The Gorge is a magical mountain bike park tucked away deep in the Wairoa Valley. For several years now the Nelson Mountain Bike Club (NMTBC) has hosted a mid-winter enduro event at The Gorge and this year’s event was one to remember. The 2024 event was held over three days and included an optional practice day for 40 riders on Friday 28th June, 100 racers at The Matariki Gorge Enduro on Saturday 29th June, and the Nelson Mountain Bike Club’s volunteer appreciation day on Sunday 30th June.
A lot of organising, planning, and preparation was done to ensure the weekend would be a success and it was all worth it the moment everything came together, the riders arrived and the place became alive with people, stories, laughter, and good times. Riders came from all corners of New Zealand to experience the magic of The Gorge for themselves. The sun shone all weekend for us, the nights were cold and crisp, the firepits burned hot and the good times were many.
The Enduro Course was planned by The Matariki Gorge Enduro event team, we wanted a course that showcased some of the more popular trails at The Gorge while also taking riders down some of the less-ridden but still fun hidden gems. The course included 6 timed stages, 2 untimed slightly harder stages, and two spot prize challenges. We wanted to keep the course achievable for intermediate riders while still giving more advanced riders a good time and I think we nailed it! Jennine White, a first-time mountain bike racer had this to say:
“I had a goal this season of doing an MTB event and I finally did it!
Chris and I ventured up to the Wairoa Gorge Bike Park for the 2024 Gorge Winter Experience – The Matariki, so we could slowly session the trails, and after practice day, I was having some pretty serious doubts. But after an evening of good yarns and some serious encouragement, followed by a VERY nervous morning and even more encouragement we finally dropped in, and off we went! The nerves eventually melted away and instead were replaced with whoops and smiles.
I had the ride of my life with only a few strategic laydowns and finished with a smile on my face that won’t be going anywhere for a while!
I even took a podium (2nd out of 2 in my category baby whoop whoop!) and got a very special spot prize that may have made (me) have a little cry.
I love our MTB life and all it brings us. WHAT A WEEKEND!” Jennine White
The overall fastest ride of the day was by Diego Herrera followed closely by Max Hides. The fastest female of the day was Pippi Taylor (racing in the under 15’s) with Harmony Stocker taking out the second fastest female spot. Over 40 under 18-year-olds were racing showing that the future of Nelson mountain biking is in good hands. You can view the full results here.
We had over 30 volunteers helping at the event, I always feel humbled by the time given by this crew of people. We had doctors, paramedics, outdoor enthusiasts, teenagers, parents, travellers, and more, come and be part of the event. As a show of appreciation to these volunteers and all the other volunteers who have helped over the past year, we held our annual volunteer appreciation day at The Gorge on Sunday 30th. This was a chance for the NMTBC team to give a little back to this amazing group of people who make all our events possible and it was great to see over 50 riders come and enjoy the day. Thank you to the Gorge Drivers who made an amazing effort getting everyone up and down the shuttle road over the weekend, to Scottish Express who cooked the volunteers a delicious lunch on Sunday, and who jumped in his shuttle vehicle to help with shuttles when things became busy, to Shockcraft and J.Swap Stockfoods who sponsored the race and to Dom Blissett for taking all these fantastic images.
I’m still smiling from the weekend as I love seeing The Gorge humming, particularly in the middle of winter. It truly is a special place and a must for any mountain bike-loving riders out there.
Thanks to everyone who came and was part of the 2024 Matariki Gorge Enduro! Ride on!
Mel Barker – Club Manager
