The mystery deepens surrounding this year's national cross-country championships.
It now seems even less likely than before that a winner can be predicted, even after three-quarters of the Suzuki-sponsored series is complete.
The racing turned up a few surprise results at a damp and muddy round three near Martinborough on Saturday.
Defending national
cross-country champion Adam Reeves (Yamaha YZ450F), of Pahiatua, started top of the series, seven points clear of Auckland's Sam Greenslade (Suzuki RM-Z250) and nine points ahead of Napier's John O'Dea (Suzuki RM-Z450).
But Reeves finished an unaccustomed fifth on Saturday, O'Dea was third and Greenslade slid home in eighth. At the end of a soggy day of drama, Reeves' lead had been trimmed to five points and O'Dea was up to second in the rankings.
Despite his eighth placing at Martinborough, Greenslade remains a threat for the New Zealand title, now third in the standings but just five points behind O'Dea.
With only three of the four rounds to count towards the championship and riders expected to discard their worst score, the calculators had to come out at the end of Saturday's racing.
The ''discard'' rule means these three riders are all on target for the outright win, with Huntly's Michael Vining (Suzuki RM-Z450) also in the mix for a podium finish.
Saturday's race was won easily by Mokau's Adrian Smith (Yamaha YZ125) with Whitby's Rory Mead (Yamaha YZ250F) taking the runner-up spot, but they both skipped round one because of overseas racing commitments and have no chance of taking the national title. It was a virtuoso performance from Smith as he led almost from start to finish, scooting through to take the lead after the first couple of kilometres.
He was the only rider to complete six laps in the three hours.
''It was pretty slippery, but I think that suited the little 125cc bike,'' said Smith afterwards. ''There were big bottlenecks (of riders stuck) on the steep hills but I managed to find a way through each lap.''
The final round is in Christchurch on May 15. Leading standings:
1. Adam Reeves (Pahiatua, Yamaha) 63 points.
2. John O'Dea (Napier, Suzuki) 58.
3. Sam Greenslade (Auckland, Suzuki) 53.
4. Adrian Smith (Mokau, Yamaha) 39.
5. Michael Vining (Huntly, Suzuki) 38.
