the second and third to move into podium contention. But 11th on the final stage saw her finish 40 seconds from winner Ella Conolly (GBR), and only 11 seconds off the podium.
Fellow kiwi Winni Goldsbury, who won the last round, withdrew with illness.
Action moves to cross-country tomorrow, as downhill riders move on to the sixth round in Andorra next weekend while enduro riders have a week off before their fifth round in Bellwald-Valais in Switzerland
New Zealand Results:
Downhill - Elite Men: Lachie Stevens-McNab (Trek Unbroken, Rotorua) at 4.255, 11; Luke Wayman (Continental Atherton, Christchurch) at 4.448, 14; Tyler Waite (Yeti-Fox Factory, Hawkes Bay) at 5.992, 18.
Elite female: Sacha Earnest (Trek Unbroken, Auckland) at 0.473, 3; Jess Blewitt (Scott Downhill, Queenstown) at 1.646, 4; Eliana Hulsebosch (Tauranga) at 8.379, 12.
Junior men: Malik Boatwright (Queenstown, Continental Atherton) at 2.997, 2; Jonty Williamson (Palmerston North, Yeti-Fox Factory) at 13.589, 17; Camden Rutherfurd (Taranaki, Nukeproof Axess) at 24.177, 18.
Junior women: Indy Deavoll (Queenstown, Stoic Racing) at 16.768, 7
