Final Results - New Zealand Downhill National Championships

Mar 17, 2019 at 7:18
by Ed Spratt  
Crankworx Rotorua Redwoods DH 2018

With Crankworx just around the corner, the tracks of Rotorua would play host to another important mountain bike event this weekend. The New Zealand National Championships. After finishing as runner up for three of the past four years Brook MacDonald took the national title after beating Keegan Wright by over three seconds. In the Elite Women's category, defending champion Kate Weatherly would secure a commanding lead with a 16-second gap to second placed rider Shania Rawson.

Track Preview:
Check out Wyn Master's footage from parts of the track during practice on Saturday.


Results:

Elite Men

1st. Brook MacDonald: 2:45.380
2nd. Keegan Wright: +3.437
3rd. Wyn Masters: +5.303


Elite Women

1st. Kate Weatherly: 3:07.950
2nd. Shania Rawson: +16.503
3rd. Virginia Armstrong: +19.333




More results available here.

Author Info:
edspratt avatar

Member since Mar 16, 2017
3,021 articles

97 Comments
  • 62 1
 Congrats to Blenki for taking the sport class by 10 seconds! Gotta be a career highlight.
  • 21 14
 Blenki samdbagging?
  • 6 0
 Looked the same thing, would have been 3rd in "pro" category with that time... Maybe some mistake in the registering..?
  • 4 0
 From Wyns instagram:

