Whistler's Finn Iles got his downhill season off to an outstanding start at Crankworx Rotorua on Friday.
Iles earned a second-place finish in the Crankworx Rotorua Downhill's pro elite division, finishing just 0.09 seconds back of winner Brook MacDonald of New Zealand. Another Kiwi, George Brannigan, placed third.
"I'm pretty happy. First race of the year is always a bit nerve-wracking, but last year I got third here and this year I got second, in completely different conditions. It was a close race. I made one kind of stupid mistake, but other than that it was a really good run and I'm happy to come out in second," Iles said in a release.
On the women's side, Australian Tracey Hannah cruised to a win by nearly five seconds over New Zealand's Kate Weatherley while defending champion TahnŽe Seagrave of Great Britain was third. Whistler's Georgia Astle was near the middle of the pack in ninth.
Full results from this and other Crankworx Rotorua events are online at www.crankworx.com.
