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Martha Hucker interviews Harriet Ruecknagel

Our last rider profile from the NZ National season is of German rider Harriet Ruecknagel. The 20 year old Deutschland Number 2 arrived in NZ in October and is leaving in April, and she certainly made the most of her stay in NZ. She’s been racing downhill for four years and previously concentrated on 4x and Dual Slalom before deciding to focus on honing her skills on the big bike.

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Harriet Ruecknagel, Nelson 2009.
Photo: Rita Langley

Harriet has traveled both islands of New Zealand this summer with three other friends from home, including two guys who also raced Nationals. They managed to squeeze all their bikes, gear, and even beds into one big van and a small trailer. Impressive! On why she chose to spend her winter here, Harriet says “I chose New Zealand over Australia because of Australia’s animals. I don’t like them!” The four friends worked during their stay here, easily finding agricultural jobs picking fruit and vegetables including kiwifruit and kumara – now that’s a ‘real’ New Zealand experience!

Harriet’s riding improved noticably during her Southern summer, and by the later part of the season ‘German Harriet’ was giving ‘Kiwi Harriet’ (NZ Champ Harriet Harper) a good battle for placings, and even beat her to win the Coronet Peak round of Nationals. She had spent a fair bit of time in Queenstown during her stay and enjoyed the fast, open riding at the Peak: “Coronet Peak was my favorite track. But Nelson was good too, even in the wet!”

Harriet’s bike is a custom German-made frame supplied by Mig Cycles, and she rides for the Zonenschein team. Her goals for 2009: “To have fun! And to be the German Champ this year, that would be cool.” She’s not planning on heading to World Champs in Australia, but watch out for Harriet Rücknagel on the results of this season European Cup and World Cup events.