Cross-country designer faces nervous few days

Designs have been completed and building is now underway for the 2006 UCI Mountainbike and Trials World Championships courses. In the third of a series of articles on the four mountainbike courses, Daily Post sports reporter KATIE FARMAN meets cross-country course manager Rick Todd.

This weekend's National Mountainbiking Championships in Rotorua are a volatile mix of apprehension and excitement for Rick Todd.

After spending the past four months pouring his years of knowledge as a competitive and recreational rider, track designer and track builder into constructing a cross-country (XC) track on Mt Ngongotaha that will challenge the world's best riders at next year's UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships, the XC course manager is painfully aware this Sunday is crunch time.

"The stakes are high this weekend - the National Cross Country Championship race is a dress rehearsal for the worlds and, as such, brings a lot of nervous excitement," Todd said. "Work on the course has gone really well with a great group of volunteers turning up week after week for four months. Luckily, there haven't been any real problems - we've been able to get bikes on the course most Wednesday evenings since December."

While Todd, a self-confessed sports enthusiast, and his dedicated crew have spent months clearing bush, weed eating, digging and sculpting tracks, the initial track design was completed by Wellington-based XC race director Simon Kennett - a partner in Kennett Bros who develop products and services based on publishing and cycling.

Todd said Kennett's experience in organising the popular Karapoti Classic mountainbike race north of Wellington and the Grundig/UCI World Mountain Bike Cup in Wellington in 1997 was instrumental in coming up with a design that reflected the unique geography and culture of the area.

The result? A challenging 6km XC track that tests riders on their climbing skills and concentration.

"The main challenge with Mt Ngongotaha was there were a lot of restrictions. There was not a lot of single track, but there was a lot of service tracks and we had to start from scratch on the lower part of the course," Kennett reflected.

"So the challenge was to figure out how to create a track that ran as close as possible to the 20-minute race pace riders required. It has very distinct sections ... there's a bit of everything and everything is pretty intense."

Riders will have to be on their game to nail this course," said Kennett.

The course boasts a significant climb that is not suited to weak climbers, as well as a "tricky" tight single track descent with humps, bumps, jumps and drops, and tight off-camber sections.

"I want to make it as hard as it can be so riders know when they've finished the race, they have had a hard race on a hard track," said Todd. "But it's got to be fun - there's no point getting off your bike and being grumpy. "

Todd, a cable technician for Areva, was also mindful of creating a spectator-friendly course and one that showcased Rotorua in its best possible light.

"Generally New Zealand has good tracks and trails and if you are a good rider you should be able to ride anywhere. It's the location that offers the point of difference," Todd said. "The beauty of this course is that all riders will be able to look across the lake and get wonderful views of the city and surrounding areas."

Bike NZ marketing and events manager Ted Jones said Sunday's New Zealand Community Trust XC Championship has attracted 125 pre-entries and more are expected on the day. Defending women's champion Sonia Foote of Rotorua and defending men's champ Stuart Houltham, of Taupo, will be back in the hope of defending their crowns.

As with this weekend's other three championship events - the downhill, four cross and trials - race organisers will have the chance to inspect key areas including transport systems, medical teams and parking. Depending on their evaluation, changes will be made ahead of next year.

A rider survey will also be handed out to competitors to gauge their reactions to the courses. For Todd and the other course managers this feedback could have many ramifications.

But according to Dave Donaldson, chairman of the Rotorua Organising Committee for the world champs, feedback is vital to stage a successful and memorable event.

"The 2006 organising committee and event management team are still under construction. So, running a test event like the national championships 18 months out from the world championships is a demanding task," he said. "Perfection requires constant tweaking, and the courses will be getting groomed until 48 hours, or closer, to the event. But the fact is the courses are very raw and fresh and have had the minimum of bike traffic over them. They will change dramatically and this event will be vitally important in providing us with the feedback to develop them to a better standard for the 2006 Oceania Champs, and then again for the worlds in August 2006."

This weekend's National Mountainbiking Championships run from today to Sunday and have been supported by the Rotorua District Council, Skyline Skyrides, the Rotohokahoka Trust, the local iwi, Ngati Whakaue and Mountain Action.