Blewitt (20) finished fourth in the elite women’s downhill at the Andorra round of the UCI world cup yesterday.
Reaching speeds of 51kmh-plus in the Pyrenees mountains, she moved to 11th in the overall standings, having competed in just two of the six world cup events this year.
It continues Blewitt’s heart-warming comeback from the serious injury she suffered on the circuit last year.
She crashed in the final world cup race in Snowshoe, suffering a broken femur and clavicle.
Long identified as one of the great hopes of New Zealand mountain biking, Blewitt is on the books of the elite GT Factory Racing team in Europe.
Another Queenstown-based rider, two-time national champion George Brannigan, also impressed in Andorra.
Brannigan (NS Bikes UR) finished 16th in the elite men’s downhill, ahead of fellow New Zealanders Ed Masters (41st), Brook MacDonald (44th), Sam Blenkinsop (45th) and Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (53th).
Jenna Hastings (Rotorua) was third in the under-23 women’s downhill.
In cross-country, New Zealand star Sam Gaze was 13th in the elite men’s race, and Sammie Maxwell 12th in the under-23 women’s event.
However, there was concern for Gaze’s Commonwealth Games team-mate, Anton Cooper.
He was in the top 10 when he fell on a rock section mid-race and was forced to withdraw.
Cooper has damaged his wrist and will anxiously await further medical tests to determine the extent of the injury, three weeks out from the race in Birmingham.
The third member of the Games cross-country team, Ben Oliver, finished 32nd.
The world cup moves across the Atlantic with rounds in the US and Canada.
