Sammie Maxwell crossing the line in round two of the UCI mountainbike world series in Araxa, Brazil. Photo: Noam Meresse
New Zealand rider Sammie Maxwell has cemented her place at the top of the Mountain Bike World Series rankings, with a second placing in the cross-country second round event in Araxa, Brazil.
Following a podium finish in the short-track race on Saturday, Maxwell opened a lead of more than 100 points at the top of the world standings.
Her second placing on Sunday came at the same course where she won the World Series cross country gold a week earlier, but riders completed it in the opposite direction.
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.
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," Maxwell said.
"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.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
