Mountain biker Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (Te Arawa) will be out to improve on a “rough” start to Crankworx Rotorua during the finals of the elite men’s downhill on Sunday afternoon.
Pene, who claimed the global mountain bike title, King of Crankworx, last July in Canada, found the going tough during Saturday’s preliminary downhill racing, finishing 21st in a field of 87 after a major training mishap.
“Rough day yesterday on the tools, took a massive hit in practice so pacing myself through the rest of the day,” Pene wrote on Instagram on Sunday morning.
“See how we go for racing today.”
In Sunday’s Taniwha downhill, Pene finished 10th overall, with Charlie Makea (who qualified 7th) a spot back in 11th.
20-year-old Rotorua local Lachie Stevens-McNab was 1st and claimed gold.
Watch Charlie Makea’s final’s run (at 1.22.17).
Crankworx is a global tour of mountain bike festivals featuring events in Australia, New Zealand, Austria and Canada.
