Brook MacDonald on his way to a win in the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill. Photo / Fraser Britton
Brook MacDonald on his way to a win in the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill. Photo / Fraser Britton
Hawke's Bay's Brook MacDonald has backed up his national downhill win on Sunday with victory in the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill.
Yesterday, MacDonald took down some of the sport's best riders to stand atop the podium.
"It's pretty amazing. Good way to kick off the season. Some big names here," he said.
The field included current King of Crankworx Sam Blenkinsop, of New Zealand, Laurie Greenland, of Great Britain, Finn Iles, of Canada, and current world champion Loic Bruni, of France.
Bruni dropped in second to last with MacDonald in the hot seat, but didn't have the run he was likely hoping for.
"Obviously unfortunate for Loic, who had a flat tyre. It would've been good to see what he would have done. But that's racing. I'm pretty stoked. Good way to lead into the World Cups," MacDonald said.
He just narrowly edged out Iles, who one-upped his performance from last year.
"I'm pretty happy. First race of the year is always a bit nerve-wracking, but last year I got third here and this year I got second, in completely different conditions. It was a close race," Iles said.
So close, in fact, that the top three were all within half a second of each other. MacDonald finished in 2m 52.87s and Iles in 2m 52.96s. Rounding things out was another Kiwi, George Brannigan, who sweated it out in the hot seat through nearly two dozen riders, with a time of 2m 53.24s.
Tracey Hannah full of focus on her way to first place in the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill. Photo / Fraser Britton
Meanwhile, Australian rider Tracey Hannah took out the elite women's race.
"I was crapping my pants, to be honest," said a breathless Hannah from the finish corral.
"It's the first race of 2019. You don't know what to expect. I've been training completely on my own with my coach. I haven't been riding with anyone. You just don't know. You just know that you've done the work. You don't know on paper what it's going to look like. I'm really happy."
She said her win was just the start she was looking for, after "a tough year." She was sidelined with a concussion the weekend before the same race at Crankworx Rotorua in 2018. She still managed to finish off 2018 in strong fashion, taking the win in the Canadian Open DH in Crankworx Whistler, and claiming the overall Crankworx Downhill Championship title.
"I'm in a really good head space and I'm super stoked. It's good to be here and it's good to win."
Hannah's time of 3m 21.32s bested that of Kiwi Kate Weatherley, who crossed the line in 3m 26.12s. Last year's winner Tahnée Seagrave, of Great Britain, rounded out the podium with her time of 3m 29.77s.
