Hobbits hit out at Wellington

The National MTB champs were held in Wellington last weekend and my young protoge Jordan Blake genltley cranked it up to come away with a 3 minute win over his competition.

Jords plan to hang back at the start was made easier by Ash Houghs decision to go for it. In the heat and with the short grunty climbs it wasnt a sustainable plan for Ash. Jord metered out the power and did his fastest lap on the last lap. It was also the fastests last lap of the day, although the Under 19 boys only had to do 4 laps, and not the 5 that the pro-elite did.

Its an exciting time for the young riders in the under 19 class. Depending on the terrain any one of them can win. The central north island boys smash it up on their smooth bmx styled courses while the Wellington and Nelson riders seem to have an upper hand when it gets hilly.

The Karapoti Classic is the race on many of their minds this weekend, but a few weeks after that is the Oceania Champs, an important race for any team selection.

A few years ago the Town-Belt at Mt Vic was the scene of a fair bit of filming for the Lord of the Rings, as you can see in this photo. Saturday was definitely a day for the Hill climbing Hobbits.

Check out some more bloggings from Oli about the Champs. http://www.oli.co.nz