Andrew Neethling, of the Republic of South Africa, on his way to taking second place in the Dirtmasters Downhill at Queenstown Bike Park on Sunday, part of the 2015 Queenstown Bike Festival.
Top seed Brendan Fairclough, of Great Britain, won the open men's race in 2 minutes 33.95 seconds, with Neethling coming in second, and Invercargill's Connor Harvey third.
Australian Max Warshawsky (17) won the under-19 men's section in 2min 39.36sec.
Fairclough, of London, was racing in Queenstown for the first time and described the course, designed by Jimmy Carling, of Queenstown Mountain Bike Club, as ''like a world cup track''.
''It was dusty, always changing, rough. Staying in one piece was the main thing and not flying off the track.''
Tracey Hannah, of Australia, won the open women's competition in 2min 56.10sec, 16 seconds ahead of Emilie Siegenthaler, of Switzerland, and Queenstown's Alanna Columb, New Zealand's current national downhill champion, who finished in third.
The festival will resume on April 4 with the Tour de Wakatipu, a family-friendly trail ride from Millbrook Resort to Chard Farm winery.
