Blood, sweat and dust at national mountainbikes

Christchurch
After suffering an unrelenting downpour and hypothermic conditions on Treble Cone last week, the nation's mountainbike elite this weekend were wiping sweat, blood and dust off their faces.
The going was especially tough on Saturday when the downhill riders threw themselves off the Port Hills in tropical conditions during the second round of the National Mountainbike Downhill Series.
Nathan Rankin emerged as the fastest man in the elite section, holding off Scott Sheldon and Justin Leov.
The much anticipated clash between the women world champions was won by the junior titleholder Scarlet Hagen, who pipped New Zealand's top rider Vanessa Quin over both legs.
Few could argue with the result in the men's elite, after Levin's Rankin recorded the fastest times on both runs.
Sheldon was over six seconds slower than Rankin's three minutes 12.70 seconds on the first run, but the Christchurch rider went for broke over the second leg to beat that time by a second.
Rankin then showed why he has dominated the series for the past four years, taking up the challenge and blitzing the 2.1km track in the fastest time of the day in 3min 10.20sec.
Blenheim's Leov, who won at Treble Cone, had to settle for third with a second run of 3min 13.65sec.
In the women's section, Hagen has taken a substantial lead in the six-race series after also winning in Wanaka.
The world-class calibre in the women's elite appeared to have scared off several female riders in that class with only Rotorua's Gabrielle Molloy willing to take on the world champions.
Christchurch mountain-biker Rosara Joseph made the hometown advantage count when she cleaned up the women elite field at yesterday's opening round of the national mountain-bike cross-country Series.
Joseph quickly rode away from the field on the first of five 8.2km laps at Kennedy's Bush to finish eight minutes ahead of the Anika Smail from Auckland.
Favourite Sonia Foot from Rotorua settled for third in the first of six races around the country.
Adding spice to the second leg of the series in Dunedin next weekend is the expected appearance New Zealand's Olympic representative Robin Wong.
In the men's race over six laps Michael Northcott from Mangakino took the spoils, almost a minute ahead Austrian Stefan Mattersberger and Wayne Hiscock from Wellington.
Mattersberger was one of a dozen foreign riders from around Europe and the Pacific competing alongside 180 New Zealanders in both the downhill and cross-country events this weekend.
Events organiser Ted Jones was all smiles after the highly successful event with "great weather, great racing, good spectators with tough and testing conditions for the riders".
With one broken ankle in practice, one broken arm during racing "and a whole lot of cuts and bruises", Jones was also pleased with the first aid score "because broken bones are not that unusual in this sport". - NZPA