World Descends on Rotorua

Rotorua’s Mt Ngongotaha played host to the UCI World Mountain Bike Championships from August 23-27, the first time the event has been held in the southern hemisphere in ten years. The Rotorua cycling community had campaigned for five years and suffered three unsuccessful bids before finally convincing Union Cycliste Internationale they were up to the challenge. Dirt Rag magazine was suitably impressed with NZ efforts: “NZers are not afraid to construct structures to help their tramping or cycling tracks traverse wet or sensitive areas or simply to add interesting features. My jaw dropped in awe when I saw the 80 meter boardwalk section built especially for the lower portion of the downhill course. The boardwalk twisted and turned like a ribbon unrolled down the mountain.”