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[outsidesports]

April Wrap up

by Reuben Thompson- Ambassador

After competing at the national triathlon champs at the end of March I now put my focus into riding for a month and doing some really competitive bike racing. These races were the Tour De Lakes and the Te Awamutu Junior Tour. The Tour De Lakes is a four day tour with two stages per day except day one. I was racing in A Grade and thought I was in to get my butt kicked.

Day one was a criterion in Cromwell, 30 mins plus 3 laps. I raced from the front the whole race although Matt Zenovich broke away to take the win and the first intermediate sprint. At 15 minutes there was a sprint and I won the bunch sprint for the points. I felt great and was waiting for the fast guys to up the pace but I was in the mix the whole time at the front. In the final sprint I positioned myself really bad but managed to take 3rd from the bunch sprint and put myself into 4th on the stage and overall. I was also sitting second on sprint points.

The following morning started with an 82km road race from the Remarkables to Five Rivers. At the start of the race I had a team mate up the road in a three man breakaway so I sat at the front controlling the pace to try and let him get away. Unfortunately for my team mate we caught him and one of his breakaway companions whilst the other stayed out for the intermediate sprint. I lead the bunch sprint to get second in the intermediate sprint. The bunch then sat up for a wee bit before another break went with a teammate of mine in it again. They got the KOM points and stuck all the way to the finish for Tim Rush to take out the stage. The main bunch then split up on Jolly’s Hill but five of us got away from the rest. I rolled through in that group of five about 30 seconds down on the breakaway. I was now sitting in 5th on GC 30 seconds back on first place. A quick lunch and we were off on another 80km stage from Five Rivers too Manapouri. Matt Zenovich and Tim Rush really ramped up the pace into a ferocious crosswind ripping the bunch apart. I was two wheels from making the vital break of five men. I was left in between the main bunch and the break in a three man group. The break got away and we got left straggling before the bunch caught us. The race was neutralized because of the winds and in amongst all of the chaos stuff happened and all the riders in the bunch got handicapped because the breakaway continued racing. I was also given a penalty that put me back to the bunch behind ours at 17 minutes back putting me out of all contention on general classification.

The following day was a time trial which I took easy to save my energy for the following stages. Sunday afternoon was another 80km stage from Te Anau to Five Rivers and the break went reasonably early and the bunch was happy to just roll the whole stage before bringing the break back in the final five km before a sprint finish. This stage was great because it was really just a two hour spin out of the legs and I rolled in 5th on the stage. Monday morning presented itself with the Coronet Peak climb. I hit the base of the climb reasonably hard for the first kilometre before some other riders tried to up the pace. The pace started to slow so I attacked and went solo for 500 odd meters before being caught by the three riders that were left in the bunch. I rode on the front keeping the pace high before we hit the steepest pitch of the mountain with about 2.5km to go. I went hard into the pitch dropping Matt Zenovich. It was just Tim Rush left to beat and the stage was mine. At the top of the steep pitch where it flattened out I ramped up the pace again and rode solo from there to the finish. I put 17 seconds into Tim and 29 into Matt. I was awarded the most aggressive rider on the stage and the James Faulding Memorial Trophy.

The final stage was a lumpy 42km from Glenorchy to Moke Lake. In the first 5km a break was established with two of my teammates in it. Again I sat at the front controlling the pace so they could get away. They took out a big lead and placed 2nd and 3rd on the stage. I felt in control on all of the hills and gave it a nudge on the climb out of Wilson’s bay. Tim Rush came with me and we left the rest of the bunch behind. On the downhill on the other side Matt Zenovich and Josh Haggerty bridged across to us. On the final climb up Moke Lake road I felt good but got a bit confused on where the finish line was and left it too late and Matt Zenovich jumped around to take 4th and I placed 5th.

I then put in some more final training before heading up to Cambridge to participate in the Te Awamutu Junior Tour.

This was a three stage tour across two days. Day 1 had a 9km Individual Time Trial and a 54km Road Race. The time trial went okay for me. I finished in 12th. Stage 2 I went off the front with one other rider and we contested for the sprint points as we rode through the first intermediate sprint. I got second the first time around before the bunch reeled us in again. For the second intermediate sprint I went solo about 8km before the sprint and got a gap out to around 45 seconds to get all the points before being reeled in yet again. I then tried my luck to get away again a few times but this times nothing sticking. I rolled through the finish with the front group and went into the sprinters green jersey with a 3 point lead. The final stage was an 86km road race over a very hilly course. Around 6km in an attack went over the top of one of the main climbs getting a break of about 10 boys. I picked up third on the first of the three intermediate sprints. As we continued on the hills boys were slowly dropping off including my main competition for the green jersey. On the second intermediate sprint I picked up second and needed one more second place to secure the jersey.

Then at the base of a hill I dropped my chain and it got caught underneath my chain catcher.

This meant I had to stop and get off my bike to get it out before continuing. I jumped on and chased my hardest but we were only 8km from the final sprint and the pace in the front group was high. I got caught by the main group 10km or so from the finish and at this point I was very tired. I had one last go at the end but this was unsuccessful and I rolled through in the main bunch. The front group had split up and the time gaps were reasonably big so the top three from the break were the top on general classification at the end of the stage. Was really disappointing for me because it meant I missed out on a potential top 5 on GC and the sprint jersey. I finished 9th out from the 59 boys who raced.

