The 13th edition of Emerson’s Whaka100 Mountain Bike Marathon presented by CamelBak is taking place this weekend in Rotorua, New Zealand. With over 1400 people signed up for the race across all distances, it is shaping up to be the biggest one yet! The packed schedule of events serves up something for everyone, including the Rotorua Isuzu […]
The Pioneer Stage five – Final stage brings a few surprises
Tired legs roll out of Bannockburn This morning we got up before dawn and munched through breakfast in the dark. It’s always unbelievable to me that, given my usual appetite, when we get into the depths of a stage race I find myself completely without interest in food, so that eating is stripped of any […]
“That’s one of my hardest days on the bike” – midweek at The Pioneer
Related Event: The Pioneer
Today’s stage from Alexandra to Bannockburn looked a little innocuous on paper. 79km, with a couple of big climbs – but all farm track. That’s over 20km shorter than Stage 2, but similar climbing, but no singletrack – so it should be faster. And I think for many people, they probably liked it. And deep […]
Queenstown rocks The Pioneer’s first stage
Related Event: The Pioneer
Sure, we all raced a prologue yesterday. We did 20km, got a bit muddy and had some fun. And while it gave us our start position, and settled some nerves, it was but a drop in the ocean for what lay ahead. All that would start this morning. My pet hate at any stage race […]
Former All Black Carlos Spencer to tackle Whaka100
Former All Black Carlos Spencer will be racing in the Whaka100 MTB Marathon presented by CamelBak on October 21st in the Whakarewarewa Forest, Rotorua. The Rugby star has returned to New Zealand after living in South Africa and Japan in recent years. Although he has never been committed to mountain biking, he has committed to […]
Majestic Motatapu
There are some races in the world that become house-hold names by reputation – either for drawing amazing fields and deep racing, for promise of spectacular scenery through beautiful parts of the world, or for amazing adventure. TransAlp, BC Bike Race and the Cape Epic spring to mind. New Zealand’s equivalent is the Motatapu – […]
Muddy fun in the sun at the Mt Somers Classic
For all the slick and commercial events of the world, sometimes some of the best experiences are delivered by the small club-level races. The Mt Somers Classic is an excellent example – a fundraising race organised by the Mayfield Lions club that has run for 13 years and generated over $200,000 of reinvestment into the […]
Report: Imogen Smith at the 2018 Oceania Championships
I headed off to Oceania Champs on my own this year, a week after my 37th birthday. Last year was meant to be my last year racing XCO, but I had an accident and couldn’t, so this year I’m doing all the stuff I’d planned to before I hit the deck, making up for lost […]
The Pioneer 2018 course is revealed!
Related Event: The Pioneer
After postponing the 2018 Pioneer in May 2017, many feared the worst. Had a new, epic marathon stage race landed in the Oceania region to only run for 2 editions? Having raced both editions it was clear – they were hard. The climbing, the surface, the conditions – it was a true challenge to get […]
One of the Toughest, and one of the Best: The Whaka 100
It’s a typical Rotorua morning – there’s a cold drizzle and a slight wind, the forests are shrowded in deep mist, and the air is redolent of sulfurous fumes. On this particular morning, a couple of hundred riders are lined up at the Waipa mill in a colourful display that belies the monotonal grey skies. […]