@wynmasters
Good day out at National Champs DH the @gtbicycles Force loved it stoked to end up on the box with a 3rd and get in a Danger swig in memory of @johnnydanger_nz Congrats bulldog @brookmacdonald6 on the win and @samblenkinsop for the sport class ???? good to see DH alive and well here in NZ with 150 riders out there racing, now roll on @crankworx cheers to @gtfactoryracing for everything! ???????? @maddogboris @svenmartinphoto @jontyvink ????????????????"
  • 104 4
 Sam Blenkinplop is disgusting for blagging that sport win. He's probably ruined some riders opportunity to win an imperial multitool or a 2.1 tire.
  • 6 0
 What does "Sport class" means ? He didn't compete in the pro category ?
  • 8 2
 @Whipperman: it means: You are NOT a pro.
  • 33 2
 props to the true sport class winner! Only 10 secs behind Blenkinsop that's really good!
  • 8 0
 @t1000: second rider in sport (Sehnal)is pro as well.
  • 44 18
 I will identify as a 12 yr old and undergo hormonal therapy to prove my physiology is on par with U15 racing classes in DH competitions around the world. I want to take shower with them, and any parent who has something against that better educate themselves on HRT before they engage in a discriminatory discussion. As to the state of my mind, the proof is al over this site, my intelligence level is below average teenage level. I highly recommend Pinkbike to make a poll what do they think about such cases it will generate more traffic than Burger King announcing 4 meals in the price of 1 when chosing drive through.
  • 16 0
 @Naturel: I hear it was something to do with him not entering in time to be allowed to race the pro class
  • 3 3
 @feazel: how not exciting... I like the idea of a conscious intelligent protest. Come on!
  • 1 0
 @jclnv: don’t forget an XS full face helmet.
  • 13 0
 @Whipperman: blenki supposedly missed out on entries so was unable to compete in a UCI category so had to race in sport/open men
  • 7 1
 @WAKIdesigns: you might as well make a gender change surgery then, it would bring you even more fame that way and they say removing your male genitals give you some advantage when spinning cranks ...
  • 11 5
 @romkaind: Read my answer below. I am out of discussion. If her competitiors are fine it then there’s no point in talking about it and I may feel inclined to call virtue signalling and appealing to women (white knightism - which BTW is disgusting) to those who do. I may as well wake up as a supporter of transgender case... why not? i can turn anything around just for the sake of spewing thousands of words for own entertainment. I should have been a God damn lawyer... I am already dead inside and would have much more money. Maybe I’d be trolling people on Jalopnik not Pinkbike, discussing whether RS6 is better than Panamera, Nurburgring cred not Strava... ehhh.
  • 5 1
 @WAKIdesigns: take a seat
  • 5 0
 So blinky didn't register in time this year, was it brannigan last year? You pros have one job...
  • 2 0
 @jonas-2f4u: it was Brannigan (Or Fabien Barel.....) a few years back!
  • 31 5
 waiting for the debate concerning the winning gap in the women's division. let's face it: with no transition period (3 weeks between championship winning run and last competition as a male), there's going to be more than a few hmmms.
Congrats bulldog,between 3 years coming.
  • 10 5
 The funk you on about?
  • 13 1
 please put the words in the good order
  • 8 29
flag sewer-rat FL (Mar 17, 2019 at 10:43) (Below Threshold)
 I actually get what Kapricorn is getting at, Kate is going to be a force to be reckoned with this year and good luck to her
  • 21 2
 She was a man three weeks ago?
Is this connected to why Blenkinsop was in the wrong category at all. Some kind of protest?
  • 8 1
 Wut? I don't know the lass but it says she is defending champion. Would be hard to be a bloke three weeks ago with that history.
  • 12 4
 'Kate started taking hormone blockers and estrogen three years prior to racing in a women’s event and she has met each of the IOC and UCI regulations for a transgender athlete to compete in elite level women’s events.'
www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-interviews/kiwi-dh-racer-kate-weatherly-shares-her-story-and-highlights-from-her-first-world-cup-races
  • 36 1
 @sewer-rat: Oh! She's was guy. Now I get it. That subject wil be the hornet nest of the '20 for all sports.
Maybe its time to think of something... like a third categorie M , F , NG
I dont care about sex thing, but i do care for logic
  • 22 2
 I see, in that case I don't think it's fair competition. Essentially the same thing as a lifetime of doping with testosterone and growth hormones which clearly wouldn't be allowed, tricky one.
  • 6 1
 Comment groundhog day....
  • 7 2
 @Bob-Agg: Her results at th world cups are still not exceptional. If she was a decent male rider then she would be right up there on the box
  • 5 3
 @BenPea: in this one I am even more wrong and even more sexist, I have a plan for tomorrow so I will no go to sleep ASAP
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: I'm going to stay up all night so I can be even more confused about the whole thing in the morning.
  • 34 31
 Sorry but once IOC and UCI have set regulations and she has met them than that's it. Us keyboard warriors should leave her alone and just accept her as a woman and allow her to compete as such. If you don't like the regulations as IOC and UCI has set them then go heckle them with all your expertise. Or actually, do that right when these regulations are set. Don't wait for an athlete to work and train hard for the sport she loves and takes the title twise. And above all, don't take it out on an individual athlete. She's been here in the comment section last year responding to all your worries. You need her to do that every year? Sorry Pinkbike comment section, you've been disgusting once more in just over a month. On valentines day to downvote a visitor into oblivion who merely called for a representation of homosexual love too, this time around to judge someone who must have gone through a rollercoaster to become the person she wants to be and compete in the sport she loves and who has met all requirements set by IOC and UCI. So, this is this "progressive mountainbike community" PB claims to be? Pretty disgusting bunch of keyboard warriors would be a more fitting description.
  • 38 4
 @vinay: this is a relatively new problem. And not recognizing it as a problem an actual threat to legitimacy of female racing is just a sign of ignorance by choice. Unless you subscribe to some theories like gender is of no relevance for athletic performance and see no reason for any division what so eve. All you can say here is leave it to women to raise the voice and decide since it is them being influenced by it. The only question you can ask yourself is whether you want to wait for the obvious outcome. Unless women will be bullied whenever they will speak up about it. It takes years for thm to speak up about being raped and b believed so, well... The humans born with penises take a lot from them, now this.
  • 11 22
flag kleinblake (Mar 17, 2019 at 13:37) (Below Threshold)
 @Naturel: Any decent man would be, yes. If she had any biological advantage then she would be crushing the World Cup. She’s exactly where she should be. These margins in a woman’s national downhill race are perfectly normal, and not indicative of an advantage
  • 29 25
 @Naturel: f*ck right off
  • 14 5
 @WAKIdesigns: My point is, if this is a problem then it should be the decisionmaking of IOC and UCI to be discussed, not the participation of an individual. The regulations were already in place, she performed great under these regulations so that's it. She's the champ for another year. Really, after last years result, has one single keyboard expert contacted IOC and/or UCI and said "Hey, I've done my research and I think your regulations are incorrect. The mean testosterone level of regular women in competition is this with a standard deviation of that and I believe we need to set an upper level of this many sd so that would be ... which is lower than you currently have in your regulations so I propose..." Anything sensible and reasonable. Anything that goes beyond this stupid "She's been a man once and now she's beating the ladies in racing so we think it is unfair". Sure she may have a genetic advantage. Every top level athlete has a genetic advantage. We can all work hard to unleash our potential, but only our potential. Some just have a bigger potential than others. You can be short and work your ass off to become a tall basketball player and you may become a decent basketball player but you won't become tall.

