Youngster a threat to event's top riders

Fifteen-year-old Anton Cooper from Christchurch takes his mountainbike and an amazing set of legs and lungs to Wanaka today with the express intention of challenging the kings of the Motatapu mountainbike event.

Kashi Leuchs and Marcus Roy are lining up to renew their course rivalry with three-times winner and course record-holder Roy keen to regain his title and push Olympic representative and last year's race winner Leuchs from the podium.

The dynamic duo of Roy and Leuchs, undoubtedly two of this country's finest cross-country bikers, may yet have their party ruined by Cooper.

Cooper is a young man in a hurry and has been identified by Cycling NZ as an outstanding talent. He is good enough to win his under-17 age-group at the national mountain bike championships in Wellington last month by six minutes and with an average lap time faster than any rider, including the open elite.

Earlier this year he crossed the ditch and comfortably won the Australian under-17 year national cross-country championship and last week took fourth place overall at the legendary Karapoti race in Wellington.

At just 154cm tall and 47kg, Cooper still has potential to develop and it is no surprise he has been recently accepted into the NZ Academy of Sport programme in Christchurch.

In the meantime there is some racing to do with the recent Karapoti result suggesting he will be nicely sharp for Motatapu.

"I'm really looking forward to my first Motatapu," he said.

"Riding in that sort of country is a big attraction and the cross-country course really makes you show your true colours – both fitness and technical skills are important. I also really enjoy the camaraderie of the top riders, it helps to drive my performance level competing with them."

Maybe it will be more a case of Cooper driving the performance of his peers.

He has already finished ahead of his two Motatapu rivals, Roy and Leuchs, at the Otago Peninsula Challenge, earlier this year.

The Motatapu, a combined 50km mountainbike and marathon run event between Wanaka and Arrowtown, has a field of 2000 cyclists and nearly 800 runners from throughout New Zealand lining up to take part.

Another 500 runners are participating in two events staged for the first time this year – the extreme Teams Adventure Run and the 15km Miners Trail.

- © Fairfax NZ News