Enduro course revealed

Giant Toa Enduro race director Neil Gellatly at the iconic Te Puia start line with the world-famous Pohutu geyser. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The first round of the 2015 Enduro World Series is upon us and the course for the Giant Toa Enduro can finally be revealed.

The new season will certainly get off to an atmospheric start - with riders heading out through the steam clouds of Te Puia's world-famous Pohutu Geyser as the sun rises behind them.

From there they'll head out to the Whakarewarewa Forest, where they face a long day in the saddle as they tackle some of the area's most iconic trails.

The one day race will take in seven stages over nearly 60km and feature more than 1700m of climbing and 1800m of technical descents. The last stage of the day will drop into the Skyline Rotorua Mountain Bike Gravity Park, where a packed crowd will be waiting to welcome home some of the biggest names in the sport.

Giant Toa Enduro race director Neil Gellatly said this route showcased the best trails in Rotorua.

"The Whakarewarewa Forest is home to some of New Zealand's most iconic singletrack, so it's incredible to welcome the world's best mountain bikers.

"It's been really great to see the way the community here have embraced this event - Saturday's race is going to be spectacular and I hope lots of people come along to watch and enjoy the action."

Enduro World Series Managing Director Chris Ball added: "I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the 2015 season than here in New Zealand. The trails here are fantastic and Neil and his team have put together an incredible course that is a lot of fun but will still challenge the riders."

The course maps are downloadable from http://www.enduroworldseries.com/downloads/new-zealand/EWS%20Whaka%20competitors%20map.pdf.

The maps are also available on the TrailMapps:Rotorua App.

About the Enduro World Series

The Enduro World Series (EWS) was created in October 2012 with the aim of uniting the world's mountain bike enduro racing community. The Enduro World Series links the largest mountain bike enduro events in the world with the best trails possible and exists to deliver the best racing, most relaxed atmosphere and rider-focused organization possible.

The team behind the Enduro World Series has one goal - to globally develop and progress the discipline of enduro for the riders, the sport and the industry. With the shared experience of Italian Superenduro, French Enduro Series, Crankworx and World Cup racing, the Enduro World Series offers international competitions unlike any before it. The Enduro Mountain Bike Association's (EMBA) Board of Directors is supported by an industry Advisory Board to reflect and respond to the riding community that includes Santa Cruz Bicycles' Rob Roskopp, Fox Shox' Mark Fitzsimmon, SRAM's Jon Cancellier, photographer Sven Martin and riders Tracy Moseley, Jerome Clementz and Curtis Keene.

For more information, follow the Enduro World Series on www.facebook.com/EnduroWorldSeries on twitter and Instagram as @World_Enduro, or email Media Manager Kate - kate@enduroworldseries.com.