Aotearoa Crossfest/New Zealand National CX Championships: Riders to watch
We’ve already covered what this weekend’s Aotearoa Crossfest and New Zealand National Championships course will look like in our course preview, but after all the age group racing is said and done, who will be the main contenders for the silver fern jersey?
We sat down with Hüttcross president and former international CX racer Kim Hurst to chat about the key contenders for the UCI categories at the 2021 New Zealand Cyclocross Championships.
Junior Women
Round 1 of Fog City CX - Seana Gray wears the orange helmet.
Photo: @fogcitycx
This promises to be a great race - not just for the prospect of the athletic contest, but because this will be the first time that New Zealand has ever awarded a national champion’s jersey for Junior Women, as the category has only been recognised by the UCI as of 2020. There are two riders set to battle it out for this championship - Seana Gray and Annabel Bligh.
‘I think they’ll give their elders a bit of schooling as their own race evolves’ says Hurst. ‘[They’re both] from opposite islands - Seana’s from Cambridge on the North Island, and Annabel is from Christchurch.’
Annabel Bligh before the start of R1 of Southern Cross CX this year.
Photo: @aerialandsportsphotography
Gray won the overall Women’s race at Round 1 of Fog City CX earlier this year, and recently won the U17 category at the North Island Schools CX championships - matching the performances of her younger sisters Caoilinn and Kendra, who won the U15 and U13 races respectively.
‘[Seana] was super impressive to watch [at the Schools CX Championships] - she was able to ride the off-camber section that most of the men were running’ says Hurst, who commentated that race.
For her part, Bligh has been tearing up her home town Southern Cross CX series this year, winning all four of the A Grade Women’s races that she’s competed in this year, as well as the U20 title at the recent South Island Schools CX championships.
‘They’re both strong riders with technical savvy, so I’m super excited to see that race evolve - that will definitely be one to watch out for.’
Junior Men
Maui Morrison powers to victory in the U17 race at the North Island CX Schools Championships.
Photo: Don Johnson
There will be 10 starters for the Junior Men’s race in 2021, a dramatic increase from the 3 riders who battled it out for the title in 2019.
In our chat, Hurst seemed confident about this race going to a rider from the North Island. ‘Maui Morrison and Coen Nichol could do what they did at the [U17] North Island Schools race, and have a battle that comes down to quite literally the last corner. In that race Coen caught the tape on the last bend, which left Maui to take the win. That could be a really close race, but I think that’s going to be a ding-dong battle with two riders looking to extend an edge over the other.’
There should be a number of other contenders there from the South Island, including Cohan Glintmeyer, Dylan Webb and Jack Dunnett - the first three respectively finishers in the South Island Schools CX championships three weeks ago.
Cohan Glintmeyer might be the best chance of victory for the folks from the South Island, as he’s gotten three top-10 finishes in A Grade at Southern Cross CX this season.
Elite and U23 Women
Kate McIlroy will look to defend her Elite Women’s national title in Upper Hutt this weekend.
Photo: @lisangphoto
Defending champion Kate McIlroy is a former Olympic triathlete (she finished 10th at the 2012 games in London) and steeplechaser who still rides her bike regularly. Despite winning her silver fern jersey at the national championships in 2019, she’s only worn it once since - when she won Women’s A Grade at the third round of this year’s Hüttcross series.
‘She [McIlroy} has got a massive engine, she can run, and she’s got spades of endurance - so while she may not hit out hard on lap one, she’d definitely be one to watch in the closing stages of a race because she can lap really consistently’ said Hurst, who finished second to McIlroy at the 2019 championships in Christchurch.
‘Katie Richards hails from Karpiti and comes from a crit racing background…she’s dipped a toe into cyclocross this year at the Hüttcross series, so it’ll be interesting to see how she goes.’
There will also be ‘a really cool battle’ between sisters Mary-Ann and Myra Moller, both of whom are the nieces from former Olympic marathon bronze medallist Lorraine Moller. There’ll definitely be some bragging rights on the line for the family dinner table between those two!
Also taking to the start line is Sammie Maxwell, the current New Zealand Elite and U23 champion for cross-country mountain biking, who beat Kate McIlroy by 3 minutes on the way to that title. She’s dabbled a bit in CX as well, winning 2 rounds of the Hüttcross series this year, but finishing third behind McIlroy at the only race they’ve both started this year.
Maxwell will be battling Amelie McKay for the U23 jersey, but it should be noted that if one of the U23 riders is the first over the line, they will win the U23 title alone, and no Elite jersey will be awarded.
Elite and U23 Men
Jacob Turner (front) and Brendon Sharratt (back) went head-to-head at Round 4 of this year’s Southern Cross CX.
Photo: @bobbyketchum
There will be a total of 21 men taking to the start line for the Elite and U23 Men’s race at the NZ National Championships this year.
Brendon Sharratt is the defending Elite Men’s champion, having triumphed by 12 seconds over Nick Miller to win the title in Christchurch in 2019.
‘You can’t not mention the guy. He’s done loads for the sport of cyclocross in New Zealand as an ambassador, he’s raced in China and the [United] States, and got loads of experience. He’s got crazy amounts of cross skills, and while he’s been doing a lot of cross-country running and not as much on the bike lately, I don’t know that it will be that much of a disadvantage when he’s got a lifetime of racing in his legs’ said Hurst.
Sharratt isn’t just a really talented bike rider - he’s also the mastermind behind @velo.creations, and made this amazing skate deck that will be auctioned off this weekend. Will those #volunteeringwatts be enough to help him successfully defend his title?
Sam Shaw isn’t afraid to get some mid-race hops in.
Photo: @lisangphoto
Given that Miller is unable to take to the start line this year (he lives in Brisbane, and as such is not allowed to make the trip), you might think that Sharratt would have it all his own way once the gun goes. Not a bit of it, according to Hurst.
‘Someone who’s crazy exciting is Sam Shaw, who comes from an enduro background. If you check out his Insta page (@sammietoejammie) you can see the backflip he sent in the middle of an enduro race - this kid’s got the skills. He’s been to Hüttcross to practice for Nationals and is really keen to give it a good nudge. He’s also going to be racing the singlespeed on Saturday!’
Indeed, Shaw’s skills are so mad that they even factored into the course design.
‘He bunnyhops everything. When we were looking at creating this course, we wanted something that Sam Shaw will have to get off his bike for’ says Hurst, when asked about the inclusion of the stair run into the National Championship course.
There will also be challenges coming from younger riders, including the 2019 Junior champion Jacob Turner, who’s been absolutely dominant in the Southern Cross CX Series in Christchurch all season long. Turner, now racing in the U23 category, even managed to get the better of Sharratt in round 4 of the Southern Cross CX series over some big dunes at Spencer Park - the Junior champ getting the better of the Elite champ by a scant 4 seconds.
‘There’s also a whole range of guys who’ll be in the hunt for the medals - Henry Jane, Logan Horn, Boston Bright, Josh Burnett… it’s going to be an awesome race.’
As with the U23 Women, if one of the U23 Men wins the race, they will win the U23 title alone, and no Elite jersey will be awarded.