Mountain biking: Bruni pinned for second title

Frenchman Loic Bruni flying down Mt Ngongotaha yesterday. Photo / Ben Fraser

Frenchman Loic Bruni has defended his title in the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill race, beating two Kiwis to the title, while American Jill Kintner has come back from a bad crash last year to win the women's title.

The downhill event drew a good crowd yesterday under the gondolas on Mt Ngongotaha, during the final day of action at the Crankworx Rotorua mountain bike festival.

Bruni won the men's title in a lightening-fast time of 2 minutes 38.77 seconds, beating Kiwis George Brannigan and Brook MacDonald, who finished second and third respectively. Local rider Matt Walker was also in the mix, finishing fifth overall.

"Last year I was really stoked to win, and you know every year the conditions change, so it was pretty hard to re-do it," Bruni said, adding Rotorua was a great destination for downhill racing.

"I love New Zealand and I'm planning to come every year now. It is definitely a very fast and loose track so you have to be really technical and flowy to handle it, but it holds its place among the best tracks in the world I think."

Kintner said she was rapt to take out the title especially after crashing into a tree at the same event last year.

"Last year I got hurt, I almost broke my leg when my femur hit a tree. So this feels good to come back and face a bit of fear and redeem myself with three wins."

Kintner also took out the dual speed and style women's title on Thursday and the pump track challenge on Friday night. She said she really enjoyed the atmosphere during the downhill race.

"Crankworx is a lot different vibe than a world cup." Kintner and Bruni both took home $5000 for winning the downhill event.

Results:

Men: 1 Loic Bruni (France) 2m 38.77s, 2 George Brannigan (Queenstown) +2.43s, 3 Brook MacDonald (Hawke's Bay) +3.19s.

Women: 1 Jill Kintner (USA) 3m 9.55s, 2 Tracey Hannah (Australia) +4.88s, 3 Casey Brown (Canada) +10.29s.