21/03/2026
Lucky 11 for Cooper and Sheppard back home for National MTB championships…
Memories of the Cycling New Zealand Nats in March, 2005 and the Oceanias in March, 2006 - both rehearsals for the 2006 UCI Mountain Bike + UCI Trials Worlds in August.
Also hosted by our Rotorua Mountain Bike Club in Rotorua NZ...
Anton Cooper + Samara Sheppard 💛
Two 30-something mountain bike legends showed that class is permanent as they dominated the National Cross-country Championships in Rotorua today.
Christchurch professional Anton Cooper, 31, claimed his 11th Elite Men's National XCO honours while Australian-based Kiwi, Samara Sheppard dominated the Elite Women at the sport’s spiritual home in the Titokorangi/Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest on the Rotorua Trails Trust network.
It’s the fourth time that Anton has claimed the title in Rotorua and the second time for Samara, 35, who was based in the city for several years before transitioning to international marathon and gravel racing.
Anton has won his 11 Elite titles over 14 years and is showing no signs of slowing up, as he is set to join a high-profile new professional team, Lapierre PXP Racing.
Samara is a three-time National XCO champion and to the fore in distance and gravel racing in recent times, but was tempted back after joining the Oceania Cycling Confederation board and racing their championships in Australia recently.
In the Elite Men’s race, Anton moved into the lead on lap three after a challenging pre-race, but from there was never threatened, going on to win in 1:30.55, to be 1:24 clear of 2023 national champion Matthew Wilson from the Te Miro club.
Hamilton MTB’s Fletcher Adams finished 3:03 behind the winner in third, to claim the under-23 honours.
Anton called on all his experience after a puncture in his warm-up some distance away from the start.
“I got a nail through my tyre 15 minutes from the start and quite a wee way from home so had to call for someone to grab me. I changed the wheel just before the start so didn’t have much warm-up.
“You get thrown these things. I managed to be calm which I guess is experience. I used the first lap or two as my warm-up and eased into things.
“Matt (Wilson) was strong on the first couple of laps. I knew he would be. I wanted to go on the third lap in the second half of the course where I thought I was a bit stronger.
“He clipped his pedal which opened a small gap and I got on the front and sent it up the climb and was able to get away. From there, I was smooth and consistent and focussed on not throwing it away.
“It was a challenging start to the day, but in the end, I was happy with how I rode. You need to show some calmness when things don’t go to plan.”
Anton is excited to join his new French-based team for the world series this year.
“New team, new bike. I feel good. Each year I feel a bit further away from the lllness troubles and I feel consistent with my health now. With that you can build form. It feels promising and I am looking forward to getting back to race the world cups.”
Earlier Samara led from the front, opening a 10-second margin on former winner Mary Gray and the experienced Ruby Ryan on the opening lap of five but gradually build on that lead.
She grew her advantage with an impressive ride up the climbs, going on to win in 1:31.38 with 2m40s back to Christchurch’s Maria Laurie and 3m14s to Rotorua’s Milla Phipps, both under-23 category riders.
“I got back into the XC ring when I did Oceania two weeks ago. I was there as I have joined the Oceania Board. I thought I miss this sport; it is actually quite fun. So I decided to come home to do nationals and it is really cool to come full circle.
“It’s been great catching up with the cross-country community here because a lot of people come back to Rotorua for this race. I’ve caught up with old friends as I lived here for five years.
“I had a couple of days to dial-in the track and go out there with a game-plan and execute a good race was really satisfying. I was consistent throughout the whole course, climbing well and able to put the power down and ride smoothly and cleanly.”
Results:
Female: Elite/U23 Female: Samara Sheppard (PNP) 1:31.38, 1; Maria Laurie (Christchurch Single Track) at 2:40, 2; Milla Phipps (Rotorua Mountain Bike Club) at 3:14, 3.
U19: Kayley McMillan (Te Miro) 1:14.10, 1; Millie Junge (Chch Single Track) at 4:30, 2; Dolcie Copeland, Tauranga at 7:12, 3.
U17: Abigail Junge (Chch Single Track) 59:38, 1; Astyn Nasmith (Auckland MTB) at 7s, 2; Kaylan Nasmith (Auckland MTB) at 13s, 3.
U15: Lola Bradley (Taupo Mountain Bike Club) 1:11.35, 1; Amelia Twiss (Mtb Tauranga) at 41s, 2; Millie Coull-Roberts (Rotorua MTB) at 5:03, 3.
Male:
Elite/U123: Anton Cooper (Lapierre Racing, Christchurch) 1:30.55, 1; Matthew Wilson (Te Miro MTB) at 1:24, 2; Fletcher Adams (Hamilton MTB) at 3:-3, 3; Eddie Adams (Chch Single Track) at 3:32, 4; Sam Shaw (Rotorua Mountain Bike Club) at 3:47, 5.
U19: Max Bagley (Queenstown MTB) Harley Bell (Te Miro mtb) Liam Brown (PNP)
U17: Wilbur Talbot (Christchurch) 1:09.00, 1; Ethan Rawson (Auckland MTB) at 3s, 2; Junsei Shirley (MTB Tauranga) at 22s, 3.
U15: George Fisher (Taupo Mountain Bike Club) 55:37, 1; George Armstrong (Chch Single Track) at 1:38, 2; George Newman (Taupo MTB) at 2:01, 3.
