Whakatane's Karen Hanlen secured a stunning 2nd place at the latest round of the BMC Racing Cup is Switzerland over the weekend. In difficult conditions on a drying but still challenging race course and against many of Europe's best athletes Hanlen put together a fantastic race, ultimately only two seconds from winning. Switzerland's Esther Suss prevailed in a sprint finish.

After the start, four women had formed the lead group by the end of the fourth of six laps. From there, Hanlen took command of the race at the front and quickly opened up a gap at the beginning of the penultimate lap, but this was soon closed down by Suss. “I told Karen it’s better if we work together,” Suss said. “Especially on the flat sections, where the track goes through the town of Solothurn.” During the last lap the duo distanced themselves from the rest of the field and headed toward the finish line locked closely together. However, Suss knew exactly where to attack with intimate knowledge of the Solothurn course having won here before, and passed Hanlen 300 meters before the finish to hold on for the win.

Hanlen is understandably very happy with this result: "Yeah, I'm so pleased, and a really nice confidence boost for next weekend - although I won't get complacent as it'll be all on!" The 'next weekend' is the third round of the UCI World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czechoslovakia, where Hanlen will again line up with Wellington's Rosara Joseph to continue the enthralling contest these two athletes are having on the world stage this year.

Other New Zealand athletes also competed at Solothurn, with Samara Sheppard (Wellington) 19th in the Elite Womens race. In the Elite Mens race, Rotoura's Dirk Peters was right back into the international racing groove with a very strong 24th at this third race of his 2012 European campaign. Sam Shaw, also from Rotorua didn't kick on as well, with a DNF in the tough conditions.

Brief Results, BMC Racing Cup, Solothurn

Elite Women
Esther Suss (SWI) 1:43:18 1st; Karen Hanlen (NZL) 1:43:20 2nd; Irena Kalentieva (RUS) 1:43:54 3rd; Samara Sgeppard (NZL) 1:53:48 19th.

Elite Men
Nino Schurter (SWI) 1:37:13 1st; Moritz Milatz (GER) 1:37:16 2nd; Christoph Sauser (SWI) 1:37:38 3rd; Dirk Peters (NZL) 1:44:47 24th
Full Results Elite Women
Full Results Elite Men

MULTISPORT
Multisport festival attracting athletes of all descriptions
Inspirational comebacks, elite stars, national champions, first-timers and fun-chasing families  - this year's Thermatech 3D Rotorua Multisport Festival has got it all.

Thursday, 23 May 2013

RUNNING
2013 Nauti Travel Huntly Half Marathon
The 2013 Nauti Travel Huntly Half Marathon is once again taking place this Sunday for the 33rd time in what has become a race rich in history and 2013 provides much the same.

Thursday, 23 May 2013

RUNNING
Christchurch Airport Marathon - Return of the Champions
A healthy handful of past winners will go head to head at next week’s Christchurch Airport Marathon event.

Thursday, 23 May 2013

RUNNING
20th birthday celebrations set for iconic Taupo event
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Wednesday, 22 May 2013

MOUNTAIN BIKING
Young North Canterbury rider top 10 in Mountain Bike World Cup
Young North Canterbury mountain biker Ben Oliver had an impressive start to his international career with a top-10 finish in the opening round of the UCI World Cup.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

CYCLING
Archbold scores first win for new pro team
BikeNZ Olympian Shane Archbold has taken no time to strike for his new professional team with victory in stage two of the An Post Ras Tour of Ireland today.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

TRIATHLON
Bozzone bounces back with race record win in Florida
The 2008 IRONMAN 70.3 World Champion Terenzo Bozzone has put his injury problems behind him with a comeback win in Florida today.

Monday, 20 May 2013

BMX
Walker excited as tickets go on sale for UCI BMX World Championships in Auckland
Fans will get their first chance to see the best BMX riders on the planet when Auckland hosts the 2013 UCI BMX World Championships on 24-28 July.

Monday, 20 May 2013

RUNNING
Camille Buscomb on track to qualify for 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
From Hamilton, Camille Buscomb is New Zealand’s leading female middle-distance athlete.

Monday, 13 May 2013

MOUNTAIN BIKING
Brook MacDonald 2013 The Search for Scree
New Zealand Downhill Mountain Bike Champion Brook MacDonald searches for some new and challenging scree.

Monday, 13 May 2013

TRIATHLON
Sisson looking for swim solutions to back his blistering run speed
Ryan Sissons knows what he is capable of and his 10km run split at the ITU World Triathlon Series race in Yokohama yesterday again hinted at it, but the 24 year old Aucklander is again cooling his heels after a less than satisfactory swim.

Monday, 13 May 2013

TRIATHLON
McIlroy holds on for top ten on a 'flat day' in Yokohama
Kate McIlroy made the most of a bad day at the office when finishing 9th at the latest round of the ITU World Triathlon Series in Yokohama today, a result that leaves the Wellington athlete 7th in the overall series standings after three races.

Sunday, 12 May 2013

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