Starting in the Satco logging attachments yard in Tokoroa at 5pm will be the event prologue, with riders tackling a man-made course to determine qualification and starting positions for the following day.
Riders will complete one lap of that obstacle course to determine their start order for the main race. From about 7pm, the gold, silver and bronze races will be held, with the top 10 riders qualifying to compete in finals for each grade.
Any rider that does not complete one lap of the prologue course will receive a 30-minute penalty and, although he or she will still be able to start the race on Saturday, it will be from the rear of the field.
Two days of gruelling riding then lie ahead for the contestants and not all are expected to finish.
Riders will be set off, one at a time, every 30 seconds. The first day's start order will be decided by the prologue results and day two's start order will be determined by the results from day one.
"The riders can expect two days of hard riding that will push them to their limits," said Clarke.
"Although not quite as hard as the Romaniacs, it will still be a good workout, with a lot of trail riding between the hard bits. There will be between six and eight hard sections per day and total riding time for the fastest in the gold grade is expected to be between five and six hours."
He said the silver and bronze grade courses would be slightly easier, although still challenging.
An indication of just how challenging the racing might be is in a note to riders that they must also carry "survival equipment", including a cellphone, first-aid kit and survival blanket.
Some of the leading riders listed among the entries include Howick's Liam Draper, Manawatu's Paul Whibley and Cambridge's Dylan Yearbury. These riders are among the favourites to win, as long as the treacherous course doesn't claim them first.
