New Zealand cross-country mountain bike champion Anton Cooper made a superb return to UCI World Cup racing with sixth place in the opening round in Germany. Cooper fell behind the lead pack on the opening two laps before pushing up to join the front group in an impressive performance. He was in fifth place with the front group until the leaders piled on the pressure over the final two laps. He finished only seven seconds behind third place after Frenchman Victor Koretzky out-sprinted Olympic champion Nino Schurter for the win. Next week’s second round of the World Cup series will be in Nove Mesto na Morave in the Czech Republic.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 10, 2021 16:30 UTC