It's just a few months since Tracy Moseley and Jared Graves were crowned the 2014 Enduro World Champions in Italy - and now the search to find their successors begins on the other side of the world in Rotorua.
Round one of the Enduro World Series has landed in
Rotorua and the action at Giant Toa Enduro looks set to be as explosive as its start line at Te Puia's Pohutu Geyser - with no less than 15 world champions from across cycling taking part.
Saturday's race will feature some of the biggest names in enduro, including; Jerome Clementz, Fabien Barel, Damien Oton, Justin Leov, Tracy Moseley, Anne Caroline Chausson and Cecile Ravanel.
But there's also going to be a few big name downhillers thrown into the mix to keep things interesting; Sam Hill, Wyn Masters, Brook Macdonald, Sam Blenkinsop and Greg Minnaar to name just a few.
However, one notable absentee will be reigning world champion Jared Graves. The Aussie picked up a shoulder injury in training a couple of weeks ago and so will now start his season in Ireland in May.
Graves said he'd been out and about riding lightly and slowly, but it's not possible for him to race this weekend in Rotorua.
"While back home training I had a big crash where I wrapped myself around a tree and ended up with both shoulders separated and significant muscle tearing around the shoulder blade in my back. It's been a very rough two weeks and I'm pretty gutted to miss my first major race as world champ."
The stacked field of 400 pro and amateur riders will take to the trails of Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Forest, including the biggest women's race to date. More than 80 women will compete - a new record for the Enduro World Series. There's also a healthy number of entrants in the new under-21 category, a great sign for the year to come.
Neil Gellatly, organiser of the Giant Toa Enduro, said Rotorua was famous for its trails and it's a dream come true to open them up to the world's best riders.
"There's a really passionate cycling community here and the whole place is buzzing with excitement about Saturday's race - I can't wait."
Enduro World Series Managing Director Chris Ball said everything looked set for an amazing start to 2015 in Rotorua.
"The trails are incredible, the race will be challenging, our amateur and women's entries are great and we have an insane amount of the world's best bike riders here too. This is going to be a classic."
To catch all of Saturday's action as it happens, including a live webcast of the final stage of the day, tune into the live race feed on www.enduroworldseries.com on Saturday from 7am NZDT.
