Nobody could touch Kiwi international Rory Mead at round two of the North Island Cross-country Championships at Oparau on Sunday. Now riders are looking forward to Round three of the series which is only two weeks away, at Raglan on March 27.
Just back from a two-month stint of enduro racing in Italy, Wales and England, the national enduro champion from Whitby, just outside Wellington, showed his versatility when he turned up to race the high-speed three-hour cross-country race at the weekend.
Mead (Yamaha YZ250) took the early advantage after the start and quickly built a comfortable lead of two minutes over the rest of the chasing pack.
In the end, Mead maintained his two-minute buffer and finished the race ahead of Auckland’s Sam Greenslade, with Pukekohe’s national under-200cc cross-country champion Luke Ramsey in third spot.
Mead also finished the day ahead of such cross-country aces as former national champion Cam Smith, of Marton, Napier’s John O’Dea, Te Kauwhata’s Jason Moorfield and Norsewood’s Kevin Hermansen.
“I took it pretty easy, to tell the truth. After I grabbed the lead at the start, I just put my head down to build a gap,” said the 23-year-old Mead.
“After that it was a matter of not taking too many risks.
“Shaun Clarke did an awesome job of marking the track. It was fast a flowing, with just a bit of bush a few rocky river sections thrown in for good measure.”
Press Release: Bike Sports NZ, Credit: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com Tuesday, 16 March, 2010