
It was already one heck of a debut in the elite ranks of the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series for Samara Maxwell (Decathlon Ford) after she took the runner up spot at Saturday's short track race in the opening round in Brazil but then her opening volley in the cross-country Olympic round on Sunday turned out to be history making.
The 23-year-old crossed the finish line solo in Araxá in astonishment, as she became the first-ever elite women from New Zealand to claim an XCO World Cup, an achievement even more impressive given that she delivered at the first opportunity.