I do agree we need to speak up for people who are being bullied and feel unsafe to speak up. Is that the case here though? Out of everyone in this comment section being against Kate competing, how many are actually women? And are there really women who do feel it was unfair that Kate did compete because of her background? And if so, what response did IOC and UCI give them when they rocked up with their research and proposal?
  • 22 4
 I have been contacted by Kate in PM written in extremely polite and intelligent way, reaching way beyond my stupid head. Since according to her, no women have a problem with her racing them, there is no case, I cannot criticize transgender people entering women MTB races. Case closed Waki shot up.
  • 9 4
 @WAKIdesigns: Cool to hear. I think after the discussion last year she's done heaving to do it every year for the stupid narrow minded PB crowd. I'm afraid this discussion will pop up every time she does well.
  • 11 2
 @vinay: there is a very simple solution. Top DH girls saying they don’t care.
  • 10 7
 @WAKIdesigns: who died and made you the testicle ambassador?
  • 11 10
 @BenPea: I am always an ambassador of female breasts and genitalia, apparently that makes me a sexist. I prefer company of women than men. I even like my daughter more than my son. A woman needs to be charming, it is enough to gain my sympathy. A man, must be strong, intelligent, have money, some power, be popular among other men, be funny, preferably fight well, or I won’t respect him.
  • 2 1
 @WAKIdesigns: You stole that quote from Trump, admit it (Trump is the new Godwin's Law btw). But still, that's an impressive paragraph.
  • 5 4
 So kapricorn is on glue and didn’t get his facts straight, big surprise.
Thanks for that dick.’and I’m glad someone cleared up the real reason Blenkinsop was in open men. Unless that’s just bullshit too.
I guess I’m just surprised the other girls don’t care. Cuz when the shit hit the fan about this in Canada the other girls were livid.
Realistically this kind of thing could affect a career.
But let’s be honest. There’s so few careers in biking anyway that chicks would have to do it naked to get anywhere worth money.
  • 4 1
 @naturel 16 second win has me agreeing with you
  • 7 6
 @rutslayer: she was 25 seconds back at Andorra (and stoked on it). An average male junior will be faster than all the women. Acting like Kate won this race because of a biological advantage is pretty silly when gaps like this are typical for women’s racing. The woman that won in Tennessee last week did so by 22 seconds. I don’t reckon you’ll attack her as being some sort of cheater
  • 9 2
 @WAKIdesigns: probably because they are scared of being labeled transphobes for speaking up in public... it's the governing bodies to regulate this properly. Some powerlifting associations are coming around to the blatantly obvious advantage that a life-time male has after transitioning.

Disclaimer: Am not a transphobe, I simply believe based on scientific fact that it is unfair for MtF trans people to compete in female sports that involve any component of strength.
  • 3 0
 @gramboh: they wouldn’t be if they did it collectively. If you would get Rach, Tahnee, Tracy and a few more to speak up (if they actually feel threatened or cheated, we don’t know this) it would be a different story. We can endlessly speculate why some of them wouldn’t, including totally paranoic ideas how could they use it against each other. Time will sort it out but it has to be women doing it sinc it’s their playground. We can only support them by smacking potential false accusation of phobia. The problem is there’s plenty of aholes who are genuinely transphobic so it will never be easy to separate wheat from the weeds - after all majority of online trolls are males...
  • 1 2
 If playing at a level where no tally is kept and everyone gets a participation ribbon...giv'er, play on. If a tally is kept...show some sportsmanship and leave it alone, do something else.(enjoy your chosen sport of course, but maybe leave the competition side alone)
  • 2 0
 STEP 18: Know the difference between a tranny and a tranny.

youtu.be/WPVRU7jSYkQ?t=145
  • 4 1
 Austin powers quote "that's a man baby"
  • 3 1
 @kleinblake: i aint calling her / him a cheater but it is a unfair advantage. why not have a trans class then as that would be fair this day and age
  • 2 7
flag vinay FL (Mar 19, 2019 at 1:24) (Below Threshold)
 @rutslayer: Get your facts right. She doesn't have an unfair advantage.
  • 6 1
 @vinay so facts are she was a guy road like a guy rides for years then went to a girl ( which is cool and all the power to her ) but that there in its self is the unfair advantage If you can’t see that as a advantage your a idiot
  • 2 4
 @rutslayer: You seem to need a bit more time write a more sensible response. Take your time, I'll check what you came up with tomorrow.
  • 2 1
 @vinay: cheers specs ill try
  • 2 0
 @vinay: haven't looked into the detail of this individual athlete but test or other androgens taken during transition aren't an advantage? What about the big one: The impact of maturation in the presence naturally occurring androgens as the level necessary for male development, aka puberty and beyond. Permanent impacts on body mass/muscle, connective tissue, bone density/structure. Those are PERMANENT changes in a human body that transitioning does not impact. Those are CLEAR athletic advantages in any sport that has any strength/strength endurance component.