I have also received the exciting news that I will be making the move to Cambridge on July 23rd to board at St Peters School. This move will be great for my training as well as my education.

The school is stacked with facilities that will help me thrive as an athlete and student. I really can’t wait.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

An interview with Nico Porteous

New Zealand seems to breed talented skiers and snowboarders from a young age and Nico Porteous is on the right track to becoming a household name in freestyle skiing. This local Wanaka boy who has been picked up by big brands such as Redbull, GoPro, and Atomic Skis is blowing into the scene and achieving some amazing things. Last season he became the youngest skier to ever land a triple cork 1440 which really put him on the map and with more big goals he has a bright future ahead. We are very excited to bring Nico on as an Outside Sports ambassador as a very talented and friendly young man. Have a read of our interview with Nico below…

interviewed by Elmo Cotter

Name:   Nico Porteous

Age:  15

Home:  Wanaka NZ

School:  Te Kura Correspondence School

What do you do for fun?  Skiing, Snowboarding, MTB, and Skateboarding

 Your killing it with your skiing, tell us a bit about how you got into it and where it has taken you.

Oh gee thanks. I had my first taste of skiing on a family holiday when I was 4, and I was hooked, but it was pretty hard not to be when I have an older brother to try and keep up with. I really got into it about 6 years ago and started to spend time in the Northern Hemisphere competeing in the American Competitions.  This year was my first year competing at World Cup level in Ski Half Pipe.

 Where do you ski mostly and what are your favourite runs?

Cardrona is my home mountain and it’s where I spend most of my winter days.

 You were the youngest person to land the triple cork 1440 last season, that’s pretty huge! What are your goals for the season?

The Winter Games are happening this year with the Half Pipe event taking place up at Cardrona. It’s my first Winter Games and the 1st WC for the 2017/18 season. I’d really like to just come out skiing well and put in a couple of new tricks that I’ve learnt over the last couple of months.

 What’s your ultimate goal, where do you want to be one day?

The ultimate goal would be to win a medal at the 2022 Bejing Winter Olympics and podium at X Games.

Do you spend much time in NZ during summer too or just chasing winters now?

Unfortunately I don’t get to see any of the NZ summer at the moment but that is something I can look forward to later on.

 I see you have got yourself a new Specialized Enduro, what made you interested in mountain riding?

I’ve always liked biking and when I was young and lived in Chch we used to regularly go to Bottle Lake for a ride. One year I was at a summer ski camp in Whistler and after skiing I used to watch the guys biking and always thought it looked so much fun.

 How’s the new bike?

I’m absolutely stoked with it – it’s sooo cool.

 Where is your favourite place to ride and do you have a favourite trail?

Sticky Forest and my favourite trails would be Dizzy Turns or Bilantis

 Who are your biggest role models?

My brother Miguel, James “Woodsy” Woods (a British Slopestyle skier, and another avid MTB’er) and the Wells brothers.

 What are the Top 3 things on your Bucket List right now?

Going to watch a Summer X Games

Being in Whistler when Crankworx is on and experiencing powder skiing in Japan.

 Thanks to/shout outs?

It goes without saying that my Mum and Dad have to be at the top of the list – they’re always supporting me and make big sacrifices so I can do what I do.  Tommy Pyatt my coach has been with me since the beginning and of course my great team of sponsors : Redbull, GoPro, Atomic, Planks Clothing, Giro Snow, Cardrona, SSNZ and of course Specialized NZ and the crew at Outside Sports Wanaka.

 Watch Nico land his triple cork 1440 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMk2XZWU2TY

 Nicos’ “Superunknown” video edit from 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMk2XZWU2TY

  Follow him on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nicoporteous/

 Follow him on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Nico-Porteous-1497036130555585/

 #Whereadventuresbegin

[outsidesports]

7hours of 7mile Enduro – QMTBC Fundraiser

by Elmo Cotter

The 7hours of 7mile was an iconic Queenstown local mountain bike race that started in 2008 and ran in 2009, 11, and 14, but came to an end due to lack of time and resources to keep it going. After a conversation with Tony ‘T.Man’ Moore and some other local riders, I stared to think it could be something with enough enthusiasm around it to be worth resurrecting. Looking at the bike calendar I saw Queenstown was lacking a social Enduro event like this so decided to see if we could make it happen. Outside Sports, being a key company that funded the development of the 7mile bike park along with the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club back in 2003, was keen to get behind the event and fund the costs of putting it together. So away we went.

The 8th of April looked like the best date, putting it at the tail end of the bike season. The event in past had always had a fun and social focus rather than being a super competitive event and we wanted this event culture to remain strong. With over $10k in prizes donated by various local businesses, the prize list was stacked with all sorts of things from a Heli-bike trip for 5 with Fat-Tyre bike tours, to Icebreaker Merino clothing, to Devil Burger Vouchers – meaning we were able to create a tonne of prize categories.

With 60 registered riders the 8th came around and it was time to hit the trails. We were blessed by the weather gods with a beautiful sunny autumn day and with the great weather came 37 more keen entrants to make a field of 97 riders of all ages and abilities.

