Taranaki riders will be hoping that a little local knowledge can assist their title ambitions this weekend.

The second round of four in this season’s KTM-sponsored New Zealand Cross-country Championships is set for rugged Taranaki farmland at Purangi, near Inglewood, this Saturday.

It is a venue never before used for a national championship event and so, for most of the competitors, it presents a fresh and exciting challenge.

Mokau’s defending national cross-country champion Adrian Smith (Yamaha) was stunned by Raglan teenager Jason Dickey (Kawasaki) at the opening round in Southland last month and he’ll be looking for revenge on Saturday, particularly racing in front of his home supporters.

Dickey was national No.4 last year but he has made it quite clear that he covets the No.1 spot as he raced to a convincing win at February’s first round near Te Anau.

“At least I put some points on the board at round one, but I reckon this title defence is going to be very tough indeed,” conceded the 27-year-old Smith.

Teenager Dickey (Kawasaki) beat Smith to the finish line at Te Anau by nearly five minutes, with Te Awamutu’s Mark Penny (Suzuki) taking third spot overall.

Other riders likely to be in contention include three-time former New Zealand cross-country champion Adam Reeves (Yamaha), of Palmerston North, Maruia’s Ethan Bruce (Yamaha), Auckland’s Callan May (Yamaha) and Raglan’s Matthew Quirke (KTM).

Local riders to watch for include New Plymouth men Greg Ngeru (KTM) (pictured here) and Dougy Herbert (Husaberg), Hawera’s Daryl Hurley (Suzuki), Stratford’s Karl Roberts (Yamaha) and Waitara’s Taylor Shaw (Honda).

Meanwhile, in the junior grade, it will be worth looking out for round one winner Taylor Rae, of Cambridge, to try to repeat his winning performance on Saturday.

The racing on Saturday doubles also as the third and final round of the Energy Honda-sponsored Taranaki Cross-country Championships.

Smith is in prime position to wrap up that title after scoring podiums at both the earlier rounds.

“It will be nice to win that series and put my national title defence back on track at the same time,” said Smith.

The four-round national championships continue with round three near in Christchurch on April 21, before it finally wraps up in Hawke’s Bay on May 18.

The venue for this Saturday is 3403 Tarata Rd, Purangi. It will be sign-posted from Inglewood.

The 90-minute junior race is set to kick off at 9.30am, with the three-hour senior race to start at about 11.30am.

© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com