Peters happy to finish strongly

23rd June 2010

Dirk Peters overcame inclement weather to finish mid-pack in a shortened Swiss cross country race at the sixth round of the Racer Bikes Cup in Switzerland.

The Engelberg venue is unique because it is a very short course, with lap times between 10 and 15 minutes on a 3km long course. The multi-lap race was scheduled for 10 laps, but due to the atrocious weather conditions was shortened to eight.

Peters lined up on the third row and was well prepared for a difficult race after rain all week, freezing temperatures and snow falling just above the Engelberg cross country venue. In a race that was high on attrition, Peters emerged from the first lap chaos and worked his way to a mid-race high of 16th.

While having mechanical trouble through the race due to the muddy conditions, Peters persevered and was rewarded with a 19th in the high-calibre field, which he said "wasn't too bad".

"[It was] a big improvement from my previous Racer Bikes Cup result.

"I was very pleased with how strong I felt and perhaps if I had done a better job of clearing some of the muck from my drive train each lap I would have been able to spend more time going forwards and finished a little higher but I can't really complain," Peters said.

Meanwhile, New Zealand downhillers Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui) and Cameron Cole (Christchurch) claimed 4th and 5th respectively at the third round of the UCI MTB World Cup in Austria on Sunday, posting results that saw two Kiwis sharing the podium at a Mountainbike World Cup for the first time.

Fractions of a second separated 4th, 5th and 6th, but Blenkinsop and Cole demonstrated a level of race craft to match the wet, muddy conditions that has long been the domain of top European and British riders.

Dunedin's Justin Leov received a welcome confidence boost to qualify strongly and race to an 8th placing.

In 2010 World Cup standings after three rounds, New Zealanders continue to move into positions of prominence. Cole, Blenkinsop and Leov are 4th, 5th and 6th respectively and on the back of his Leogang result, Brannigan now claims the Junior World Cup leaders jersey.

The UCI MTB World Cup now has a one-month break, before the 4th round at Champery, Switzerland on July 24/25.