Dunedin's Justin Loev runs hot at Super D
Story by: shuttersport - Photo by: Evan Barnes / Shuttersport
Dunedin's Justin Loev sees off local downhiller Kieran Bennett in the Super D, the opening event of this year's Rabodirect MTB National Championships.
Friday nights Super D was the first time this event has been held at a national level and was a great success, with a broad range of entrants including World Cup top ten athletes, former World Championship medalists, local trail chargers and international dark horses all being part of this inaugural event. Best described as a mongrel mix of the best components of downhill and cross country race courses, the Super D is a downhill endurance event, designed to bring cross country and downhill racers onto an even footing. Justin Leov (Dunedin) had the pace right through the evening, and demolished the field with a blistering run of 7 minutes 15 seconds. No-one got close, with the gap back to second place Kieran Bennett (Nelson) 13 seconds. Leov was absolutely complementary of this style of racing "this suits my strengths, and I think is more enjoyable for me than downhill racing. I look forward to seeing more of these types of events offerred". Women's winner Harriet Harper (Nelson) also put daylight between herself and the rest of the women's field. Harper is racing with solid form despite having training and racing time minimised with work committments, but blitzed to a time that placed her 21st overall in the 48 strong mens and womens entry list.