We wouldn’t have considered this event a success without some great costumes and the riders did not disappoint.

There were people in retro lycra race suits, Hawaiian shirts, covered in glitter, and the team ‘In Victorius IL Trio 7 Milus’ dressed in knights’ armour while riding their noble steeds. The festive vibe was strong and everyone was there with smiles on.

To kick off the race, one member of each team removed their front wheel and placed it by their bike for the group start. Then, with a 3-2-1-GO, the riders ran in a mob around the car park and back to their bikes where they had to put their wheel in before taking off on the track – an effective way of spacing out the crowd. The course took a loop throughout the 7mile Bike Park that went backwards up some downhill trails, through a variety of existing trails, and cut some new lines on untracked ground to make an exciting loop full of varying terrain. The trail had technical sections with roots and rocks, tight switchbacks, flowy jumpy downhills and some loose loamy zones to make for a varied course to put everyone’s overall skills to the test.

One of the individual riders, Richard Dunnett, was the first to complete the first loop and powered through for his second as everyone cheered him on. Riders came flying through the transition area, ripping skids in front of the timing tent and tagging their mates in, or pedalling on for another lap. A good turnout of spectators and support crew cheered everyone on and music played at the lakefront making for an exciting transition zone. The trails were quite dry so by midday the track was getting dusty, corners were being roosted and new hot lines where popping up which kept things exciting.

As the sun rose higher in the sky it was about time to get something into the riders and spectators bellies. Life’s a Grind coffee caravan and the Taco Medic truck provided some high quality sustenance for riders and spectators, and the Pick Me Lick Me ice block stand was treat for those needing to cool down a bit. Outside Sports also put on a BBQ for the riders to keep them trucking through the day. BikeshopDan from Outside Sports was on hand with his bike stand ready to fix any issues the day but with only a few minor fixes he ended up manning the BBQ most of the day. Got to feed the people!

With 1 hour to go it was time for riders to get on the gas again and pump out their final laps with what energy was left. Several teams and individuals had stopped riding to enjoy the sunset while the keen riders gained a few extra laps to try and get themselves ahead enough for the podium.

Just as the shade came down on Wilson’s bay, it was 5pm and the race was done with! The final riders came out of the forest, knackered, but with smiles on their faces and ready for a drink.

The last of the sun shone on the hills in the background making for a spectacular backdrop to the prize giving

After the placing prizes there was still a huge amount of spot prizes including; best dressed, team spirit, biggest air, good sort of the day, hard done by, most stylish bike, best marshal, and one of the entrants (Brenna) even ended up jumping in the cold autumn lake for a free hand gliding trip!

With prize giving wrapped up and the day done with, riders headed to Atlas Beer Café for a well-deserved beer.

With $2910 raised for the club and everyone smiling by the end of the day, it really felt like a great success and something we hope to do again next year.

RESULTS

1st Individual men’s - Richard Dunnet who also had the fastest lap of the day with a time of 18.25 2nd Individual men’s – Marty Macdonald 3rd –individual men’s - Louis Bronstein

 No women’s individuals - take note for next year!

 1st Men’s team –Rebel food (Martin, Grant, Matt, Brent)

2nd Men’s team – Bikaholic (Justin, Matt)

 1st Women’s team – The screaming marmots (Susan, Sharyn, Merrin)

2nd Women’s team – Back Flag (Aimee, Meagan)

1st Mixed team – Team Blank (Alex, Michelle, Marty)

2nd Mixed team – Menagerie (T.man, Neil, Mandy)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oBiwC1UmKc&t=4s

 Thanks to everyone that came along, all our incredible volunteers, our generous sponsors, and everyone else that helped make this a fantastic day.

 Thanks to all our prize sponsors: Outside Sports Fat Tyre Adventures Specialized Icebreaker Torpedo7 Skyline Cardrona Mons Royale Thunder Jet Atlas Beer Café Nzone Vivian+Espie Southern Discoveries Remarkable Women’s Health and Fitness Centre Welcome Rock Trails Queenstown Rafting Alta Queenstown Skytrek Select Action Sports Aj Hacket Bunji Shotover Canyon Swing and Fox Devil Burger Spoke Magazine The North Face Mitre10 Mega Queenstown New World Queenstown Bikaholic Altitude Brewery The Lone Star Rebel Food Big Night Out Taco Medic Site Trampoline Around The Mountains Cycle Trail

  Film by: Paul Rayner

Photos by: Thomas Whelan, Lance brown

Words by: Elmo Cotter

[outsidesports]

March Wrap Up

by Reuben Thompson- Ambassador

On the first weekend of March I raced the South Island champs where I took the win for the U16 boy’s race. After a good swim I was 30 seconds back going onto the bike. The bike was 3 laps of a 5km circuit. I caught everyone on the first lap but it took me another lap to shake everyone off. I came off the bike 30 seconds up on the rest of the field before running away to take the win by more than a minute. The next weekend after that I travelled up to Wellington to compete in the U20 national champs. It was pissing down with rain and was really windy for the race which made the sea really rough for the swim. Being a weak swimmer I came out of the water almost two and a half minutes back…. This was a draft legal race and I had well and truly missed the first bunch on the bike so I rode solo passing a few stragglers but didn’t make any significant time up on any of the favourites. My legs felt really sluggish going into the run but came around in the back half. I finished in 15th, pretty disappointed.

picture: South Island Champs Bike

I then had just less than three weeks to do the final tuning for my main race of the season, the NZ secondary schools champs. In the weeks leading up to the race I started surprising myself with some of my times in training and knew I was well prepared. I raced the Central Otago Cycling Club Champs Time Trial as a final wee hit out before taper. I took out my age group and the overall and also won the junior points series for the season.

