All in a day's work

Whangarei endurance mountain biker Matt Andrew continues his progression towards the World 24-hour Mountain Bike Championships this weekend as he takes on a 24-hour race in Rotorua.

Andrew is competing at the Rotorua Moonride competition, where previously he has only competed in six or 12-hour distances. The race started yesterday at 9pm with the forecast for wet and muddy conditions making the 24-hour ride even more gruelling.

However, the 28-year-old has been in top form and is ready for the testing event after a busy month in April saw him come away with some strong results.

"I had four races over three weekends, including six-hour (placing second) and 12-hour (placing first) mountain bike races in Hamilton and Rotorua," he said.

"[But], this will be my last event for awhile as it will take time for the body to recover and surgery next Tuesday."

Andrew also claimed the Northland Mountain Bike XC Championship title in April after proving to be the best while riding down Mt Parihaka.

While competing at the Pukete Spaghetti six-hour endurance race in Hamilton, where Andrew placed second, he said he was not feeling up to it and considered pulling out.

"[I was] still feeling the effects from a bad accident on the road the other week," Andrew said. "I rode tempo and had decided to use the event as a training ride.

"I had considered pulling out at the two-hour mark, my head still wasn't ready for racing, but I thought 'no, I'll back off just a little more and complete the ride'."

Since the Northern Advocate profiled Andrew in March, Newman Engineering has signed him up in his bid to compete at the World 24-hour Mountain Bike Championships in Canberra, Australia, in October.