Junior downhill sensation Sam Blenkinsop of Wanganui, New Zealand, has recently
signed a multi-year management deal with 23 Degrees Sports Management.
Blenkinsop, who turns 18 later this month and will race his first season as an
elite rider in 2007, had a great season in 2006 impressing many people on the
international race scene.
However, it was back in 2005 at the World Championships in Italy, when some key
people spotted his skill and riding style on the challenging Livigno course,
that his name first started to pop up on team radars. Despite his age and lack
of international experience, his solid top ten result proved there was
potentially a lot more to come. The Gravity Group based in Austria signed Sam
for the 2006 race season and he attended a number of World Cup events, with his
best result being a 12th in Schladming, Austria, against the World's very best
elite riders, and subsequently finishing 2nd overall in the World Cup Junior
category.
Prior to that however, it was his exploits on home soil that really had people
talking. Early in 2006 he won silver in the Oceania Championships, then took
the scalp of two time World Champion, Fabien Barel, in a National Series event.
Later in the year as one of the favourites for the Junior World Championship
Sam finished 2nd to compatriot Cameron Cole, just 1.1 seconds off the win
despite a major crash early in his race.
Date:
17/10/2006