MTB

Gaze ready for mountain bike showdown with Kiwi world champion

By Sports Media NZ

Rio Olympic mountain bike hopeful Sam Gaze is hoping his brutally hard work in the off-season will pay dividends against junior world champion Anton Cooper in the Altherm Window Systems New Zealand Championships at the Cardrona Bike Park near Wanaka over the weekend.

Gaze, 20 and Cooper, 21 are hot favourites for the overall honours in the men’s cross-country battle at Cardrona but the bigger picture is selection for the Rio Olympics, with New Zealand currently qualifying one place for men.

The national championships and next weekend’s Oceania Championships in Queenstown will be included in consideration for selection, along with upcoming UCI World Cup races in Cairns and Germany.

Gaze, who rides for the European-based Specialized team, won the national title over Cooper in 2014 with those results reversed last year. The pair then battled prominently throughout the UCI World Cup competition in the elite under-23 class.

Cooper, who rides for the Cannondale Factory team, built his year with four top-10 finishes and seventh overall leading to his brilliant victory at the world championships.

Gaze had three top-10s, finished 10^th overall and fourth in the world championships, along with runner-up in the elite eliminator event.

The Cambridge rider says he is in the best shape of his young career after a five-week training camp in South Africa under coach Christoph Sauser, a former Olympic medallist.

“It’s the hardest I have ever trained. We focussed on training my weaknesses which is my climbing ability and my power to weight,” said Gaze who has stripped back to 79kgs on his lanky 1.89m frame.

“We worked so hard and I am producing numbers like I never have before for this time of the year.”


Sam Gaze in action. Photo © Fotoengineers

Gaze also won stages in a prominent stage road race and a round of the South African mountain bike series, which provided Olympic qualifying points.

He is excited about the upcoming clash with Cooper, with their rivalry a key factor in his improvement.
“We both push eachother. It’s great that we are both young riders from New Zealand who are so well matched at the top of our sport.

“I wouldn’t have pushed myself so hard in training otherwise. The rivalry is fantastic for both of us and hopefully also for the sport in New Zealand.

“I totally expect that Anton has been training every bit as hard as me. I want us both to bring our A games to the race and just both go for it. It should be fantastic for the fans and us.”

He is targeting the two upcoming races in Wanaka and Queenstown before setting his sights on the opening rounds of the UCI World Cup in Cairns and Germany, where Gaze will remain in the elite under-23 category while Cooper moves to elite.

“Anton is a year older than me and he already has the rainbow stripes. I’ve only just turned 20 and I have my own world championship aspirations in under-23.”

Gaze has his season mapped out, giving the selection events early season priority.

“If I get the nod for Rio then I have time after Germany to reset preparations. If not then my focus shifts completely to the world championships.”

He likes his first look at the revamped Cardrona Bike Park course with the 4km loop at altitude offering shorter punchy climbs and technical descents.

Queenstown’s Kate Fluker will be the hot favourite in the elite women with interest in the return to top level competition of Wellington’s Samara Sheppard, a former under-23 World Cup winner, and rising star Amber Johnston from Rotorua.

The elite, under-23 and under-19 categories are scheduled for Saturday at 1.30pm with the U15, U17, Senior, Masters from 10am.

Sunday belongs to the gravity riders down a spectacular course at Cardrona, with many coming off the back of last weekend’s Crankworx in Rotorua.

Practice for all classes is from 8am, with timed seeding run from 11am and racing from 1pm.

The downside may be adverse weather that is forecast for later today and Saturday, with organisers looking at all their options including a potential to defer cross-country racing until Sunday alongside the downhill competition.

Details: www.mtbnationals.co.nz