Dunedin mountain bikers Erin Greene and Kath Kelly blew their big lead when they took a wrong turn on the fifth stage of the Alpine Epic yesterday.
The pair dominated the women's race from the start and held a substantial 28min lead after three days and increased it to 32min after the fourth stage on Thursday.
But they became over-confident on the fifth stage of the 245km journey from Mt Somers to Lake Tekapo yesterday afternoon and took a wrong turn that proved costly.
"We had our heads down and our tails up and missed the turn-off marker," Greene told the 'Otago Daily Times' from the Mackenzie Basin last night.
"We looked back and did not see anyone and realised we had made a mistake."
Greene and Kelly lost 20min and this reduced their overall lead to just 12min before today's 70km final leg from the Mackenzie Basin to Lake Tekapo.
Greene (27), who qualified for the world championships in Alberta when she won the New Zealand title in March last year, has recovered from a cracked pelvis and fractured hip that sidelined her for six months.
She is using the Alpine Epic to prepare for this year's world championships.
The Wanaka team of Jo Williams and Floortje Draisma has closed the gap and could upset the Dunedin combination.
In the men's event, Queenstown's Mark Williams and Dunedin's Tony Hogg hold a 50min lead over the Christchurch team of Ollie Whalley and Brent Miller and last year's winners, Kashi Leuchs and Marcus Roy.