Again, not a transphobe, simply against unfair advantages in competition. It may be LESS of an advantage in certain categories of mtn bike racing versus saying powerlifting/Olympic weightlifting but it's still an advantage.
  • 9 0
 hahaha...max hartenstern from the netherlands! think he is from germany ;-)
  • 3 7
flag dakine69 (Mar 17, 2019 at 13:26) (Below Threshold)
 it´s still the same...
  • 10 0
 @dakine69: the netherlands have always been independent of Germany. Austria...not so much Wink
  • 2 0
 @Muckal: maybe he means for an Austrian German = Dutch = "tourist driving a BMW". Not sure though, I'm not Austrian so I don't understand yet all the jokes about Dutch an Germans.
  • 10 1
 Germany’s Max Hartenstern became 2nd. Common PB show that kid some credit.
  • 7 1
 Being very honest, the level of female DH riders in NZ is just not that good at the moment. Britain and Canada have female athletes that would have smashed Kate's time. I marshalled at a national race here and watched almost all the females riding around a slightly techie drop that would have saved them 2 seconds. I'm a slow dad in my mid 40s and even I've hit that drop! Go debate the TG issue for sports in general. But in this case we simply need to work out how to improve the skill levels of the female dh scene in NZ in general. Congratulations Kate.
  • 9 1
 Keegan on the Devinci Troy trail bike!
  • 3 1
 And Wyn on GT Force. Enduro is the new DH.
  • 7 1
 Are there any women that transition to men and compete against men and do well?
  • 4 0
 Why does PB not publish the official results? Hartenstern smoked, aside from the mighty bulldog, the rest of the podium...
  • 3 0
 That clip of the ride a long with Wyn really shows just how bad ass these riders are. That s$%t is smokin fast!...... And a little blind too.
Amazing.
  • 4 3
 Nice work kate and Brook!

Does anyone understand why only Brook's name is mentioned in the secondary title for this article?

"Final Results - New Zealand Downhill National Championships
Brook MacDonald takes the national title in Rotorua."

Via objective journalism, it should read "Brook MacDonald and Kate Weatherly take the national titles in Rotorua."
  • 5 0
 You're way over thinking this.
  • 1 0
 I think it's important that we recognize and respect the identity of transgender human beings in all aspects in life, however, there still lies a broader discussion that requires female input as to whether this has any negative influence to young women aspiring to be competitive mtb racers within their respective class. It's awesome to hear that the current pro class is welcoming her as female racer, however, I'm not so convinced that this won't discourage young female athletes from being motivated and driven if they fear that their is a biological disadvantage at play. I think there deserves to be further research and scientific study before this door opens completely.
  • 2 0
 of course the politically correct answer is what the other racers are going to say. Who would want to be pegged as the transgender hater if they spoke up about it? Canadian women's DH racing went through this many years ago and the answers were far different and all of the top female racers quite racing in protest. The answers might be different in a private conversation.
  • 1 0
 @d-man: Exactly. I think without conclusive scientific evidence in this new area of research, people are afraid to voice a concern in fear of being labeled as a hater
  • 3 0
 So Sam Blenkinsop did not compete or what ?
  • 3 0
 Must have been a registration mistake as he raced in the sport category as opposed to elite where he should have been.
  • 11 0
 @Naturel: blenki didn't enter on time so wasn't allowed to race in a UCI category as an elite so had to race open men
  • 2 0
 lets see Macdonald's go pro footy
  • 2 0
 Congratulations brook! Keep em comming.
  • 2 0
 Blenki stealing ideas from the U21 windrock enduro podium
  • 1 0
 Still sticking with black and white photo as thumbnail.
  • 1 0
 Standa Sehnal 2nd in sports category!
  • 1 0
 How did Bulldog win on a 27.5 ?????
I thought 20 Niners were faster LOL
  • 1 0
 Nice !
  • 4 7
 Dudes have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome. This can't be changed. Fact.
  • 3 1
 Kate has an X and Y
  • 1 3
 A woman on testosterone looks like a dude. Fact. A skinny guy in drag looks like a dame. Fact. This is not an intelligent argument. Fact.
  • 1 1
 @Wesleybikes: Stick a knob on XY and you've got an XX. Science.
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