Day three of Crankworx Rotorua is all about the future stars of the sport at the National Secondary School Cross Country Championships in the Whakarewarewa Forest.
The world-class mountain-biking event aims to give the next generation of riders the opportunity to compete, and has attracted 437 students, up from 302 last year, from 103 New Zealand schools.
Rotorua Lakes High School student Ruby Ryan dominated the under-20 girls' race, finishing first in 1h 24m 38s, almost eight minutes ahead of second place.
Ruby said it was a tough race.
"I really pushed it. I like the track, it's a good mixture of everything, so it was good. I don't ride these tracks that much, so I think I have as much advantage as anyone who rides them in the weekends.
"My game plan was to get a lead from the start and to the first downhill and every lap I just wanted to consistently gain a couple of minutes or so. I'm pleased with how it went," she said.
Winning the event was one of her goals for the season, so it was a relief to cross the finish line first.
Rotorua Lakes High School student Ruby Ryan, 16, on her way to a win in the National Cross Country Championships Under-20 girls' race. Photo / Stephen Parker
"I've been aiming for this for a long time now, so it was good to finally do it. This year is my learning year, I've gained a bit of confidence and experience, next year I hope to go in the world scene, that's my dream. I'll need to put in a lot of kilometres this winter and keep focused."
Another rider with home advantage was John Paul College student Cameron Beck, who won the under-15 boys' race and has appeared on several mountain biking podiums throughout summer. He finished in 1h 18m 47s.
He said it was awesome to have the championships included in a high profile event like Crankworx and the win ranked highly on his list of mountain biking achievements so far.
"I wanted to push as hard as possible today and try and get a gap. The race went really well, it was awesome," Beck said.
He said the best part of the course was "the open section through Arepa".
"It was fast and so much fun to ride. I just made it up the Horse Track climb each lap, that was one of the hardest parts of the course, definitely."
Beck is racing in several other Crankworx events, including the 100% Dual Slalom, Professional Secondary School Downhill Championships and the Crankworx Rotorua Air Downhill.
437 students from 103 New Zealand schools competed in the Secondary School Cross Country Championships at Whakarewarewa Forest. Photo / Stephen Parker
Trident High School student Isobel Wotton won the under-17 girls' race in 1h 9m 7s, 25 seconds ahead of second place.
She said she knew she needed to get a good lead on the first lap.
"It was pretty tough on that first climb and throughout the second lap I was hurting even more, but a girl from the category above me was keeping me chasing.
"[The course] was so cool, the organisers did a good job. Our multisport coach at Trident has been bringing us over for electives on Thursdays and we've been doing the courses, that was a big help," Wotton said.
