Maxwell claims another medal in Brazil
- Dave Worsley
- Apr 13
- 2 min read
Kiwi rider Sammie Maxwell has taken over the top of the Mountain Bike World Series rankings, after a second placing in the cross-country second round event in Araxa, Brazil.
Her second placing on Sunday came at the same course where she won the World Series cross country gold a week earlier, but on this occasion riders completed it in the opposite direction.
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Maxwell was in the lead pack throughout behind Sweden's Jenny Rissveds, who dominated from the front to claim her fourth career World Series victory however she was forced to unclip and make up a lot of time.
With a tough battle behind in hot, humid and rugged conditions, Maxwell produced a superb final lap, the fastest in the race, to push more than 50m clear of Great Britain's Evie Richards to secure second place, 28 seconds behind Rissveds.
"It has been a tough week backing up at the start of my first season in elite racing and in tough conditions here in Brazil so I took my preparations very quietly," said Maxwell.
"So to get this result means so much because. I am really proud of how I raced - really cool, calm and very mature.
"Reversing the course was interesting. Last week's course suited me better, but I was able to find my flow and trust myself on the downhills to close the gaps."
New Zealand's Anton Cooper was 40th in the men's race, more than five minutes behind American winner and series leader Christopher Blevins.