T he four-round 2021 Yamaha-sponsored New Zealand Crosscountry Championships kicked off near Marton in late February ago and on that occasion it was Napierbased former Wairoa rider Tommy Watts who stole the spotlight , with Palmerston North ’ s Paul Whibley in his shadow , finishing runner-up in the three-hour senior race that day . But wind forward to round two near Dannevirke two weeks later and the roles were reversed , Whibley on the top step of the podium and Watts standing in his shade in the No . 2 position . That means that , with the series now at the halfway stage , Whibley and Watts have an equal share of the points lead and it ’ s now all to play for as the riders now head across Cook Strait for back-to-back rounds in the South Island in April . It could so easily have been a different story , though , with the man who finished third in Marton – Napier-based former Wairoa man Reece Lister – the early leader at Dannevirke and looking comfortable as he charged off into the distance and built a healthy advantage .