George Davey wins Wellington club's Enduro title

He had only four events to win his championship and St George's pupil George Davey made the most of all of them after claiming the Under 15 title of the Wellington Mountain Bike Club's Enduro Series this week.

The 12-year-old member of the Wanganui Mountain Bike club learned on Thursday that his season points were enough to lift the title after the final races were held on Sunday.

The Wellington club had extended their reach to host enduro events at different locations from Palmerston North back down to their regular tracks in Wainuiomata, Makara Peak, Belmont and Miramar.

This new series consisted of seven rounds over four months, but Davey was only able to enter four of them, meaning he could not afford to have a bad round.

"Only the four best results counted," he said.

"I was unstoppable because I got four wins. It's about being consistent."

As not every rider in his division attended every round, the level of competition would vary, as sometimes Davey faced four other teenagers and sometimes he faced 15, as riders would come to certain rounds from as far away as Rotorua.

"Most kids can't do enduro riding and go down the steep hills," he said.

Enduro riding is unique in that it is stage racing where the downhill parts of the course are timed, and the uphill climbs are not.

They still have to move swiftly between the stages as the whole course must be completed within a set timeframe or else penalties will occur.

Young riders have the option on each course of an "easy" downhill, of which up to 75 per cent of them will take, and the steeper "hard" option.

Davey had the confidence to test himself on the hard downhill sections, riding on his Banshee Spitfire with its 26 inch wheels and custom 11-speed settings.

"It's such an awesome bike, it does the job," he said.

He finished ten points ahead of the series runnerup, as the season title was not decided until the final race on Sunday.

Davey thanked father Craig Davey for taking him to all the events, which required quite a bit of driving on the weekends.

The family will attend the club prizegiving in June to receive the trophy and Craig Davey said they will definitely recommend that the Wellington club keep their expanded series going.

George Davey took up the sport by riding at the Hyltons Pit, and loved the trails at Matipo Park for his training.