New Zealand mountain bikers, led by Sammie Maxwell, have revelled in cold and muddy conditions to bag a handful of podium performances in the latest round of the UCI MTB World Series in Leogang, Austria.

Maxwell (Decathlon Ford) finished second in the women’s cross-country race to extend her championship lead in her rookie season in the elite category.

In a nearby part of the Austrian Alps, three Kiwi riders earned podium places in the fourth round of the Enduro World Series in challenging, cold, muddy and slippery conditions.

Charles Murray enjoyed his best finish of the season to date with second in the elite men, which put the Specialized Gravity rider third in the overall rankings.

Fellow Christchurch rider Winni Goldsbury bagged her second podium in her debut season in women’s elite, the teenager’s third place moved her to fifth overall, while compatriot George Swift (Yeti Fox) was sixth.

Alexandra’s Cooper Millwood was second in the junior men’s enduro and has the same spot in the overall standings.

It completed a remarkable World Series weekend for New Zealand riders after victory for Kaikōura’s Oli Clark (MS Racing) in the junior men’s downhill and third for Tauranga’s Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Racing) in the junior women.

Elite riders Lachlan Stevens-McNab and Jess Blewitt were fourth and fifth respectively in the elite finals to round out arguably the most successful weekend for Kiwi mountain bikers on the UCI World Series.

While Dutch star Puck Pieterse dominated the women’s elite cross-country race, Maxwell again showed maturity beyond her 23 years to finish second.

The Decathlon Ford professional pushed clear of the rest of the field in tough conditions, recovering from a dropped chain to finish 36 seconds clear of third place but 50s behind the winner.

Maxwell is 290 points clear at the top of the elite women’s standings, with the next stop in Italy in two weeks marking the midway point in the championship.

In the elite men, Anton Cooper (Lapierre Racing) continued his gradual improvement after a year out of the sport, finishing 34th in the elite men with compatriot Sam Gaze (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 53rd as he recovers from illness.

In the nearby Leogang mountains, the enduro riders battled tough conditions and extreme cold in eight hours of competition with six timed stages and more than 80km of liaison riding.

Murray started strongly to win the opening stage but dropped out of the lead with a fall on stage four. The Christchurch rider recovered to place fifth on stage five and fourth on the final stage to finish second overall, 13s down on winner Jesse Melamed from Canada.

The Kiwi remains third in the overall competition and has closed to within 100 points of second-placed Daniel Booker (Australia).

“I am so stoked. It has been a tough couple of months with injuries, so to be on the podium and pushing for the win, I couldn’t ask for more,” said Murray.

“In those conditions, then more people are complaining [but] the more I like it. I know they are struggling more. I like the trails here and was finally feeling fit and strong, so I enjoyed it and coped well today and felt remarkably good.

“It is an awesome boost to the confidence and stoked to be up to third with three more races to go. I want to make the last three count and the title is still within reach if all goes well.”

Rotorua’s Yeti Development NZ rider Joe Millington had a strong race to finish 13th, with the Pivot Factory riders Matthew Walker and Ed Masters 22nd and 45th respectively.

Meanwhile, Christchurch teenager Goldsbury scored another podium performance in third. She started strongly with second in the first two stages but dropped nearly 30 seconds on stage three. Goldsbury recovered with three strong stages and remains fifth overall, 100 points away from third spot.

“It started well but then I messed up a bit and had five hugies. I had a negative attitude midway through but told myself that I am living my life goals here so I should be stoked to be out there,” said Goldsbury.

“Everything then got a lot better. It was hard in those conditions but everyone crashed at times. It was the hardest conditions of the season, and challenging mentally in the cold, mud and wet and a long day on the tools.”

Swift (Yeti Fox) also revelled in the tough going, finishing sixth for her best finish so far this year.

There was more good news for enduro riders with Millwood continuing his outstanding season. The Yeti NZ Development rider won the opening stage but moved back to second after dropping time on stage four. Millward recovered to win stage five and came second on stage six to finish runner-up, just 7s behind winner Melvin Almuies from France.

Millwood remains second in the season standings, 100 points behind the Frenchman, but has moved 250 points clear of third.

The UCI MTB World Series action moves to Italy’s Val di Sole in two weeks, with competition for cross-country and downhill before a break.

Results:

Cross-Country:

Female Under-23: Fiona Schibler (SUI) 1:12.44, 1; Monique Halter (SUI) at 57s, 2; Elina Benoit (SUI) at 2:23, 3. Also NZer: Amelie MacKay at 10:37, 36.

Male Under-23: Finn Treudler (SUI) 1:14.02, 1; Paul Schehl (GER) at 47s, 2; Nicolas Halter (SUI) at 52s, 3. Also NZers: Ethan Rose (Trek Future Racing, Christchurch) at 4:22, 21; Coen Nicol (Taupō) 1 lap, 62; Bailey Fredericksen (Whakatāne) 3 laps, 72.

Female Elite: Puck Pieterse (NED) 1:26.39, 1; Sammie Maxwell (Decathlon Ford, Taupō, NZL) at 50s, 2; Ramona Forchini (SUI) at 1:26, 3. Standings: Maxwell 1022, Nicole Koller (SUI) 732, Evie Richards (GBR) 634.

Male Elite: Ondrej Cink (CZE) 1:25.05, 1; Mathias Fluckiger (SUI) at 18s, 2; Fabio Puntener (SUI) at 27s, 3. Also NZers: Anton Cooper (Lapierre Racing) 1:30.57, 34; Sam Gaze (MS Racing) 1:34.01, 53.

Enduro:

Elite men: Jesse Melamed (CAN) 24:46.028, 1; Charles Murray (Specialized Gravity, Christchurch, NZL) at 13.980s, 2; Slawomir Lukasik (POL) at 19.539, 3. Also NZers: Joe Millington at 55.372, 13; Matthew Walker (Pivot Factory) at 1:15.694, 22; Lachie Ross at 1:46.373, 31; Edward Masters at 2:12.685, 45; Oliver Jenkins at 2:29,391, 55; Asher Hart at 3:37.992, 76; Regan Doig at 6:27.039, 96. Standings: Slawomir Lukasik (POL) 1370, 1; Daniel Booker (AUS) 1080, 2; Murray 960, 3. Also: Millington 638, 16.

Elite women: Ella Conolly (GBR) 30:04.459, 1; Simona Kuchynkova (SVK) at 16.379, 2; Winni Goldsbury (Specialized Gravity, Christchurch, NZL) at 35.383, 3. Also NZers: George Swift (Yeti Fox, Nelson) at 2:04,899, 6. Standings: Conolly 1500, 1; Kuchynkova 1010, 2; Morgane Charre (FRA) 970, 3. Also NZers: Goldsbury 850, 5; Swift 750, 8.

Junior men: Melvin Almueis (FRA) 26:20.431, 1; Cooper Millwood (NZL) at 7.325, 2; Aron Babo (HUN) at 46.589, 3. Also NZers: Eli Robertson at 3:15.308, 13; Marcus Sayers dnf. Standings: Almueis 575, Millwood 475, Tommy Bougon (FRA) 225. Also NZers: Marcus Sayers 80, 13.

Vision (Women’s cross-country): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtsO16omFlY