The new 2012 / 2013 MTBNZ Executive met on September 30th, here’s a quick update on the key topics discussed at the meeting.

Bike NZ Membership Proposal: The Executive is providing on going feedback from the Clubs to Bike NZ. There will be more information provided to Clubs on the membership proposal as part of the feedback process.

Bike NZ AGM: Jordan Moss (MTBNZ President) will be attending the Bike NZ AGM on 13 October and, as already advised to Clubs, he will voting in favour of the Bike NZ constitutional changes on behalf of MTBNZ at the AGM.

NZ Trail Fund: Ric Balfour and his group are continuing work on this, key points decided so far are: The Fund will be overseen by a Board to be established and selected from the MTB community. The Fund will not be run by Bike NZ however the Fund Board may, if it decides, use Bike NZ to provide support functions for the Fund. The Executive will commit money from funds held in the MTBNZ bank account as seeding capital to the Fund, with the actual amount to be committed yet to be determined.

National Series 2013: Tim Farmer and his group are working with the host clubs and Bike NZ on the national series. The full details of the dates and venues are on the MTBNZ website.

World Championships Selection Criteria: Andy Patterson and his group are working on this and the selection criteria will be communicating these to Clubs and riders once they are finalised.

Mountain Biking Awards: The other cycling codes (Road, Track & BMX) have annual awards and the Executive is considering starting awards for MTB. In conjunction with this the Exec has discussed the recent tragic death of James Dodds (Dodzy) and is looking at establishing an award in memory of Dodzy. If you have any ideas on possible MTB awards that should be considered please let us know.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) between MTBNZ and Bike NZ: The Executive is working on revising the SLA to cover the 2013 year.

Next Executive Meeting: The next meeting is on 10 November. Don Bricknall (President Hawkes Bay Club) who is the MTB representative on the Bike NZ Board will be at that meeting.

In  an explosion of all things biking – the inaugural Women’s Cycling Festival, held in Wellington this Labour Weekend, brings together the stylish, the muddy and the fast.

This  five day affair is being hosted by a collaboration of several very keen, passionate cycling clubs in Wellington (eg, Revolve Cycling, Frocks on Bikes, Wellington MTB Club, en Velo, Cycle Aware Wellington a.o.) and promises to be the most fun you’ve had with your bike(s) all year.

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World champion mountain biker Anton Cooper is already plotting for bigger and better things in the sport.

The Christchurch schoolboy, who turned 18 years one month ago, became the first New Zealand crosscountry rider to win a rainbow jersey after his brilliant victory at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Austria. Read More »

Rotorua-based Wellington rider Samara Sheppard and Dunedin’s Mary Gray were the best of the New Zealanders, both finishing 12^th on the first day of the UCI Mountain Bike cross-country world championships in Austria.

Sheppard was 12th in the women’s under-23 race, while Gray was 12^th in the junior women on the first of three days of competition at the alpine town of Saalfelden near the border with Germany. Read More »

Seventeen year old mountain biker Anton Cooper is not letting the prospect that he can create history cloud his thoughts at the UCI World Championships in Austria this weekend.

Anton Cooper in world cup action. Credit: Trek World Racing.

The Christchurch schoolboy is ranked second in the junior men’s race at Saalfelden on Saturday night (NZ time) in the chase to become the first New Zealander to win a rainbow jersey in cross-country.

Cooper goes into the championships second ranked, although he is unbeaten in his three world cup starts this season in South Africa, Canada and USA and in many people’s eyes, the rider to beat.

“I am coping well. I am not really thinking about things like that (favouritism), just targeting my race and my performance. I am feeling relaxed and ready to go,” Cooper said. Read More »

The 10-strong BikeNZ team has five riders ranked in the top-16 across four divisions. Competition starts on Saturday (NZ time) with number eight ranked Samara Sheppard in the women’s under-23 ranks, Dirk Peters (Rotorua) and Tom Bradshaw (Wellington) ranked 12^th and 24^th respectively in the U23 men along with Dunedin’s Mary Gray in the junior women.

Karen Hanlen in action

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The first Rotorua Bike Festival in February 2013 will kick another big year in one of New Zealand’s premier adventure sports destinations into high gear.

The Festival will run from Friday February 8 to Sunday February 17 and the week will culminate in the MTBNZ Mountain Bike National Championships on Saturday February 16 and Sunday February 17.

Many of New Zealand’s top downhill and cross-country mountain bikers will be racing, with 2013 national titles on the line.

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Hawkes Bay rider Brook MacDonald was the best of the kiwis in eighth place in the downhill finals of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Austria today (NZ time).

MacDonald, the world No 5 ranked rider, fell behind the clock in the first section of the 2.4km track at the Leogang Bike Park in the Alps. The 20-year-old pushed hard, with only champion Greg Minnaar (RSA) faster over the bottom part of the course, clocking 3:26.651, to finish five seconds behind the winner. Read More »

Sunshine proved an unusual problem for downhill riders at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Austria tonight (NZ time).

After two days of wet weather, the junior riders were greeted with completely different conditions with sunshine and drying conditions at the Leogang Bike Park in the Austrian Alps tonight (NZ time).

Coatesville teenager Sophie Tyas finished eighth in the junior women’s downhill contest while the best of the junior men was Takaka’s Reece Potter who was 18^th.

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RedBull will cover the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike & Trial World Championships in Saalfelden – Leogang (AUT).

You can follow all the action live on the www.redbull.com/bike by tuning in at these times:

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