Day 1 Craigieburn, Tearing through the Tussocks

YETI TRANS NZ PRESENTED BY SHIMANO — DAY 1
CRAIGIEBURN, TEARING THROUGH THE TUSSOCKS

Queenstown, New Zealand— Day 1 of the Yeti Trans NZ presented by Shimano propelled racers straight out of the gate into the biggest day of their week— 32 kilometers, six stages, 1585 meters climbing, and 1886 meters of descending in Craigieburn Forest Park. This remote jewel of the Southern Alps captures the heart and soul of exploring rugged wilderness on two wheels, where snow-capped peaks, tussock-covered hills and dense beech forest convene to provide a jaw-dropping backdrop to wild singletrack.

“The beauty of this area is we race on different terrain, stage to stage, day to day. If today was day, you’re not necessarily going to do well tomorrow, or vice versa,” said Megan Rose, founder and race director of the Yeti Trans NZ.

An ominous mist settled into the valleys as riders began their journey to the top of Stage 1 via Lyndon Saddle. Trails that were dusty prior in the week, were coated in a thin layer of moisture that made seemingly benign roots, deceitful and slippery, foreshadowing the state of affairs on Luge.

“Stage 1 is probably one of the easiest stages technically, but between the real wet roots, high speeds and pinball trees, it felt dangerous the whole way down. It was fun, but not the best to race on with first stage jitters,” said Pete Robinson (Queenstown, NZL). “The following four stages were way more loamy; you could grip through the corners and push it a little harder.”

The second stage routed riders down a wide-open descent of Dracophyllym Flat before starting the first of two mega climbs towards Cheeseman Ski Area. “When in doubt, throttle it out,” advised Ted Morton, Rose’s Wingman No. 1 on Stage 2. “You don’t get hurt in the air."

Cheeseman Road is a grunt of a climb, but rewarded with the two favorite stages of the day— Cuckoo Creek and Cheeseman DH. Many of the tracks in Craigieburn Forest Park have been built over time and adopted by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and are recognized by several different trail names. Cuckoo Creek has also been referred to as Harriet and Boyd’s, Halloumi, Pirates and Schmega.

“I felt right at home on Stage 3,” said Will Cadham (Vancouver, B.C.), currently sitting in second place tied with Mike Cowlin (Nelson, NZL) in Open Men behind Paul van der Ploeg (Melbourne, AUS) by 22 seconds. “This loam factory was filled with repetitive bomb holes, that would suck your wheel and kick you into the beech forest if you weren’t careful.”

The Open Women are running a tight show with Sarah Rawley (Golden, Colo.) taking the lead, Melissa Newell (Wanaka, NZL) one second behind, Rachel Gurney (Wareham, GBR) on the chase by 25 seconds.

Stage 4, locally known as Cockayne Alley was unanimously a favorite amongst the crowd. Tearing through the tussocks at the top, Cheeseman DH transitioned abruptly at treeline into steeps, roots, chutes and catch-berms, keeping racers on their toes through the longest stage of the day, approximately 10 minutes, that didn’t let up until a creek crossing before the finish terminal. If there was a constant to the day, it was creek crossing finishes on a few of the stages.

“I enjoyed the gnarliest stage the most,” said Noah Sears (Fruita, Colo.) Open Men. “It was flowy, almost bikeparkesque with mini jumps and doubles at the top, then steep, rooty, and super flowy at the end. I enjoyed how long it was, especially since I’m more into fitness these days.”

The big adventure for Sears and his wife was not only racing tracks blind, but on foreign bikes. “Our bikes did not arrive last night, so we were both on borrowed bikes and head to toe gear for Day 1, which was a pretty big day,” Sears said.

“Megan leant Sparky her brand new Yeti 5.5 so she was stoked. I had a bike that was two sizes too small, flat pedals, and no chamois. But hey, we were out riding bikes in New Zealand!” The Sears’ bikes arrived later in the afternoon from their detours to London and New York, ready to roll for the rest of the week.

The last two stages played to the strength of fitness down the Hogs Back, six kilometers of singletrack straight into Castle Hill Village. The vast views are so striking, it starred as Narnia in the film “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.”

The clouds burned off exposing the sensational views as racers gathered for post-race libations and to exchange stories about their day. Day 2 of the Yeti Trans NZ wraps up explorations in Craigieburn with four stages before racers traverse the South Island for three days of rowdy, rocky riding in and around Queenstown.

The Trans NZ will be posting regular updates on Facebook and Instagram throughout the week, and video recaps on Vimeo. Hashtag your photos #transnzenduro to make their way onto the live stream of the Trans NZ’s Media HQ. For more information email megan@ridingbc.com or visit www.transnz.com.

RESULTS

DAY 1: OPEN MEN
1. Paul van der Ploeg 27:50
2. William Cadham 28:12
2. Mike Cowlin 28:12
4. Pete Robinson 28:17
5. Nate Hills 28:26

DAY 1: OPEN WOMEN
1. Sarah Rawley 35:23
2. Mops 35:24
3. Rachael Gurney 35:59
4. Claire Bennett 36:01
5. Eva Dethlefsen 36:23

DAY 1: MASTER MEN 40+
1. Christian Wingate 29:49
2. Jose Iniguez 30:26
3. Matt Patterson 30:47

DAY 1: MASTER WOMEN 40+
1. Chris Bramwell 42:23
2. Robyn Wong 42:27
3. Sheila Hart 46:08

Click HERE for full Day 1 Results

ABOUT MEGAN ROSE— Megan has been riding and racing bikes all over the world for 14 years and organizing bike events for the past six years. She splits her time between British Columbia and New Zealand, running the Trans NZ and Trans BC. Over the past three years Megan has personally races in over 40 enduro races, timed over 68 days worth of enduro races, and personally organized 30 enduro races. Megan and her team look forward to bringing you the best of the best from all of these perspectives.

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