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NZO Whirinaki Quest Report - Mountain Bike |
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Sunday, 08 November 2009 21:56 |
230 riders took on the NZO Whirinaki Quest held Saturday 7 November in the Whirinaki Forest Park. Numbers were up from the150 who rode the first event in 2008 and from all account the event was very successful.
Minginui is a quiet village that was built as a base to log the native bush in the earlier part of this centuary. The logging stopped in the 1980’s in order to save the trees. The fact that the Minginui village now plays host to an event that brings people into the area to enjoy riding mountain bikes in amongst the majestic trees is a real turn around and hopefully a small sign of what the area is capable of in the future.
In terms of winners Team N-Duro took a clean sweep of the male and female 40km options.
In the male division Mark (Cabin) Leishman (Team N-Duro) took line honours after making a break from other riders at the 30km mark on ‘Grovel Hill’. Not a very glamorous name for a section of trail, but a very accurate name for the steep hill as it proved tough for some people. Cabin crossed the line in 1:57:40 comfortably ahead of Junior rider Nigel McDowell who finished in just over 2 hours. The 2008 male winner JP Tobin took third spot in 2:04:54.
The ladies race was taken out by Nic Leary (the other half of team N-Duro). Nic finished a very credible 10th overall (male and female 40km) in a time of 2:17:32. Cote Driscol, just back from the USA, took second place and 46th overall.
The 20km distance was won in 1:04:55 by Callum Gordon (first male) and Simone McGregor (first female).
It was truly an adventurous quest for some people who missed a detour sign and ended up clambering over a giant fallen Rimu tree that was sitting 7 feet above the ground. Other signs of a true adventure were the small cuts on shins and elbows of many riders from the aptly named ‘cutty grass’ and ‘bush lawyer’ on the odd section of track.
The event achieved a lot of its goals in year 2. Over 50 people camped the night prior, to soak up the peace and tranquility of the Whirinaki Forest Park. Plus many family groups took part with members choosing between the 10km, 20km or 40km options. Opotiki College entered 8 riders so we will definitely have an interschool comp in 2010.
Here are some words from a participant that sums up why the NZO Whirinaki Quest is a special event in a special part of NZ.
“Hi Nick,
I just wanted to thank you for putting on such a fantastic event this weekend.
My partner and I really enjoyed the whole thing - the fact that we could stay for free Friday and Sat night was great, the weather was fantastic and the riding was out of this world. I'll definitely be telling family and friends to come and check this event out.
Please pass on a big thanks to the community of Minginui for allowing us to camp the night and explore such a beautiful part of NZ. It was the best 40km of mt biking that I've done in ages”.
The NZO Whirinaki Quest is gaining traction on it’s path to becoming a classic race on the NZ MTB calendar.
See www.epicevents.co.nz
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