Sport

Somewhere over the rainbow

BY PHIL BARNES

Asignificant milestone in New Zealand mountain biking history will be reached on April 4 when the Nelson Honey Rainbow Rage’s 25th anniversary challenge takes place.

Organiser Mike Gane says he hopes between 200 and 300 cyclists will take part in the 106km challenge which starts near the turn off for the Rainbow Skifield road from State Highway 63, climbs up to a high point of 1400 metres at Island Pass and eventually descends sharply over the final 6km to finish at Hanmer Springs domain. He says the event has gone through various phases in popularity over the years. While just 66 cyclists entered the inaugural event in 1996, numbers then increased phenomenally to a peak of 1604 entrants in 2001.

Incredibly, this made it the biggest single start mountain bike event in the southern hemisphere.

Mike says much of the increase in popularity came when he changed the format of the event after the first year from a race to an adventure ride. This attracted people who wanted to take part in the event but not necessarily to race it flat out. It enabled the majority to enjoy the stunning scenery and socialise with other competitors.

With many participants having done the event several times, the number of entrants gradually declined from 2001. The lack of numbers resulted in the event not being held in 2017 and 2019, although it has been held in all the previous years.

However, Mike says Philip Cropp who lives on the Rainbow Station and whose family have taken part in the event over the years encouraged him to put on the event this year to mark its 25th anniversary.

The challenge is divided into various categories to enable everyone to take part at a level that suits their ability and fitness. The event starts with ‘speed bunnies’ category. This grade is for anyone who anticipates their finishing time will be within 4hrs 30mins. (The course record is 3hrs 26mins held by Tom Filmer.)

Starting the speed bunnies first allows anyone who wants to race the event or to do the course in a fast time to get away clear from the rest of the field.

Open to all ages Fifteen minutes later the adventure and social riders start. Mike says this is for the rest of the field, many of whom still want to go hard on the day but not to the extent of cracking the four-hour barrier.

Many of the more social riders simply want to take their time, enjoy the course and the scenery and even stop for a picnic along the way.

There will be both a mountain bike class and a gravel grind class.

Mike says gravel grind is a new class. A gravel grind bike is like a road bike with drop handle bars and tyres that are wider than ones used on a road bike but thinner then mountain bike tyres.

“This will make it one of the longest, if not the longest, gravel grind races in the country.”

The event is open to all age groups from 13 years upwards.

He says anyone younger than 13 who wants to take part must speak to

While just 66 cyclists entered the inaugural event in 1996, numbers then increased phenomenally to a peak of 1604 entrants in 2001.

66 Photo: Supplied

Above: Race record holder Tom Filmer, no. 89 leads the start line

him first, so he can find out how much mountain biking experience they have and whether they seem capable of completing the distance.

The oldest competitor to have taken part was 84-year-old Alan Dean. Mike says Alan’s wit, sense of humour and attitude was something a rider 60 years younger would have been proud of.

Riders will be age-graded automatically as they enter. The grades are: junior 13-17 years, senior 18-39, vet 1 40-55, vet 2 56-70 and vet 3 70 years plus.

People may also complete the event using pedal-assisted e-bikes, tandems, single speed bikes, post office bikes and even unicycles.

Mike says several people have done the event using bikes such as unicycles, single speed bikes and tandem bikes over the years. Well-known mountain bikers, the Kennett brothers, completed it using a triple tandem one year.

He says the e-bike class has grown phenomenally. Tim Miller won the event two years ago with an e-bike, using three batteries to do so.

However, he says most people can complete the 106km course on just one battery provided they use it conservatively.

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