Norba Series number 5 Barry Wicks could have spent the first weekend of spring helping Big Foot find food in Oregon. Instead the Kona star opted to head down under for some quality build up. Although the American wasn't eligible for the overall Oceania Championships; he was simply looking for some hard rides.
  
  Barry ended up winning the short track and placing 4th in the cross-country.
  
  Here's some info on who is hot down under from bikenz.org.nz:
  
  New Zealand mountain bikers face a super strong challenge from across the Tasman in the UCI Oceania Mountain Bike Championships in Nelson starting on Thursday. The Australians have sent a powerful contingent to contest the four day event which begins with a hillclimb and dual slalom on day one, cross-country and 4X the second--all at Branford Park--and the downhill finale at nearby Kaka Hill.
  
  Beijing Olympic hopefuls Chris Jongewaard and Sid Taberlay lead the Australian cross-country team after finishing first and second in their national championship. Jongewaard, a member of the international Dolphin professional team, will defend the Oceania title he won last year although he has been mixing his time with a highly promising move to road cycling. He placed seventh in the Australian Time Trial Championships recently.
  
  Taberlay is a multi Australian champion who finished 23rd at the Athens Olympics and sixth in the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
  
  New Zealand, without leading rider Kashi Leuchs who is racing in Europe, will look to the likes of National Champion Stuart Houltham (Lower Hutt) to lead the way along with Commonwealth Games representative Mike Northcott (Mangakino).
  
  It will be as tough in the women's ranks with the top six Australians from their national championships all competing, including Cross-Country Champion Dellys Starr (Victoria), favored to win an Olympic berth, with New Zealand led by Kaytee Boyd (Auckland) who rode impressively in the recent women's road tour.
  
  New Zealand can expect a strong showing in the downhill events led by multi national champion Nathan Rankin (Levin), 2007 New Zealand Champion Kieran Bennett (Nelson) and world top 20 ranked Justin Leov (Christchurch).
  
  Current National Champion Sheryl MacLeod (Dunedin) and former World Junior Champion Scarlett Hagen (Queenstown) lead the charge in the women's downhill.
  
  Leov, who rides the Yeti-Fox professional team, will be chasing success in the 4-Cross with the women's favorite, three-time Australian Champion Caroline Buchanan.
  
  The Oceania Championships also provides as a trial for the New Zealanders to qualify for June's World Championships in Italy.
  
  SHORT TRACK RESULTS
1. BARRY WICKS
2. Daniel McConnell (Aus)
3. Marcus Roy (NZL)
WOMEN
1. Dellys Starr (Aus)
2. Rowena Fry (Aus)
3. Monique Avery (NZl)
  
  CROSS-COUNTRY RESULTS
1. Chris Jongewaard (Aus)...2:00:19
2. Sid Taberlay (Aus)...2:01:37
3. Daniel Mcconnell (Aus)...2:04:11
4. BARRY WICKS...2:05:28
5. Perren Delacour (Aus)...2:08:08
WOMEN
1. Dellys Starr (Aus)...1:37:43
2. Kaytee Boyd (NZl)...1:41:09
3. Rowena Fry (Aus)...1:41:38
4. Emma Colson (Aus)...1:42:38
5. Annika Smail (NZl)...1:43:52
  
  DOWNHILL RESULTS
1. Kieran Bennett (NZl)...2.57.06
2. Justin Leov (NZl)...2.57.20
3. Nathan Rankin (NZl)...2.57.48
WOMEN
1. Tracy Moseley (GBr)...3.32.48
2. Scarlett Hagen (NZl)...3.36.30
3. Harriet Harper (NZl)...3.55.42
  
  DUAL SLALOM RESULTS
1. Edward Masters (NZl)
2. Tim Eaton (Aus)
3. Wyn Masters (NZl)
4. Michael Davis (NZl)
5. Justin Leov (NZl)
WOMEN
1. Caroline Buchanan (NZl)
2. Tracy Moseley (GBr)
3. Harriet Harper (NZl)
4. Amy Laird (NZl)
5. Tania Carson (NZl)
  
  HILLCLIMB RESULTS
1. Gavin McCarthy (NZl)...5:50
2. Ben Mather (Aus)...5:54
3. Tony Hogg (NZl)...6:02
WOMEN
1. Brenda Clapp (NZl)...7:43
2. Cathy Hamer (NZl)...8:00
3. Erin Greene (NZl)...8:21.