Given their abundant talent, there’ll be keen interest in how Queenstown’s two young national downhill mountain biking champs perform on the World Cup circuit this year.
After three podiums last year and finishing seventh despite missing three races, Jess Blewitt, 20, leaves for France this coming Monday to prepare for her third season at the elite level.
Having also become the first female to ride the infamous Red Bull Hardline event in Wales last year, she’ll be returning there this year, and she’ll also compete in the world champs at Fort William, in Scotland, in early August.
Meanwhile, Toby Meek, 18, heads to Europe next month and takes the big step up to elite competition after enjoying success in the under-19 or junior ranks.
GT Continental Factory Racing team member Blewitt says despite coming back from her past two world cup seasons with injuries, ‘‘I still feel I’ve come back better’’.
She’d love more podiums this season, but doesn’t want to put pressure on herself — her world cups will be in Europe before finishing in the United States and Canada in October.
‘‘They say you don’t really peak until you’re 26, so I’ve still got a while.’’
But Toby’s mum, Queenstown Mountain Bike Club committee member Donna Meek, says Blewitt’s ‘‘definitely one of the rising stars of elite women’’.
‘‘I think she’s probably the danger person the senior girls that have been there for a long time will be watching closely.’’
For his part, Toby says he’s not putting pressure on himself to podium this year.
‘‘I don’t know if this will be my goal this year, I’ll probably just try and be pretty consistent.’’
He’ll be riding for the MS Mondraker team, whose owner, Austrian downhill speedster, Markus Stoeckl, stayed with his family when he visited Queenstown for the first time last month.
Toby says it was great to get some pointers from him on ‘‘just kind of what to aim for’’.
‘‘It’s all kind of taking those little steps, not jumping up too quick — that’s where most people get caught out when they hop to elite.’’
But he’s carrying red-hot form from this past NZ summer, including beating the world no.2 in Wānaka.
