Maddy Sinclair raced in the Cycling NZ National Mountain Bike Championships at Coronet Peak in Queenstown last weekend.

Maddy raced in the XC (Cross Country) race on Saturday and the DH (Downhill) on Sunday. This in itself is an achievement as the bikes and riding style are really like two completely different sports and Maddy is one of a few competitors that races in both races at this level.

In the XC Maddy got off to a good start just in behind the eventual winner, who is a German factory sponsored rider who is in NZ on an exchange. Despite strong lap times, Maddy could not make up ground but still came in an outstanding 2nd place in the Woman's Sport category.

A downpour on Saturday afternoon made DH practice nearly impossible but thankfully Sunday dawned fine and warm. After three good practice laps, Maddy put down a heater in her seeding run to top the times by over 30 seconds. This allowed a strategic race run with no risks. And it paid off as Maddy become National Woman's Sport Downhill Champion for 2024.

An outstanding achievement