Jenna Hastings was victorious at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in France. Photo / Rob Jones
Jenna Hastings was victorious at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in France. Photo / Rob Jones
Rotorua teenager Jenna Hastings has been crowned a world champion in mountain biking.
Hastings won the rainbow jersey in the junior women's downhill world championship at Les Gets, France.
Hastings rode on the edge on a previously bone-hard track, sodden and slippery from overnight rain, to finish 1.8sec faster than second-placed Gracey Hemstreet (Canada), with Colombia's Valentina Roa Sanchez nearly 15 seconds back in third.
The 2.5 kilometre downhill course proved tricky with numerous crashes throughout the day, including defending champion Izabella Yankova (Bulgaria), who failed to finish.
Hastings becomes only the second New Zealander to win the junior women's downhill world title, with Scarlett Hagen winning back in 2004 - also at Les Gets, when the world championships were last in the French ski resort town.
Jenna Hastings (centre) with gold, flanked by Gracey Henstreet (left) and Valentina Roa Sanchez (right) at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Les Gets, France. Photo / Rob Jones
"Winning a world championship has been the dream ever since I started riding a mountain bike and realised I wanted to do it as a career. Actually achieving that is pretty meaningful", Hastings said.
"I've been getting second, third and fourth, and thinking I am fast enough, but not quite fast enough. So winning tells me that I have what it takes to be one of the best."
Hastings was unsure coming into the world championships after fracturing her thumb, which meant she missed a key World Cup in Canada.
Then rain changed things dramatically on the previously hard and dusty track surface.
"The water just sat on the top. It was quite slippery today and quite easy to crash if you hit a root or a corner or hit it at the wrong angle. I almost crashed at the top, further down and further down again. Parts were slower than I would have liked, but parts I was hitting way faster than I had been in practice. But I managed to hold on to it."
The other major change for Hastings has been her elevation to the professional team, Pivot Factory Racing.
Jenna Hastings in action at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Les Gets, France. Photo / Rob Jones
"It has changed things so much. I don't have to worry about anything – my bike, food, travel, where to stay – just [about] riding my bike fast. It has taken a lot of the stress out of it, and I can focus completely on training and racing."
Hastings led the way in the competition, with teammate Caitlin Flavell finishing 10th in the junior women's race.
Queenstown rider and national champion Jess Blewitt was 10th in the elite women's race, won by Austria's Valentina Holl.
Christchurch's Alex Wayman was the best of the junior male gravity riders, in 12th place from the 60 qualifiers.
The world championships conclude tomorrow with the elite race, where the New Zealand team comprises short-track world champion Sam Gaze, top-20 ranked Anton Cooper, Commonwealth Games medallist Ben Oliver, and his brother Craig.
Results:
Downhill, Junior Women: Jenna Hastings (NZL) 4:18.541, 1; Gracey Henstreet (CAN) at 1.870s, 2; Valentina Roa Sanchez (COL) at 15.944s, 3. Also: Caitlin Flavell (NZL) at 47.879s, 10.
Junior Men: Jordan Williams (GBR) 3:28.324, 1; Remy Meier-Smith (AUS) at 5.91s, 2; Davide Cappello (ITA) at 7.697, 3. Also NZers: Alex Wayman at 14.00, 12; Cameron Beck at 17.524, 16; Nico Arnold at 20.131, 18; Carter Wiffin at 42.2392, 44.
Elite Women: Valentina Holl (AUT) 3:53.857, 1; Nina Hoffman (GER) at 0.906s, 2; Myriam Nicole (FRA) at 3.447s, 3. Also NZers: Jess Blewitt at 20.510, 10; Kalani Muirhead at 40.926s, 20.
Elite Men: Loic Bruni (FRA) 3:20.478, 1; Amaury Pierron (FRA) at 2.581, 2; Loris Vergier (FRA) at 3.386, 3. Also NZers: Ed Masters at 10.989, 30; George Brannigan at 13.654, 41; Brook MacDonald at 14.390, 42; Sam Blenkinsop at 15.579, 45; Hayden Stead at 19.247, 58.
