The nations leading enduro peddlers will head to the sport’s heartland of Cable Bay in Nelson for the New Zealand Enduro Championships this weekend.
The championships are part of the annual Cable Bay Enduro at the renowned facilities near Nelson city.
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Organisers plan for seven to eight stages over the weekend to challenge the country’s best riders, with a mix of testing downhill sections with the endurance required to pedal the liaisons to the next downhill test.
Defending elite champion, Rae Morrison is competing, although has retired as a fulltime international enduro rider as she moves to a new role as coach for the Liv Factory Racing team.
Favourite will be fellow Nelson rider George Swift, who has an exciting year ahead moving to the Yeti Fox Factory team.
The fastest overall last year was Christchurch teen Winni Goldsbury, 17, who won an under-21 round of the UCI World Cup last year before succumbing to a major fall and resulting injuries.
She has the support from Specialized this year and will provide plenty of competition for the elite pros.
Experienced Taranaki gravity rider Edward Masters will be a favourite in the elite men, with last year’s winner Shannon Hewetson and world No 3 ranked Charles Murray (Specialized) who has torn an ankle ligament, both missing from starters.
Watch also for the emerging talents of Upper Hutt’s Lachie Ross, Under-19 prospect Oli Clark from Kaikoura and Rotorua’s Joe Millington, who competes across both enduro and downhill, picking up an enduro world cup under-21 podium last year.
Practice is from Friday with three stages on Saturday afternoon and the balance on Sunday.