New Zealanders proved to be unstoppable on home turf at the 10-year anniversary of Crankworx Rotorua's downhill event, but one Squamolian came close to winning it all.
Jakob Jewett secured himself a silver medal on March 17 as the only man to get within shouting distance of the eventual victor: Rotorua native Lachlan Stevens-McNab and his time of two minutes and 45.612 seconds. Jewett was over 2.3 seconds shy of that mark, but still managed to blow away bronze medallist (+7.860) and the rest of the field.
"Super happy to start the season with a second-place finish in Rotorua," Jewett wrote on social media. "It feels really good to be in the mix this early on, and I'm ready to keep building onward!
added in a press release: "I just wanted to have a clean run and see where my speed is at. Obviously, the New Zealand and Australia boys have had a lot of time to bike, so coming from the Canada winter I just wanted to be in the mix, and yeah, super happy I’m on the podium.”
Kiwis did sweep the ladies' downhill podium, with Eliana Hulsebosch grabbing gold (3:24.130). She too was dominant, well ahead of Jess Blewitt in the runner-up spot (+5.891) and Shania Rawson in third (+10.777).
Athletes were especially effusive in their praise for the Taniwha venue, attributed to Rotorua’s forgiving and fast-absorbing volcanic soil.
"The trail was so sick, and honestly, the rain two days ago made it so much more interesting," Stevens-McNab told reporters. "It was like a highway when it was dry. Now that it’s been wet and, you know, ruts were everywhere, made the track more technical which is cool. But yeah, I love racing here."
Full results are available on
