So I have been back here in NZ for a few weeks now after my three month trip to Chile and our summer national series has just kicked off here in NZ, I have been onboard a new 2011 Turner DHR which is super sick as I have a deal with Wide Open Distributors for the NZ race season, the first round didn't go so well for me with a mechanical in the final after qualifying .3 behind Blinky.
Here's my run down of the 2nd round,
Last weekend I raced round two the NZ Downhill Cup, in a hot and sticky Napier. The track was super dusty and had a a mix of flatter sections and steep and loose, making it a pretty hard course to race as there was a lot of pedaling making you pretty tired before you hit the steep gnarly sections, but it was still a pretty fun course to ride.
My qualifying run didn't go as well as I had hoped as I had a crash in an easier section due to all the dust and a lapse of focus, I got straight up and still put in an effort to the finish to qualify 5th place which i was happy with considering a crash.
Then for finals I tried to conserve some energy for the flatter parts and rode most of the run pretty cautious to make sure I didn't make any mistakes especially after having a disappointing mechanical at the first round of the series. When I crossed the line I knew I had been too conservative, and I finished 4th three seconds back and .8 of a second behind 2nd place, I was still happy to put in a solid ride and get on the podium but 4th isn't what I am looking for. So now we roll on to this weekend in Rotorua for the third round, a course I know well so I am definitely going to be holding it wide open this weekend.
