But for champion Brannigan, he managed to steer clear of any such drama and picked up his second consecutive New Zealand title.
"I'm pretty happy with that," he said, about wining the event. "It is the first time the course has been ridden since the world champs in 2006, and it is world class."
He said he was happy with his timed run yesterday, and was the only rider to finish under three minutes.
"I'm pretty happy with that, I had a couple of mistakes but I think that was just because the track was so blown out and dusty."
He said he had no idea he had won until his time was announced. "You don't know until you cross the finish line - anyone could win it."
Meanwhile, Queenstown's Alanna Columb (3:51.38) won the women's elite race by about one second ahead of 2014 national champ Sarah Atkin (3:52.45), from Lower Hutt.
The downhill track at Skyline is similar to the one used at the 2006 world championships but also has plenty of new additions.
Some of the new features include a 12m gap jump, 14m table-top jump, 35m rock garden, plus four bridges over the luge track.
The top local finishers in the elite races included Rotorua's Keegan Wright who finished 13th in the men's race, and Whakatane's Amanda Monk who finished fourth in the women's field.
Also in the age group races, Rotorua's Finn Parsons blitzed the U15 boys class.
- Results:
Men's elite: 1 George Brannigan (Havelock North) 2:59.85; 2 Brook Macdonald (Napier) 3.03.35; 3 Sam Blenkinsop (Christchurch) 3:05.82.
Women's elite: 1 Alanna Columb (Queenstown) 3:51.38; 2 Sarah Atkin (Lower Hutt) 3:52.45; 3 Sophie Tyas (Auckland) 4:18.68.
