Back in NZ

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, 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.