At the Specialized K\u0101rearea Downhill, Australian rider Luke Meier-Smith claimed victory, but Canadian riders were among the best riders in the finals. Dane Jewett stormed onto the podium with a second place finish.<\/p>\n
The race dropped riders more than 300 vertical metres down Skyline Rotorua on a track that evolved dramatically over the week. Early rain left the course slick and unpredictable but by finals\u00a0 the dirt had transformed into an off camber, rough looking track overlooking Lake Rotorua.<\/p>\n
When everyone had dropped in, it was a young Australian and a Canadian challenger battling for the win.<\/p>\n
Jewett delivers<\/p>\n
Jewett entered the finals with momentum after qualifying second in his seeding run.<\/p>\n
The Canadian backed that performance up when it counted.<\/p>\n
Dropping into the course ahead of the final rider, Jewett laid down a 3:01.080, taking over the hot seat. His run was flawless, pedaling in the air and aggressive in all the right places. The Giant Factory Off-Road Team<\/a> set the run to beat.<\/p>\n His run ultimately stood up for second place, only falling to team mate Meier-Smith\u2019s winning time of 2:59.445.<\/p>\n