The following Thursday was race day. It was the New Zealand Secondary Schools Triathlon Championships. 500m Swim, 15km Bike and a 4km Run. The swim was in the Whanganui River. Being upstream I was very nervous because I thought it would make the swim longer and give the stronger swimmers a better chance to get a gap on me. This wasn’t the case because the river is tidal and race organizers had timed it for when the tide was coming in.

I wasn’t happy with my swim but not disappointed either. I did hope to do better but came out of the water 40 seconds down on the leaders. My transition went well until I hopped on my bike. The strap on my shoe came out so I rode with one loose shoe the whole race and my aero bar pad got knocked off. The bolts on my aero bars dug into my skin exposing blood by the end of the race. Despite a little bit of panic in that first kilometre I set into a rhythm and with 24 boys in front of me I ticked all but one off in the first lap of four. I then caught first place at the end of the third lap. I didn’t think I had the legs to distance him and we had enough of a gap on the rest of the field so I rode the last lap slightly reserved so I could hopefully blitz the run.

picture: National Champs Run

I biked fastest by 45 seconds to come into transition in first but only by a couple seconds after having to make up the 40 seconds from the swim. We battled out for about 3 kilometres but I lost touch and blew up a bit mentally to roll in for second place.

picture: National Champs Bike

The following day there was an aquathlon that I didn’t intend on doing but thought I would since I was up there. I came out of the water 1:05 back in 55th and had no hope of a podium but wanted to nudge into the top 10. I ran the second fastest split to make up 47 places to finish in 8th.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

Red Bull Defiance 2017

by Joanna Williams

Experiences of Team Outside Sports and PAK'nSAVE

I was excited to have the opportunity to race Red bull Defiance again with Sia Svensen. We raced together last year and previously tandem on the C2C. It is always a fun couple of days.

"To race locally is also a real privilege."  An opportunity to venture into areas which are otherwise hard to access!" As the event approached and with talk of a highly competitive field, it does make you nervous, but you just have to trust that you and your team mate have done enough to get through and you can only do your best.  So after a bike check with Outside Sports and a body Attack at body works with Kevin, there wasn’t much else I could do, apart from get race gear ready.

Sia arrived on Thursday, which was great, it gave her an opportunity to have a practice at clay bird shooting and have a bit of a rest day before the gruelling event started. Gear checks, and registration, hanging out with all these extremely fit looking athletes, can make sleep hard to get.

Day1

Off on the bus and to the barge to Minaret Station.  It was a cold overcast day, but not windy which was promising for the kayak later in the day. Great to catch up with everyone on the barge crossing, enjoying the unusual start to a race.  Then to the start line and we were off… it was all a little crazy, so many people charging on bikes, hard to keep track of team mates. It is the most stunning ride, which I always enjoy, despite the pain of getting up some of those hills, but we made it.  Then onto the run up rocky hill alternative route, it is great to find so many different ways up a hill, it was hands and feet at some points, but we made it to a point where the volunteers pointed us in the direction of the abseil, and that meant down. So it was with relief and a little inkling of cramp that we descended.  It was great to catch up with Floortje and Hamish at this point waiting for the abseil, as we had spent some time training together over the last few months.  A quick zip down and a run across some farmland to the West Wanaka bridge onto the Matukituki river and out to the lake. The change in activity did set of a little cramp at this point for me especially if some steering was required. But it did improve after a while. We had a few mixed teams ahead on this paddle so it gave something to chase. Although, all teams ahead were close to over shooting the buoy turn around in Glendhu, I guess when you could see Wanaka it was hard to turn off to the right! It seemed a long slow paddle, Ruby Island taking a long time to get to and then Wanaka township itself took a while... running out of steam a little towards the end…next time more liquid food for me! It was great to find we were the first female elite team over the line day1. We just hoped for as much of a buffer as possible for day2! It was 15 minutes between us and second and 20 or so between us and third.  So not much time to spare!  A clean up of gear and a look at the weather revealed southerly gales on tops with snow for the next 24 hours or so to 1400m.  Knowing Mnt Alpha was at least 1640m, I was packing my red bull duffle bag with all sorts of warm gear.  Wondered what shoes to wear in the snow!  E-mails later that evening from Sally confirmed we were in for a cold day on the tops, but that a risk of change of run coarse was a possibility.

