DO NOT PUBLISH - nz champs orig - Mountain Bike Feature

Dark skies and a strong wind greeted racers, media, and marshals alike on Sunday morning high in the Crown Range atop Cardrona. Looking into Queenstown in the West and Wanaka in the East didn't show even an inkling of sun, and heavy rain was predicated for the afternoon...dread was looming over the parking lot. Wind shut the lift and the top third of the track from cut out so riders could push up an access road to the new start. A small hiccup in the day, but the riders persevered and got on with practice. Seeding gave a glimpse of what was to come, notably with Sam Blenkinsop going fastest. At that point, he'd won the preceding two National rounds in very different conditions, so his speed was clearly not track-specific. Finals were pushed forward in hopes of beating the weather, which was a smart choice as the rain came during the last podium presentation. The race itself was wild and exciting, with a small-but-enthusiastic crown gathered among the tussocks cheers on the riders flying by. Most excitingly, Eddie Masters took the Elite win, and a new face to DH, Tuhoto-Ariki Pene took the U19 win in first year of racing! Cardrona delivered this year, the 2018 season is off to a wicked start.

[EDDIE AUDIO]

Kiwi tradition is all about the Kiwi tradition is all about the "shoey"...but Eddie decided to up the ante with a cranial champange luge for Matt, as Brook laughed along with the rest of us.

Eddie! Masters! A Vital favorite and friend, it was too cool watching him win the title.

He wasn't really expecting the result, but it has been a long time coming if you ask us - plus a little redemption from last year.

Across the line! Eddie, the moment he became National Champ.

Brook MacDonald brought out Bulldog this weekend and was sending and smashing everything.

The fire is burning hot for Brook in 2018, and while winning is always the goal, silver in a field of talented mates/competitors is still a solid start to the season.

[BROOK AUDIO]

One of the first DH rider to commit to 29, Matt Walker makes the big wheels look effortless. His raw speed is a sign of what's to come for the rest of 2018, and with 3rd on the day, it's off to a strong start!

[MATT AUDIO]

Reigning National Champ Keegan Wright wasn't able to keep the crown this year, but he was still happy with 4th on the day, as his plans are more focused towards international events.

[KEEGAN AUDIO]

Wyn Masters was riding with aggresion and intensity. With a solid 5th in Elite, he was just happy to race a proper race on the new bike [read: not a muddy mess like Dunedin].

Wyn was National Champ in 2010, and now that Eddie has the sleeve, the Masters family has two National Champs! Pretty neat, surely there won't be any banter over dinner about this...not at all.

[WYN AUDIO]

Russ Paver is the head of trail crew at Cardrona and he and him team put in a noteable effort with this event. Standing around after the event, there were musing from racers about the venue being of World Cup caliber and capable of hosting...hmmm.

[RUSS AUDIO]

Shania Rawson is the next up-and-coming Elite woman. Her Roots and Rain page is just a blue of wins.

Silver on the day, she's looking ahead to the overseas race season and pumped to get into it!

[SHANIA AUDIO]

Taking the Gold in Sport Women, she laughs as she is the only woman in her category, but a win is a win, and at the end of the day it was all about good times with friends!

New to DH, Ash Bond has been making steady progress astide a bike.

With a background in Moto, she's got the basics down, it's just about turning up the speed now!

[ASH AUDIO]

U19 Podium [LtR]: Josh Oxenham, Tuhoto-Ariki Pene, Charlie Makea

Tuhoto-Ariki Pene is not someone you've read about. He's a Rotorua local with heaps of talent, and he's a first-year U19/Junior...

The fact that he is so new to DH is a surpise to most, as he looks pretty effortless on a bike.

Like most of the current fast Kiwis (Eddie, Brook, etc), he is aboard a Zerode G2 and it is of course in dire nead of some mechanical TLC.

To say that he was surprised to take the win by a sizeable 2.17 seconds would be an understatement. But, all of his mates and those of us trackside just nodded knowling - he has speed and talent. Watch this space.

[TUHOTO AUDIO]

2017 U19 National Champ, Josh Oxenham was storming down the hill trying to keep the sleeve, but got pipped and landed in 2nd - not bad though!

Charlie Makea is an absolute house, and he rides like his bike owes him money. This moment was loose, as he basically just slammed into the right-to-left after this air and rode off like it was a straight line. Big Man power for 3rd in U19!