March 1, 2005 – In preparation for next year’s World Championship event, New Zealand held it’s National Championship weekend of events on the “World’s” courses in and around Rotorua. Team Maxxis gravity stud, John Kirkcaldie started off the season on the right footing showing that the nail pounding and winter construction work had paid off.

By virtue of his locale to the race site — Kirkcaldie was able to practice extensively on the downhill course, a fact that figured heavily in the final podium timing differentials. As defending champ, the muscular Kiwi was the final man down the mountain. At the intermediate split it was evident that he was on race winning form. Nearing the bottom of the course and hitting the final corners, the Maxxis rider was out of the saddle and pressing his advantage and testing his early season fitness. At the line it was Kirkcaldie taking yet another New Zealand National Downhill Championship by a solid margin of 4 and a half seconds.

After a few hours of rest and some practice runs, the newly crowned DH champ lined up the gates of the Four-Cross event. This short, fast and tactical event pits four riders against each other on a tight and twisty track with lots of jumps, berms and whoops. Kirkcaldie flowed through the early brackets, dispatching his competitors with relative ease. At some point in the event, a broken frame required a bike change to his trusty (but heavy, longer travel and slack angled) Turner DHR bike. Hitting the semi-finals and then the final brackets, Kirkcaldie was at a distinct disadvantage mechanically but was able to dominate both races on sheer muscle power alone. In the final, Team Maxxis garnered it’s second National Championship of the day by a mere tires width, just enough at the line.

Not content to sit around and watch, not content with “only” two national titles, Kirkcaldie grabbed his cross-country bike and entered into Sunday’s Pro XC title race. The 6 kilometer course featured a brutally steep and extended climb mated to technical singletrack and a tricky decent, just the ticket for a crossover rogue downhiller. The Kiwi suffered up the climb on each successive lap, maintaining his position in the lead group of twenty. As the course elevation declined, the superior technical skills of the gravity champ charged the Maxxis rider to the front. At the finishing line, Kirkcaldie finished an amazing 13th place.

Results Downhill
1. John Kirkcaldie — Team Maxxis
2. Des Coury
3. Nathan Rankin

Results Four-Cross
1. John Kirkcaldie — Team Maxxis
2. Cameron Cole
3. Wyn Masters

Results Cross Country
1. Michael Northcott
2. Marcus Roy
3. Stuart Holtham
13. John Kirkcaldie — Team Maxxis