Day 2

We woke to snow across the hills and constant rain on the roof. At 5am we were up and about to get down to start line, check kayak and see if there was any quicker way of getting into kayak with Spray skirt ….We tried sliding in, seemed to work, starter hooter went off and Sia and I slide into our kayaks only to find I couldn’t steer, the kayak only wanted to go right! Meanwhile everyone was charging away from us, I straightened for a minute only to turn right again. So off with the spray skirt and move my pack which had jammed against the steering peddles causing it to malfunction. Then we were off trying to catch everyone, knowing we had lost valuable minutes and what’s worse, less potential for getting any drafting help.  We paddled hard and somehow made up a little time, to come in ahead of the other girls and to crawl up the hill to the clay bird shooting.  Sia went first having practiced on the Friday, and then I had a go and managed to hit a clay first shot…was delighted with myself!  I think seeing where the clay was coming from with Sia going first really helped.

Then onto the bikes. It was incredibly wet and muddy from the start and the transition a little frantic….how many clothes to put on!!?  On up the Criffle hill with Floortje and Hamish and Simon and Misha, always fun to be around your friends, although I was told off for chatting at one point!  It seemed like a lot of climbing, but ok, then it benched out only to climb again into the southerly storm, so it was bitterly cold and even biking uphill didn’t warm you up. On with a jacket for me and then further along again Sia needed more clothes as well, so even more layers- leggings and waterproof pants, no point in getting hyperthermia!  A real risk I would have to say.  We helped each other helmet buckles etc as cold hands meant they weren’t working as they should. We had quite a few teams including Collet girls team catch up us at this point. But it was worth the change, I think it was important to keep some warmth, especially with a technical descent ahead.  It was muddy and slippy, and then there was the tall grass with big rocks to cause havoc.  So we took it carefully and made it down in one piece although Sia did have a wee head plant of the edge of the track, but soldiered on. The Cardrona River was in good flow so crossing with bikes for us was tricky, but other boys sports team came to our rescue and helped carry Sia’s bike and help her across.  I was very grateful for this.  We charged through to transition, which was slow I would say due to cold fingers and hands. It was so good to have so much support from the locals at the transitions.  The last leg was altered to an 18km run up towards Alpha and then cutting down avoiding the ridge top travel where the snow was quite thick and the southerly was raging at ridge top.  It still had the main climb up which always seems to be hard going.  Again on stopping to delayer the girls were right on our tails, so we had to keep moving.  It is great to have some close racing to keep us on our toes, quite literally I’d have to say.  On up to the first saddle to a ridge and then on up to get the main ridge to see the Volunteers on the top, wow they were amazing as it was really very cold up there- thanks so much! Steve Hannon in particular on a very exposed cold spot!   Then it was turn right down the ridge line and fence line to the track which leads us down to Waterfall creek.  It was an enjoyable run down with Lake Wanaka looking stunning with snow on the hills and a flat calm lake. I guess you could see the finish line at this point, you could certainly hear it.  But we were still a wee way off.  It was a fun run down hill, down waterfall creek to the lake to follow it around for a further 4 km to the finish line.  

We knew we were getting chased down and thought Julia and Kristy would be fast along the lake front, so we tried to keep the legs turning over at some speed to get us home!  We made it and were delighted to take home the women’s title again this year.  Thanks to Red Bull Defiance for another great event and to all the Volunteers and the locals support, it really helps to get us to the finish line.  Thanks to Sia for pushing so hard and for being a fabulous team mate.  Thanks to Outside Sports for the ongoing support and for keeping my trusty Specialized stead on track and in good health.  Thanks also to PAK'nSAVE, always very supportive.  It was a very tough race made harder by conditions, the cold and the snow just made it even more of an adventure out there.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

by Reuben Thompson- Ambassador

"February was a real breakthrough"

with some pretty spectacular performances as my form is starting to show going into the final month of my Tri season. I started the month with two A Grade club race wins two weekends in a row. The worst race was up coronet peak where I won by several minutes. I then won again the following week after attacking on a sharp hill with about 3km to the finish and held my advantage all the way to the end.

I had two of my more important races of the season on the 18th and the 24th. The 18th was the Wanaka Round of the New Zealand 16-19 junior series. Having only turned 16 three days prior I was one of the youngest in the field. After a pretty trashy swim I was around 2 minutes down on the leaders. Then I had my work cut out on the bike where I rode the fastest bike split by a minute to get into 5th. My run was a really good one. Got from 5th to finish on the podium in 3rd.

On the 24th was the Southland Secondary Schools Champs. I had a relatively good swim coming out 28 seconds down. My bike and run were really quick and I biked over two minutes faster than my nearest competitor and then over one minute faster in the run to take the win.

February 26th was the first round of the Calder Stewart Elite series held in Cheviot. The course was 137km with one very steep climb to face 5 times throughout the day.

"I was the youngest rider racing and the only under 17 racing against seasoned pros like James Oram and Brad Evans."

The first 2 laps were fine as I rolled along in the group saving energy but halfway through the third lap I got a bit excited and jumped on the gas a bit on the climb and then rolled some hard turns on the flats. This took its toll on the final lap when I blew up a bit and fell off the back of the bunch to ride the final 20km solo. I am still happy to have finished as the tough course whittled the field down from 80+ starters to 43 finishers. It really was a valuable experience and a lot of learning done out there.

