Mountain biking: 11hr race proves no sweat

Some would be thanking God that a 24-hour cycle race was shortened, but Whangarei's Matt Andrew finished feeling slightly ripped off.

This year Andrew will compete at the World 24-hour Mountain Bike Championships and had hoped to get a good workout from the Rotorua Moonride competition before the race was cut to 11 hours due to bad conditions.

The 28-year-old admits riding through a sea of mud and water was not pleasant at all, but thanks to the event being shortened he felt he could race it all over again.

"I went through three changes of riding gear so I could feel fresh and not have to worry about the volcanic, pumicey mud rubbing in the wrong places," Andrew said after the race nearly two weeks ago. "Everyone was just riding through a sea of mud and water for the entire time.

"Also, as time went on and the next lot of rain came, people were slowly getting carted off the course with stretchers. It was a shame the weather turned bad, but the event organisers did the right thing shortening the ride."

Despite the shortened format, Andrew managed second while conserving his body to continue his preparation towards the worlds in Australia in October.

"The body feels good," he said. "I feel like I could do the ride all over again today."

He had cleaned his bike so he could take it into myBike in Whangarei for them to rebuild it to ensure it's in tip-top shape.

On Saturday Andrew will be competing in a 15km Parahaki Mountain Bike Club event through the Glenbervie Forest, riding from the Vinegar Hill end of Mains Rd to Kauri.

Also coming up is a 115km road ride from the Cape to Kaitaia in about two weeks.