The other classes are best two out of three, and apart from the lack of third team members, the visitors have a fighting chance in the M/W50 and M60 classes. And in late news, M50 Jon Potter will join Jonathon Sutcliffe in M40, though NZ has three very strong riders there.
In M50 Sheldon is a top rider and Leuenberger rode moderately well in the public races at WOC; they'll be hard pressed to beat local Colin Palmer (no relation to the IOF MTBO convenor) but M50 may depend on how close Sheldon can get to him, and how Sherriff compares to Leuenberger. In the event of mechanical difficulties, NZ has the luxury of the less-experienced Whitla to fall back on.
Lynn Dabbs is a leading organiser of MTBO in New South Wales and may be the faster of the two Australian W50s; she'll meet her match in Jacqui Sinclair who was 1 and 2 minutes off the NZ Champs pace in W40 last July. But its a two-horse race, with Ogilvie and Whitla also important and neither team having a third member.
And M60 could go either way with a lack of published form to call up. For Australia Ogilvie is well known as a NSW foot-orienteer, while Howitt (a former kiwi) is into foot-o, rogaining and MTBO in Queensland. For NZ Clarkson orienteered on foot many years ago before turning to mountain-biking; while Godfrey is a foot-orienteer who has recently taken up MTBO.
The Australian Team
Open Men: No team Open Women: Thor Egerton Carolyn Jackson Anna Sheldon Open Men: No team M40: Jonathon Sutcliffe W40: No team M50: Ray Sheldon Heinz Leuenberger W50: Lynn Dabbs Marueen Ogilvie M60: Dick Ogilvie Gordon Howitt Manager: Lynn Dabbs
Earlier news, 18 Dec
The New Zealand team to contest the first official at-home Aust-NZ MTBO Challenge on 10 Jan has been announced by NZOF. Each class is determined by the sum of the times of the best two or four (open) riders, with the country winning the most classes declared the victor.
Open Women: Marquita Gelderman North West Jill Mains Auckland Fiona McBryde North West Di Michels North West Open Men: Alistair Cory-Wright Peninsula & Plains Neil Kerrison Egmont Mark Lawson North West Stuart Lynch North West Darryl Taylor Hawkes Bay Phil Wood North West M40: David King Hutt Valley Peter Swanson Auckland Phil White North West W40: Nicola Kinzett Auckland Lisa Mead North West Jo Wilson Southland M50: Colin Palmer North West Joe Sherriff Southland Robert Whitla Peninsula & Plains W50: Jacqui Sinclair Egmont Pamela Whitla Peninsula & Plains M60: Tom Clarkson Hutt Valley Peter Godfrey North West Manager: Dianne Michels