I was also pretty cool to be riding as a team in our rather slick looking kit from Champion System, Central Benchmakers, The O'Brien Group and Willbike Cycle Coaching. And as ever thanks to Specialized Bicycles, Outside Sports and Southern Sports Podiatry for the continual support.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

Godzone – go team Slice of Heaven!

by  Casey Brown

“Welcome to our team 'Slice of Heaven'! We are pretty much 4 people that love running and exploring and somehow managed to talk ourselves into this crazy bloody race. Made up of 2 mums, a track guide and a personal trainer we simply hope not to be short coursed and cross the finish line talking to each other. 

With ultra off road running as our backgrounds the thought of sitting on a bike grinding up large climbs wasn't too appealing to begin with. Battling our way through on 10-15year old bikes made initial stages of training really tough! And then came the Ruzes.... we love , love, love our fatties! They are like sitting  on a lazy boys. Great mobility on single downhill trails, will beat any 29 up hill, roll efficiently on the road and are easy on the butts off road. 

Follow our 3 fatties and a skinny around the unknown course starting on Feb 25th! We are team #73. Yell loudly if you see us going around in circles....

Thanks Outside Sports Te Anau and Andy's Bike Shop for looking after us and our bikes!! 

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

January Race Rap Up

By Reuben Thompson- Ambassador

In January I continued to build on my training, clocking in my biggest bike week ever as well as a good block of swimming and running. I was very privileged to do some training with Youth Olympic Triathlon Champion Aaron Barclay and now have Aaron helping me out with my triathlon plan and am also on board with the Willbike Cycle Coaching Team with James Williamson. Even more exciting was the arrival of my new bike, a 2017 S-Works Tarmac. It is incredible!

Aboard my old steed I raced three final times in January. My first race was on the 2nd of January, the Dunstan Tri. I came away with third place in the “under 18 category” and fifth place overall. The second race was the Dunstan Cycle Challenge. The 96 km race was a bit of a battle after missing the break. I worked quite a lot to keep the pace high in the chase group. With five guys out in front I was sprinting for the sixth place overall and for the second under the age of 20 in the final. After two hours and 20 minutes of racing I put in a pretty poor sprint to take the 11th place overall, but the second place under 20 in a field of 170 riders. My final race on my 2016 Specialized Tarmac Expert was an 80km club handicap race from Hawea to Makarora and back. I was on scratch 33 minutes back on the first group off. Our five man group worked well to catch up with the riders ahead around 40km in. This was only a small bunch of riders though and there still a few groups up ahead. Two really quick A grade riders rode away to claim first and second while I soloed for 35km before catching all but one other rider. I was now in a three up sprint for fourth place and I came away with fifth in what was probably the hardest two hours of riding I’ve ever done.

My new bike started off sharply. My first ride on it was from Queenstown to Wanaka and back and aside from the rain and some snow on the top of the crown range it was great fun. I raced it the following day at the Cromwell to Alexandra handicap race. Again placed on scratch our four man group had to make up 27 minutes to the leaders over 39km. I came close to catching them but fell short by around 200 meters. I did however take the fastest time of the day after attacking on a short but steep hill to ride away solo from my group. My last race of January was a 35km mountain bike from Clyde to Bannockburn through farmland with 993 meters of climbing. I surprised myself to come away with 3rd place ahead of some very big fit lads who were on form one week out of The Pioneer.

In February I will be racing the first race of my secondary schools season at the southland secondary schools triathlon champs as well as the challenge Wanaka sprint tri as part the NZ Junior try series. I will also be riding for the first time as part of the Central-Benchmakers Willbike Cycle Team in Round 1 of the Calder Stewart Cycling Elite Series.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

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Disc Golf Queenstown: Social, fun, and free!

by Brenna McGown

When I first arrived in Queenstown, I was curious why so many tourists and locals were carrying around compact Frisbee discs. I soon discovered that as much as Fergburger is a staple of Queenstown, so is the Frisbee golf course in the Queenstown Gardens.

"Frisbee golfing is an integral part of the Queenstown lifestyle."

People of all different physical ability can play, it gets people outside, and most of all it fosters a sense of community. All you need to bring is a Frisbee golf disc- these are heavier and more compact than normal Frisbees, a beverage to keep you hydrated and a good attitude and sense of fun.

The course itself is designed to be friendly for beginners, but also offers challenges for more advanced players. A map at the beginning shows each hole and the associated par. Each tee has an informative graphic that depicts the distance to the basket, obstacles, and where the basket is placed. At each basket, a small sign directs players to the next tee.

The course is a pleasant mix of open spaces, trees, and amazing views. People from all different backgrounds are drawn to Frisbee golf because of its versatility. Working at Outside Sports, I have sold Frisbee golfing discs to whole families, to couples, and to friends.

"All of these people are united by the desire to get outside and enjoy Queenstown."

Out on the course, I have met locals and travelers from various countries while playing, and everyone has been inured with a sense of joyfulness and friendliness.  Everyone brings a different story and background, and they are all willing to share their experiences. Frisbee golfing is the quintessential Queenstown activity because it combines outdoor activity with a sense of community and happiness, and to me that is what Queenstown is all about.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

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DECEMBER RAP UP

The Lake Hayes Triathlon..

took place on the 27th of December.  The race went really well for me. I swam reasonably well coming out of the water around two minutes behind the leaders. I enjoyed the bike on home roads chasing down the majority of my rivals and coming of the bike in 4th overall and 3rd in the 15-18 category. About 1km onto the run I caught a runner and pushed past putting a gap in before the turn around point. I held the gap into the finish, to finish 3rd overall and 2nd in my age group.

