Crankworx: Tauranga mountainbiker Shania Rawson chasing Crankworx World Tour

Shania Rawson is edged out by Kialani Hines in the final of the RockShox Rotorua Pump Track Challenge at the first round of the Crankworx World Tour in Rotorua. Photo / Fraser Britton, Crankworx 2019

Tauranga mountainbiker Shania Rawson will ride three different bikes in her bid to be queen.

The 20-year-old is about to head overseas to compete in the remaining two legs of the Crankworx World Tour to contest the Queen of Crankworx title. After the first leg in Rotorua last month, Rawson sits in third place in the Crankworx World Tour standings.

The competition includes multiple mountainbike disciplines and after the first stop in Rotorua last month, where Rawson picked up two podium places, the tour heads to Innsbruck, Austria on June 12 before the final leg in Whistler, Canada on August 9.

At Rotorua, Rawson was runner-up in the pump track event, third in the air downhill, ninth in the dual slalom and 10th in the downhill. On the world tour, athletes compete for points across all disciplines, which adds to their overall tally.

"I want to win that Queen of Crankworx title," Rawson says.

"I use three completely different bikes and that can be a bit tricky if you are competing in two different events on one day. You have to do a lot of different trainings and on world class downhill tracks.

"I really enjoy this kind of thing, just getting to ride with everyone and I love the adrenalin you get from racing. My whole family have done racing, I started when I was 4."

After a stint in Queenstown training for the summer, Rawson has returned to Tauranga and says it is good to be back home.

"I am working fulltime, there is no funding for me so I have to fundraise. I am training six days a week, a couple of hours at a time and then sometimes six-hour stints on the weekend."

Rawson's love of cycling began with BMX, now she is a downhill specialist. While it is not an Olympic sport, Raswon believes the future is looking good for her sport of choice.

"I think it is growing as a sport and the name is getting out there."