Tunbridge hits top form just in time

LEAP OF FAITH: Whanganui's Joel Tunbridge wins the final round of the elite men's competition at the National Mountainbike Champion-ships in Wanaka on Saturday. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Whanganui-born racer Joel Tunbridge has hit top form at the right time as he gears up for the world's biggest mountain biking event in Rotorua next week.

The 22-year-old apprentice welder bases himself in Queenstown, arguably the home of New Zealand mountain biking.

Tunbridge showed he was in top form by winning the elite men's race on the final day of the 2016 Altherm Window Systems National Mountainbike Championships in Wanaka on Saturday.

The race marked the final round of the national championships.

The championship is the country's premier mountain bike event, attracting the country's top cross country and downhill mountain bikers.

Tunbridge won that final round, but missing the earlier rounds ruled him out of contention for the New Zealand open men's title.

However, from March 9-13, the cycling world will tune in to the five-day Crankworx Rotorua festival and Tunbridge will pit his skills against the best mountain bikers in the world in the elite class.

"I'm not expecting a podium finish in Rotorua because I will be racing in the elite grade and that includes the very best in the world," Tunbridge said yesterday. "I will do my best and hope to be up there, but I'm not expecting to win."

Tunbridge has been in Queenstown for a while now perfecting his art among some of the most testing terrain in the country.

"My welding apprenticeship helps fund all my mountain biking activities," he said.

Crankworx Rotorua brings with it the best mountain biking pro-athletes for competitions, concerts, culture and cranking. Rotorua will be a part of the Pump Track series and will host speed and style, slopestyle, downhill and enduro events during the five days.

There will also be a raft of other events surrounding the festival for amateur and non-bikers, including a music festival featuring top NZ artists.