I have also been participating in a whole host of cycling events held by our local club on Sundays which has built my confidence loads. I have been racing A grade where I have picked up a 2nd place in the Speargrass Flat 60km Road Race, a 3rd in the Ripponvale Circuit Road Race and a 10th in the Hath’s Trophy Handicap race in which I started 30 minutes back on scratch.

In December I was also very privileged to ride with two olympians.

The first was Annemiek Van Vleuten. Annemiek was mere kilometers from winning gold at the rio olympics before crashing on a sharp right hander on the descent which also took out some of the big names in the mens road race. She is also current and 2014 Dutch Time Trial Champion and placed 5th at the World Championship Time Trial. We rode together three times. Once just the two of us from Queenstown to Alexandra, again joined by Olympic 4th place getter and former team pursuit world champion Pieter Bulling and L&M Group Ricoh rider Guy Carter from Queenstown to Glenorchy and back and once more up the Crown Range. This experience was really awesome.

In January I will continue to build with my training and hope to race the Dunstan Triathlon and the Dunstan Cycle Challenge as well as the club cycle races on Sundays. I will also have a new bike and gear arriving from Specialized NZ so hopefully I will back up the need for all this fancy gear with some results.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

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Specialized Ruze 6 Fattie Review

BELINDA’S NEW BIKE

After hearing how stoked our customer, Belinda was with her new bike, we thought we'd ask her some questions to review the Specialized Ruze 6Fattie for you.

How have you enjoyed your new bike?

My new bike has been used to get to and from work, have a great burst of exercise on, ride over tracks to visit friends, meeting up with a group of enthusiastic riders and a new diligence for washing down and oiling the chain after a ride, when I need too!

What sort of riding are you doing/where have you been riding?

I ride along the tracks around the lake and around the district. Using some of our mountain trails and learning about the new ones to try out.

Are you riding more?

I enjoy any opportunity to be on it because the sense of freedom from traffic congestion and connecting with the outdoors are so much more realistic on a bike. The winding down time riding home after a busy day’s work are sublime.

What improvements have you noticed compared to your old bike?

My new Specialized Ruze 6 with fat tyres is awesome. The gears are easy to change, with a tap of the thumb, brakes are great, tyres make dirt tracks smooth and the seat is slick and very comfortable.

Do you enjoy biking any more?

Biking can only ever be GOOD for YOU

Get one new, bright and BLUE

Ride those trails for a BLAST

Pedal to work, be first not LAST

What is your favourite feature of the new bike?

The ease of riding it, colour, wheels, gears, handlebars all make for special features.

Any other comments?

The sales person showed an understanding for my needs and biking requirements.

Specialized Ruze 6Fattie available in store Queenstown and Wanaka, head in today and speak to our team of experienced bike mechanics to see what bike suits you, with demo's available.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

The Kepler Challenge Race

By Floortje

Running the Kepler with Floortje:

Kepler was a big Challenge. I had the pressure on all day, I didn't even have time for toilet stops!

I ran comfortably with a friend up to Luxmore Hut. And started to realise I needed to get ahead to chase the other girls. I was running 4th by the half way point, 32km at the Iris Burn hut.

I had no time to grab goodies from transition, this meant missing out on Christmas cake!!.From there I thought the hills were over and I would be on flat terrain..... turns out I got that absolutely wrong......

With the girls on my heels I started to pace out fast, working on mental strength to stay ahead. After holding the lead for 1.5 hours of fast pace I still hadn't found the flat terrain I was expecting, and so I decided the guys in my train could lead for a while.  It was at that moment I realised one of the girls was hanging on and passed me freshly.

The fast out pace bit me in the bum. I kept going, sitting in a black box, I got passed by another girl in the last 10km. Still looking for the flat terrain I finally found it in the last 500 meters before I happily finished.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

Specialized Healthy Catch Ups at Rabbit Ridge

As the weekend approached the forecast wasn’t looking great and early Sunday morning the rain was pouring down. Between the clouds we saw that there had been a big snowfall on the surrounding mountains – and it’s supposed to be the start of summer!?

We were expecting a small turnout due to poor conditions but nearly everyone that booked showed up excited to ride– great effort! The enthusiasm from the group seemed to pay off as the sun started to peek through the clouds and the rain stopped - a ride was definitely in order.

The call was made that Rabbit Ridge was too slippery and the Queenstown trail across the road would be a good option. The group set off to ride the loop down by the river with the possibility of coming back to the Ridge if it dried out. The trail took the group on a loop down towards the river for a cruisy ride looking out over the Kawarau. As the group rode, the sun seemed to fight its way through the clouds making for a pretty nice day! The snow on the hills made for some great scenery and everyone seemed stoked to be out riding.

After the river loop we got a call from Sean who had been keeping an eye on the trail conditions at Rabbit Ridge and he had good news. The lower trails had soaked up all the water and it was looking good to ride!

