The Australia-New Zealand MTBO Challenge will see keen competition between selected riders from Australia and New Zealand during the Australian MTBO Championships in Ballarat, VIC from 9-12 October.
New Zealand being the visiting country, has nominated W21, W40, W50, W60, M21, M40, M50, M60 and M70 as the classes to be contested.
Team Leader Duncan Sullivan will co-ordinate this year’s contingent of athletes through 4 race stages in and around Ballarat and Creswick.
The following riders have been selected for the Australian team:
| Class | Name |
|---|---|
| M21 | Joel Dodds |
| M21 | James Robertson |
| M21 | Ricky Thackray |
| M21 (Reserve) | Alex Randall |
| M40 | Gavin Bennette |
| M40 | Joel Young |
| M40 | Tom Lothian |
| M40 (Reserve) | Ori Gudes |
| M50 | Craig Steffens |
| M50 | Michael Ridley‑Smith |
| M50 | Andrew Harmer |
| M50 (Reserve) | Anthony Jones |
| M60 | Andrew Power |
| M60 | Duncan Sullivan |
| M60 | Robert Vincent |
| M60 (Reserve) | Bruce Paterson |
| M70 | Peter Cusworth (Not mass start) |
| M70 | Richard Robinson |
| M70 | Michael Schafer |
| M70 | David Firman (Mass start + reserve) |
| W21 | Maya Bennette |
| W21 | Marina Iskhakova |
| W21 | Ariadna Iskhakova |
| W21 (Reserve) | Cathy Hogg |
| W40 | Jayne Sales |
| W40 | Carolyn Jackson |
| W40 | Kate Gavens |
| W40 (Reserve) | Naomi Scouller |
| W50 | Tamsin Barnes |
| W50 | Lisa Dodds |
| W50 | Eva Kovacs |
| W50 (Reserve) | Thorlene Egerton |
| W60 | Carolyn Matthews |
| W60 | Monica Dickson |
| W60 | Helen Robinson |
| W60 (Reserve) | Janelle Schafer |
The times for the best two of the three selected riders from each country are totalled after each event to see which country won that class. The total class wins are scored over the championships program to find the winning country.
The ANZ MTBO Challenge rules can be found here.
After 13 challenges since 2003, New Zealand has 9 wins to Australia’s 4. Come on Aussies!
