The hub for marathon mountain biking
Day 1 of the 2017 Pioneer stage race in New Zealand began in the newly built Christchurch Adventure Park this morning with a 21km time trial. For some teams this was their first meeting for others it was time to hone those tactics they have been discussing for months of preparation. The weather was perfect […]
A couple of weeks ago I covered what you need to take as essentials for The Pioneer – things you’ll have on hand each day on the bike, either as mandatory equipment, or items that will help get you to the end of the race if things go pear shaped. But The Pioneer is a […]
The inaugural running of The Pioneer in 2016 was a fantastic, sunny week in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Tracing and then traversing the mountain chain from Christchurch down to Queenstown, the early adopters this year were treated to a warm welcome to the newest marathon stage race in Oceania the Southern Hemisphere. The course was… […]
The Pioneer camp was busy this morning, the influx of 3 Day Traverse racers has increased the size of the camp, and for everyone who survived yesterday’s monster stage, today’s 67km with a ‘mere’ 2000m of climbing to Snow Farm seemed like it would be a walk in the park. And best of all, the […]
The Pioneer mountain bike stage race is built upon three pillars: Find Stunning, Find Character, Find Welcome. Through the first four days, I think I’ve ticked off each one already. I found my character yesterday, realising I much prefer to race than just ride. And I found welcome early on, given the friendly event vibe […]
The Pioneer MTB stage race has captured the attention of mountain bikers around the globe – but eight days of paired racing doesn’t work for everyone. Race organisers have launched a new 3-day MTB stage race option as part of the Pioneer 2016 event. ‘The Pioneer 3 Day Traverse’ is a shorter stage race option for those […]
The latest stage race to pique international interest is within the South Island of New Zealand. The Pioneer made waves when it was announced in March, offering a 7 day route from Christchurch to Queenstown, along the Southern Alps. And today, the course has been revealed. The course for The Pioneer, the first seven day mountain […]
Australia and New Zealand have the terrain for epic stage races. We just don’t have many of them besides the Crocodile Trophy. But news has just broken about a new stage race that is taking the Cape Epic mould and applying it along the Southern Alps of New Zealand. The Pioneer was officially launched today […]
Carl Jones has just won the Whaka 100, but that is only half the story as he also smashed his own race record for the toughest mountain bike race in New Zealand by 13 minutes to finish in a sensational 4 hours 31 minutes. And the local hero was nursing a bad dose of ‘flu. […]
