The Patagonia Eco-Challenge-winning multisport team threw away the win in the Cyclic Saga MTBO event last weekend on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, when they overlooked a control on the first day. John Howard and last year's Saga winners Keith and Andrea Murray (Christchurch) finished 20 points down after missing the 30-point control in the 13-hour score event over two days.
The event was won by NZ elite mountain-biking representatives Charlie Palmer and Julian Mitchell, who scored 670 points of a possible 760. Palmer from Wellington was in the winning team two years ago, while Mitchell has recently returned from racing in North America and Europe. Just a week ago, Mitchell also won NZ's biggest MTB race, the 1000-rider Karapoti Classic.
With 330 riders the Cyclic Saga is NZ's biggest MTBO event. It is run on Banks Peninsula near Christchurch in the South Island, a series of volcanic peaks rising to 1000m with 500m passes between. The organisers who mostly work for cycle-clothing company Ground Effect do an impressive job of securing access to 250 sq.km of land, and you can travel cross-country, use the farm tracks, and the public roads.
Second overall with 660 was another multisport team of Hayden Key, Mark Williams and John Knight from Queenstown. On the same score but relegated on time were Hamish Seaton and Justin Freeman who went against the tide by visiting the sparser eastern area on the first day, picking up the richer western points on day 2. Seaton is one of three riders who have done all 6 Sagas.
The top women's team also rode east to west. Led by Olympic MTBer Kathy Lynch from Nelson, Lisa Savage, Clair Sykes and Rebecca Cullen pulled back a 29-point overnight deficit to orienteers Antonia Wood and Jenni Adams to finish ahead with 594. Wood and Adams (Lower Hutt/Christchurch) were second on 573.
The Howard/Murray team were of course the top mixed team with 650, 9 points in front of another previous winning combination, Simon Adams and Mandy Holdstock (Chritstchurch). The veterans category was comprehensively won by Pete Braggins (Nelson), Dave Mitchell and Joe Arts (Christchurch) on 621. Mitchell is also expert with a camera, his photos illustrating the Kennett's "Classic NZ Mountainbike Rides". Christchurch orienteers Bill McSweeney and Alistair Metherall led the rest with 563. Full results are available on the Ground Effect website.
Ironically as the Saga is similar to the Polaris events in Britain, there was also a
Polaris event in Australia last weekend! Maps on mountainbikes are getting to be
really popular down under, and an unofficial MTBO contest is planned in conjunction
with the traditional Australia-NZ orienteering challenge in July.