The hub for marathon mountain biking
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 […]
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. […]
To experience sublime natural beauty is to confront the total inadequacy of language to describe what you see. Words cannot convey the scale of a view that is so stunning it is felt. In such moments natural beauty becomes a kind of devastation – it is pure encounter, too compressed in time and space to […]
One of the events to make a big splash o the marathon stage race calendar in the past two years is The Pioneer. After two gruelling editions in 2016 and 2017, the 2018 dates were delayed, to make sure The Pioneer had the right mix of route and timing. And today, The Pioneer is back, […]
The Port Hills Classic was scheduled for March 2017 as a 30th anniversary of mountain bike racing on Christchurch’s Port Hills. Then, in February, this happened: Rescheduled to April, the event went charging ahead at the trails of Halswell Quarry. While the original Port Hills Classics had, in various forms, consisted of riding various forms […]
There’s no better way to finish a MTB race than soaking in a thermal hot tub. Well, possibly soaking in a thermal hot-tub with a rather nice frothy amber-coloured beverage in hand. And that’s part of the appeal of the Craters Classic. The Craters Classic – scheduled for 11th June 2017 – has just opened another […]
It has now been a month since the now well known stage race, The Pioneer, has been run and won. I thought with the exhaustion and pain of the event now settled, it would be a good time to reflect on what I really experienced and witnessed during one of the most gruelling events I […]
Over 3,500 competitors were treated to a perfect Queenstown Lakes District day for the 13th hosting of the Macpac Motatapu, New Zealand’ s iconic one day multi-sport race with walkers, runners, triathletes and mountain bikers competing in a variety of races from the 15km Miners Trail, to the 51km Ultra-Run. In the feature SKODA Mountain […]
Day 6 of The Pioneer gave rider’s a welcome shorter stage of 64km today. However, initial excitement of a significantly shorter day in the saddle was quickly put to rest with a look over the course profile. The stage beckoned 64km of pretty much entirely uphill riding to the XC ski village of ‘Snow farm’. […]
After a scorching day 2 with many riders experiencing sunburn and heat exhaustion, in typical New Zealand style the weather for day 3 took a severe turn for the worse. With wind chill temperatures of well below zero and gale force winds expected on the planned route the organisers took the very smart decision to […]
