Double titles for Taupō in cyclo-cross stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Showing immense grit and determination over the next four laps, he worked his way to the front during lap three to finish first and take the national title by 20 seconds, in a time of 55 minutes 26 seconds. “It was probably better that I dropped the pedal than going all out because everyone went so hard off the start that they died before the end of the race – I could argue it was tactics but it wasn’t really.” Auckland’s Max Preece was second while current North Island champion and 2020 nationals winner Coen Nicol of Taupo was third. Woods was pleased to have clawed back his deficit so emphatically, having been one and a half minutes behind race leader Nicol the end of lap two.
“I knew I was training well but you never know until you race. My prep has gone well and I feel I am in the best shape ever. I am healthy and fit and the results are coming,” said Cooper. He was minute clear of Oliver after the first full lap of six and gradually disappeared from the chasers, lapping consistently in a commanding performance.
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Anton Cooper scored his seventh elite title and fifth in a row at the Torpeo7 Mountain Bike National Championships in Christchurch “It is may be the most special of all my national champs, doing it at home with such a big crowd and with the calibre of riders in New Zealand these days, it is pretty special. We have not raced in front of a crowd for over 12 months so to have this turnout is unreal.”