Contact Huka Mountain Bike Challenge
Thanks to all the Huka Riders who took the shortening of the event with such good grace. We hope you all had a decent ride. We are still looking at the XL results and will be in touch with the XL riders shortly.
Start 7:00am
This is a non-competitive 80km mountain bike ride on a par in time and difficulty with the iconic 160km Solo ride around Lake Taupo. |
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Course Description
Mountainbikers will start on Tongariro Street with the solo cycle challenge riders. They will then go up the Control Gates Hill and follow the grass verge before dropping on to the Redwoods track leading to Huka Falls then up to the Hub Café. Through the tunnel into the Wairakei Mountain Bike park where they will ride virtually every track in the park. They then exit the park via the tunnel again and go down to the Prawn Park and around Contact Energy geothermal power station following the western side of Aratiatia dam. Crossing the dam they then follow the Aratiatia track on to the Rotary Ride and back into town via more single tracks over the bridge and finishing off with a loop through Riverside Park, around the boat harbour and along Tongariro Street, with the road riders to the main finish line.
The bridge across SH1 near the finish means bikers don’t have to ride on the state highway and fight with the traffic to loop around the Spa Road roundabout. It’s great riding ‘over’ the traffic and is quite spectacular from the ground watching the riders negotiate the single lane bridge.
The course will be much the same as previous years but we will have new single tracks replacing old tracks that are going to the grave yard. The course will be around 80 kms but one thing that is guaranteed - it will not be easy, and will live up to its standing as the hardest mountain bike race in NZ.
The Tracks
Most of the ride will be on single track of grade 2 and 3 with about 10 % grade 4. There will be a small amount of road to ride (it will be up a hill) and a 2km section of 4x4 track - sorry but we have to link up the single tracks somehow!
Expect to get tight technical tracks up to grade 4 all the way to Wairakei Resort Hotel so don’t have a sleep on the job. The tracks are all in great nick and the new tracks have packed down.
Bike Taupo’s track crew have done a lot of work getting the cross over bridges and connecting tracks built and its going to be one great ride of single track after single track.
It is demanding and therefore suited to fit and experienced riders.
Support
We will have a water point at the Hub café, you will also be able to slip in and get some food and a short black if you need one to keep you going. This will be approximately 50km into the ride. We will have Marshals on the tracks to help pick up the broken bits but in true MTB style you have to look after yourself.
Times are recorded by transponder as riders cross the start and finish lines.
Click on the following link for more detailed information
http://biketaupo.org.nz/content/view/339/48/