Samara Sheppard and Mary Gray were the best of the New Zealanders, both finishing 12th on the first day of the mountain bike cross-country world championships in Austria overnight (NZT).
Sheppard was 12th in the women's under-23 race and Gray was 12th in the junior women's event on the first of three days of competition at the alpine town of Saalfelden near the border with Germany.
After two days of wet weather, like the downhill competition last weekend, the day turned hot and humid with drying conditions.
Sheppard, who has been based in Switzerland with the IXS Wheelers team this year, started well to be fourth after the opening loop but a costly mistake and a crash pushed her back in the field. She dropped back to 17th before fighting her way back to 12th at the finish.
"It was a tough race," Sheppard said. "It was a tough course - more technical than you think at speed with all those roots. It had dried out a lot from yesterday and was in pretty good condition but I didn't quite have the legs today to match the other girls."
