Mountain biking: Kiwis well behind leaders

Olympic hopefuls Rosara Joseph and Karen Hanlen were out of the major contenders in the third round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the Czech Republic yesterday.

Joseph, the Rabobank Biant Team professional, finished 22nd and Hanlen 26th in the women's crosscountry on a testing and technical course through the forests at Nove Mesto na Morave, the Czech nordic and biathlon centre.

Brilliant French 22-year-old Julie Bresset, last year's under-23 world champion, moved to the top of the world cup rankings with a superb win, her first this year.

Local hope Katerina Nash made the early running before she was caught by a group of five riders. They remained together until the final lap when Bresset attacked on the long climb.

Russian Irena Kalentieva, the two-time world champion, finished runner up while Nash broke out of the chasing group to grab a well-earned third place.

Joseph (Wellington) made a strong start from 24th, moving up four places in the starting loop and was 17th after lap one. She edged back to 22nd on lap two and stayed there for the rest of the race, finishing 5m 26s back.

"I'm feeling disappointed with my race," said Joseph. "I really liked the track, and I think it suited me well with the steep climbs and technical descents.

"I had a pretty good start and was in decent position but just didn't have the spark needed to have a great race. A slow leak in my front tyre slowed me down for a bit too.

"But I tried hard and am feeling spent now, so I guess I couldn't have done much more."

It was the first time Joseph has bettered Hanlen this year as they battle for Olympic selection.

The Whakatane rider won the domestic national series and finished ahead in the world cup's first two rounds, with eighth in South Africa and 18th in Belgium.

Hanlen had her problems on the starting loop, despite her front draw, after being held up with a crash on the first lap and then with mechanical issues.

She fell back to 44th at the end of the first lap. The 32-year-old, who rode splendidly for runner-up in the BMC Swiss Cup last week to finish ahead of the likes of Bresset and Kalentieva, gradually worked her way through the field to finish 26th, more than a minute behind Joseph.