Karapoti Classic

Local Finally Cracks Karapoti

Michael Jacques / 03.03.2013

An Upper Hutt GP became the first local to win New Zealand’s premier mountain race when Kim Hurst took a surprise win ahead of London Olympian Karen Hanlen at the Merida Karapoti Classic.

Established in 1986, the Merida Karapoti Classic is the longest running mountain bike race in the Southern Hemisphere. Based in Upper Hutt’s rugged Akatarawa Ranges near Wellington, this annual gathering has become the cultural hub of New Zealand mountain biking. American cycling magazine, Velo News, once ranked Karapoti among the top 25 mountain bike races in the world and every year the event attracts more international entrants than any other mountain bike race in New Zealand.

This year some 800 riders from 10 countries and all ends of New Zealand lined up, but the highlight came from Upper Hutt’s adopted doctor, Kim Hurst.

Hurst, originally from Wales, had been second for the past two years at Karapoti. But facing London Olympian, Karen Hanlen, Hurst was very much the underdog for her third Karapoti. Word around mountain biking circles said Hurst was in her best ever form, but Hanlen has been New Zealand’s form female in recent years and was fresh off winning the national title in Rotorua during February.

Hurst, however, declared her intentions from the start, sprinting into the lead in Karapoti’s famous LeMans style start across the Akatarawa River and then leading into Karapoti Gorge.

Hanlen stayed close, with national reps Samara Sheppard (Wgtn), Sasha Smith and Megan Dimozantos (Roto) also in cloe attendance. But Hurst pulled away on the first big climb up Deadwood Ridge and by halfway, at the top of the greulling 3k bike carry up Devil’s Staircase, she had almost three minutes in hand.

Hanlen is renown as one of the strongest finishers in the sport and true to form, started closing on the final climb of the race up the 5k long Pram Track. But Hurst managed to find some legs for the final flat 7k back through Karapoti Gorge and held on to claim the covetted Karapoti title by 74 seconds in 2hrs 50min 31secs.

Behind Hanlen Samara Sheppard claimed third on bike borrowed from Hurst in 3hrs 50secs, exactly four minutes ahead of Sasha Smith and then ultra-distance specialist Megan Dimozantos.

“That was amazing,” beamed Hurst at the finish line. “I wasn’t really trying to break away,” she said of her race tactics. “I was just riding as hard as I could and ended up leading.”

“But I knew Karen is always so strong in the second half of a race, so I was spent the rest of the day just riding scared expecting her to come past at any minute.

Indeed, Hurst spent the entire race on the edge. She crashed twice, the first time on the notorious Rock Garden, hitting her knee so hard she wondered if she would be able to mannage the following 3k of bike carry up Devil’s Staircase.