April 29th 2014: Cairns 2014 World Cup

Waikato rider Sam Gaze stamped his authority on the 2014 Cairns Mountain Bike World Cup, winning the UCI World Cup Eliminator race against a star-studded cast of racers from throughout the world.

“I knew from the start with Daniel (Federspiel, of Austria) in the sprint I had to go right from the gun. I gave it everything – I didn’t hold anything back and it worked out perfectly,” he smiled in the finish area.

Sam also had to defeat Aussie favourite Paul van der Ploeg – the current world champion in the discipline to take his win in hot, wet conditions at Smithfield Regional Park.

“It’s like a dream and I don’t want to wake up,” he grinned before finishing sixth in the Men's Under 23 XC race a few days later.

The downhill course was a pure jungle adventure with the 4-minute track soaked by unseasonal rains turning it into a real test of skill and endurance. That suited Wanganui’s Sam Blenkinsop perfectly – he qualified fastest with Taranaki racer Ed Masters in fourth.

But race day was all about the Atherton family from Great Britain with Rachel winning the women’s downhill by almost 12 seconds and her brother Gee claiming the fastest run down the course with his time of 4:00.707. Blenkinsop finished sixth.

The final day of racing was headlined by Julien Absalon, of France. He’s regarded as one of the greats in cross-country racing and his ride from 8th place through the field to take the win was nothing short of spectacular on the immaculately presented Smithfield course.

Cairns hasn’t hosted an MTB event of this calibre since the 1996 World Championships, but, thanks to the charismatic Glen Jacobs, it delivered in spades. From pythons scaring downhill riders, to spiders larger than your hand and rainforest with teeth … this is certain to become an exciting fixture on the World Cup circuit in the years to come.

For us, it’s time to hit that water again – we’re heading to a little island off the coast of Cairns for a few days to photograph turtles and other characters of the Great Barrier Reef.

Roll on island life …

Derek
PS Here’s a great edit from the Cairns MTB World Cup course and if you want to come and explore the local trails for yourself here’s a great starting point. Enjoy!