Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post / Sport

Rotorua Bike Festival: Enduro race draws hundreds

Rotorua Daily Post
12 Feb, 2013 09:47 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Weekend warriors and local thrashers will rub shoulders with world champions, Olympians and former international stars in this week's inaugural Giant 2W Gravity Enduro mountain bike event in Rotorua.

With online entries closing tomorrow, organisers already have several hundred super-keen riders chasing $45,000 in cash and prizes, ready to tackle 18.4km of timed downhill trails as the curtain is pulled on the 10-day Rotorua Bike Festival.

The gravity enduro format is booming overseas and has piqued the interest of several world-class Kiwi riders, including Olympian Rosara Joseph, fellow cross-country champion Mike Northcott and former world cup downhiller Jenna Makgill.

Makgill is also a two-time winner of the Cycle Courier world championships and admits the enduro enjoyment factor is providing huge motivation to get back on her bike again.

"I'm super-excited as Whakarewarewa is one of my favourite places to ride and has been since I was a grom in my cross-country days," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It is also the only place I have ridden in the last year since taking up mountain biking again - man, it rocks! The concept is awesome as I like the idea of a few timed areas but how you go about getting there is completely up to you. Plus, you can go out with friends and do it.

"It's a lot more attractive to the average Joe, who just loves to ride yet knows there will be some boys and girls out there faster - I'm big on the idea of participation and getting people involved."

Tokoroa's Northcott has won seven national titles in cross-country and single-speed and has represented New Zealand 14 times, including at the 2006 Commonwealth games in Melbourne.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But the 31-year-old concedes his cross-country career is winding down and he wants something new to start racing without the same pressures of performance.

"I've always enjoyed the going-down part - and hitting the odd jump or two - of riding the most and with the fitness from all the years of cross-country racing, these new gravity enduro events look like way too much fun to pass up," Northcott said.

Top local hopes include rising Rotorua cross-country rider Sam Shaw and Simone McGregor, another experienced Whakarewarewa campaigner.

The Giant 2W Gravity Enduro features four race stages which must be completed in a 5hr window. Unlimited shuttle passes are included in the entry fee to get riders who do not wish to ride up the hills to the start of each stage.

All competitors will start and finish on Eat St in the heart of Rotorua's restaurant district, with riders rolling out in groups of five every 15 seconds, heading along off-road trails into the forest to complete the race stages before returning via the same route.

And it's not just Kiwis eager to sample the incredible downhill trails of Rotorua. American professional Brian Buell is just one of several overseas riders starting.

"Downhill has been my main focus until recently, but this year I'll be competing predominantly in enduro events throughout New Zealand and North America," Buell said. "The enduro discipline is really taking off and there is a lot of support behind it in the mountain biking industry, while the events also provide the most riding for your dollar and leave you extremely satisfied at the end of the weekend. I've heard great things about riding in Rotorua and I'm really looking forward to being a part of it."

A strong contingent from Australia will be riding, including four of the Kempsey Macleay Off Road Cyclists (KMORC) club in New South Wales, thanks to a reconnaissance trip two years ago by president Jayson Shelley.

"After enjoying the flows of Rotorua so much, I realised how dumbed-down our tracks had been and how fitness was favoured over skill," Shelley said.

"While many of the New South Wales gravity tracks are still cross-country orientated, the chance to race gravity [in Rotorua] was right up my style."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Event director Neil Gellatly will release the closely guarded course details at the race pack pick-up and late registration, which is at the More FM Bike Expo in the Rotorua Convention Centre on Friday and Saturday, plus Brew Craft Beer Pub on Sunday. Late entries will still be accepted up to 9am on the day.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Rotorua Daily Post

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

30 Jun 06:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

25 Jun 07:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

24 Jun 09:26 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

'It’s a big deal': Young gamers chase international esports glory

30 Jun 06:00 PM

Primary school Rocket League players qualify for major tournament finals in Australia.

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

'Biggest summer of cricket' shapes up for Bay Oval

25 Jun 07:00 PM
Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

Small but mighty: Kyro gets set for Tai Mitchell challenge

24 Jun 09:26 PM
Three tests, surplus of Twenty20s as Black Caps summer fixtures announced

Three tests, surplus of Twenty20s as Black Caps summer fixtures announced

24 Jun 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP