A significant milestone for mountain biking has been signalled with the official launch of the Mountain Bike National Performance Hub in Rotorua.
The launch took place this afternoon at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology (formerly Waiariki).
Those who attended included district councillors, Toi Ohomai staff, Cycling New Zealand commercial leader Rob Waddell and 25 young riders who will be part of the inaugural National Performance Hub Camp.
Elite mountain bikers Anton Cooper, Sam Gaze and George Brannigan took part in a question-and-answer session during the launch.
The Hub is one of a potential eight hubs which underpin Cycling New Zealand's strategy to foster and grow young cycling talent, and increase the quantity and quality of riders feeding into the National High Performance Programme.