Mountain biking: Games dream propels Shaw in comeback

Sam Shaw is a rare breed of rider who races both downhill and cross country. Photo / Sam Ackland

After six months away from competitive mountain biking, Sam Shaw has returned to the start line and is using the Rotorua Bike Festival to kick-start his Commonwealth Games dream.

The 10-day Rotorua Bike Festival comes to a close this weekend with three major events being held in the city, including the Skyline Sprint Warrior today, the Giant 2W Gravity Enduro event tomorrow and the Telecom Inner City Street Criterium on Sunday.

Shaw, 21, will race in the Sprint Warrior event today before backing up tomorrow to defend his Giant 2W Gravity Enduro crown.

Last weekend, he also competed in the cross country national champs and the downhill national champs in Rotorua.

"The cross country race was my first race back since a bad sinus infection, which had kept me out of racing for half a year.

So to come out and get on the podium I was really stoked," he said about finishing third in the under-23 division.

He also finished fifth overall in the cross country and fifth in the senior men's division for the downhill.

"It is great not to be feeling sick. There is a lot more energy in the body."

Shaw said his goal this year was to make the shortlist for the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team travelling to Scotland in July, in the cross country event.

He said to qualify he needed to perform well at the Oceania champs being held next month at Mt Hutt, in the South Island.

"It comes down to the Oceania champs for me to get on to the shortlist for the team.

"Next weekend is Karapoti and the following weekend is Motatapu then the Oceania champs are on, so I will have a break after that."

Shaw said he was looking forward to competing in two big events this weekend starting with the Skyline Sprint Warrior.

"I want to get out and ride this course people have been talking about. It should be a really good time," he said.

"All the young downhill riders like Lawrence Cawte and Louis Hamilton will be there."

The Skyline Sprint Warrior began last year and sees riders travelling up the gondola before riding down a 2km track, which has been built by local trail builders Empire of Dirt.

The event is so popular it sold out in one-and-a-half weeks, with 230 riders entered.

Meanwhile, Shaw said the Gravity Enduro event tomorrow was a chance to have a good ride with friends, although he would certainly look to do his best to defend his crown.

Shaw is a rare breed of rider who races both downhill and cross country, making him an excellent enduro rider.

Skyline Sprint Warrior

The Skyline Sprint Warrior at Skyline Rotorua starts at noon today and runs until about 7pm. People can pay $10 to go up the gondola, to view the event, or can walk up for free. A jump competition will be held after the event.