It’s especially popular in its native continent of Europe, but Cycling Whanganui president Ian Murphy said the sport was on the rise in New Zealand, progressing from a few enthusiasts to a more organised discipline.
“Cycling New Zealand is starting to organise a national championship and it’s getting some prominence, rather than just being a few weekend enthusiasts who’ve seen it when they were in Europe on their OE.”
He viewed the organisation of the Masters Games and Awa Cross events as part of the process of turning the sport into a more mainstream option for cyclists.
He was pleased Cycling Whanganui and the mountain bike club had come together to organise the event and hoped they would work together more in the future.
Cheatley said for Masters Games there were two groups of entrants, social and competitive.
The social division would be open to people on mountain bikes, e-bikes or commuter bikes, while the competitive one would be open to people taking the sport more seriously on gravel and cyclocross bikes.
Competitive riders will have to navigate obstacles on the course, while social riders will have the option to ride around them.
Awa Cross is being run in conjunction with the Masters Games event, using the same course but allowing younger people the chance to give the sport a go.
“If you’re setting up a cyclocross course, it takes a bit of setting up, and for one Masters event it’s a lot of work so we thought, let’s expand it out to the wider community and particularly the youth,” Murphy said.
There will be events for kids under 5, 5-8, 9-12 and older than 13 at a cost of $2 per rider, which is payable on the day.
Cheatley said the course would run around the riverfront area next to the children’s playground, stretching from the Dublin St Bridge to the fitness area, with under-5s using a shorter course.
“We’ll be using the road in front, the grass the stopbanks [and] a bit of the gravel down towards the fitness park,” she said.
The course was designed to not be too challenging and to serve as a taster for people to get into the sport.
Murphy said they have tried to make the event as accessible as possible with the small entry fee.
“We’re aiming for a fun, relaxed atmosphere.
“There’s always a competitive element, which most people actually want, but it’s not the be-all and end-all.”
Awa Cross wasn’t a race as such, with riders instead trying to complete as many laps as possible within a time limit.
Cheatley said they had worked hard to make the event as fun as possible for kids.
“We’re going to give them a really cool event experience, so they’ll get their own bike plate, their own special number, they’ll get a sausage afterwards and an event pack with lots of goodies in it,” she said.
Cheatley hoped for a big crowd as the sport was great for spectators.
“That’s the cool thing about cyclocross, you can see the competitors the whole time, so it’s kind of a real party atmosphere, you’re really close to the action,” she said.
There were plans to host a series of races in Kowhai Park throughout the year, Murphy said.
Cheatley thanked the local businesses that supported the event.
“Whanganui is a place where people get stuff done, you call on favours from friends and they just do it,” she said.
Awa Cross is being held between 3pm and 4pm on February 5 at Kowhai Park.
People can register for the event on Cycling Whanganui’s website or Awa Cross’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
