Finn’s up for Europe

PETER JONES

At this time of year, multi-talented athlete Finn McKenzie would usually be preparing for another rugby season. However, for the next two-and-a-halfmonths the Marlborough Boys’ College student’s focus will be fully concentrated on mountain biking. He has been given a rare opportunity to pit his expertise against some of the world’s leading under-19 MTB exponents, competing on the European World Cup circuit as part of a New Zealand Development team.

The Kiwi MTB Collective team comprises seven under-19 riders, three men and four women, plus eight under-23 racers, all competing in the cross-country discipline.

Finn departed NZ on March 15, initially competing in the Oceania champs in Brisbane where he finished 10th among the Under-19 division. In Europe he will race in four World Cup series events, those major competitions interspersed with other races which have fewer entrants and are worth less series points. His best result so far, amid some sizeable fields, has been a fourth placing in an under-19 marathon event in Croatia, his liking for the longer races no surprise given the fact he has trained hard all summer for the gruelling Speights Coast to Coast. The 16-year-old is “absolutely stoked” to get a chance to race in Europe.

“It has been a big goal of mine and I have been working towards it for many years,” he said. “I have been riding mountain bikes since I was five.”

Last year Finn won the national under-17 title, providing one of the highlights of his riding career so far.

“That was a big stepping stone for me and I knew from then on that this trip was something I wanted to focus on.”

Finn said the Kiwi team would be “constantly moving” through Europe.

“We train during the week then race on the weekend. Usually staying a week or 10 days in each country.

“We have travelled from Italy to Slovenia and are now in Croatia for the Croatia Cup next weekend. We then move to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic before returning to Slovenia for our last race.”

“This year is a chance for me to experience international racing … find out how it all works. Things like warming up properly, learning about strategies, nutrition and how to deal with racing among big fields, plus experiencing racing on harder tracks and in different weather conditions than we are used to in New Zealand.”

Although destined to miss a considerable chunk of study time, the year-12 student said MBC had been very helpful regarding his academic programme, allowing him “to shift a couple of assessments around”.

The second-season First XV loosie has also enjoyed some latitude from the Falcons’ coaching staff.

“I turned up to pre-season training and will only miss about three games of the team’s campaign, so last flight back from Europe I will be on the pies and ice cream to try and put on some beef before I get back into rugby,” he suggested.

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