As we had already done a decent amount of pedalling and food and wine was on the mind, we decided some shuttle runs would be more enjoyable then riding to the top of the park. With the Outside Sports truck and the Rabbit Ridge van, the riders were taken to the top of the park for a couple of descending trails to finish the ride.

Everyone arrived back at Gibbston Valley Winery where some complimentary bottles of wine and juice were waiting for the thirsty riders. After a post ride catch up over some food and drink, the riders left with new friends and have hopefully been inspired to get out there and do more healthy social catch ups.

Thank you to Rabbit Ridge for free access to the trails, Gibbston Valley Winery for hosting us, and all the riders who came along with such great attitudes!

Keep an eye on the Healthy Catch Ups Facebook page for information on the next ride, and feel free to use the page to organise your own healthy catch up!

#WhereAdventuresBegin

Photo Credit: Meagan Lee Wilken

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The Specialized Bike Demo Trailer is back!

Specialized are bringing the Bike Demo Trailer to Queenstown and Wanaka with a mountain Bike focused fleet of new season bikes for you to try! Epics, Cambers, Stumpjumpers, Rhymes, Enduros and Levos for you to take for a spin.

Queenstown

Where: Queenstown- 7 Mile

When: Saturday 19th November, 9am- 3pm

What to Bring: No Bookings required, just bring riding gear and ID.

Wanaka

Where: Wanaka- Sticky Forest

When: Sunday 20th November, 9am- 3pm

What to Bring: No Bookings required, just bring riding gear and ID.

Get along and try one out!

#WhereAdventuresBegin

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Days like these are what Queenstown life is all about!

Inter store ride at Rude Rock

By Elmo

To kick summer off, employees from all the Queenstown bike shops got together after work for a big group bike ride at a local favourite, the Rude Rock trail.

Rude Rock is up at the Coronet peak ski area and has easy shuttle access along the Coronet Peak road making it perfect for group rides. It is a fast and flowy trail that weaves along the open tussock hills and is extremely fun for both intermediate and advanced mountain bikers.

At 6pm everyone shut up shop and nearly 40 riders piled into vans to head up Coronet Peak. It was a beautiful calm afternoon and spirits were high!

 The pack dropped in and the hills echoed with the sounds of excited riders doing what they enjoy most. Everyone had an awesome time sending it down the hill again and again until it was nearly too dark to see. With the last bit of light all the riders mingled in the carpark for plenty of hi-fives, a beer, and a good catch up about the winter and plans for summer before heading home or to the pub.

Cheers to everyone involved for an awesome evening, it was great to get everyone from the local shops together and share a ride. Days like that are what Queenstown life is all about!

Bring on the bike season.

#WhereAdventuresBegin

[outsidesports]

DIG TO RIDE – GET INVOLVED

Specialized Dig Day Queenstown

Love living and riding in Queenstown? Want to help build and maintain the local trails? Here's your chance to get a taste of what trail building is about - get involved and give back to the mighty Queenstown trails for an evening. Riders of all levels (and non-riders) are encouraged to come out, cut some new lines, earn some trail karma and have a hand in expanding the formidable local trail network. The Queenstown MTB Club, along with experienced trail builders and local good sorts will lead digging on a new trail close to town. Work will be focussed on some sweet hand built single track. No name until it's built!

The Specialized NZ team will be there digging, as well as supporting volunteers with food, drinks, tools and maybe some bikes for a quick ride afterwards! We will be rolling on downtown afterwards with support from Atlas Bar.

WHEN & WHERE TO MEET

Friday 18th November

Meet at Bottom of Skyline Gondola, Brecon Street. 2 groups with safety briefing to be given at these times. • Early group -4pm • Later (after work) group 6pm

Dig will be from 4pm – 8pm We will be cutting a new trail We will be accessing the dig site via the Skyline Gondola, then walking across to start of Hammy’s. The Dig will be higher up above Hammy’s track and will be clearly signposted.

Skyline to provide free access for volunteers - Thanks Skyline!

Season pass holders can go up when they want

Specialized Team will put on a mean BBQ for volunteers down at the lake front from 8pm

WHAT TO BRING

- Pick, shovel, grubber, rake, pruning saw, garden snips if you have them. Some tools will be provided, but it would be a big help if you can bring your own to lend to others if needed. - Warm gear for when it gets cold - Sturdy/protective footwear and gloves

Follow the Facebook event page for updates: Dig Day- Queenstown

#RideMoreNZ #WhereAdventuresBegin #IamSpecialized

[outsidesports]

New RIDE location

The Outside Sports Ride centre in Queenstown, which was on Brecon St below the gondola, has now moved to the main store on Shotover Street. Find the rear entrance and free customer car parking on Memorial Street.

The bike shop is now open and operational with the bike workshop for any repairs or maintenance and bike rentals for all budgets and styles of riding. Hardtails, road bikes, cross country bikes, downhill bikes, kids’ bikes and more.

Popular bike maintenance nights held in Queenstown.

Once we get into summer we will be running free basic bike maintenance and repair clinics along with ladies ride days and various other events. Follow us on Facebook to keep up to date.

Here’s to a great summer ahead!

#WhereAdventuresBegin