Stay updated with the latest beauty tips, trends, and news from our salon experts. Our blog is your go-to source for all things beauty.
Central Otago is famous for its jaw-dropping landscapes and off-road trails. So much so, the Freeride Mountain Biking world is bringing one of their biggest events to Queenstown next month.
The event, called Natural Selection Bike, will bring 26 of the world's top professionals to New Zealand.
Kiwi Mountain Bike star Robin Goomes is one of the stars confirmed to compete.
"The course looks insane," Goomes said, "this is my first time seeing it this morning. I actually just got into town pretty much straight here to have a look."
The event was formerly known as Proving Grounds where it has become a fixture at Prineville, Oregon in the United States.
But it's heading abroad for the first time, coming to New Zealand as part of the Natural Selection tour.
"Our American colleagues just fell in love with Queenstown and the Southern Lakes region, said event director Sophie Luther.
"They thought it was just the best place ever to ride, full stop, let alone the landscape that we've now made into our beautiful course."
Organisers visited Queenstown in 2022 in the bid to scout out the event's next location.
After two weeks, and 22 sites, they nailed down one.
Mount Dewar near Coronet Peak has now been transformed by builders into a world class course.
"The amount of work that's gone into this has been astronomical," said course builder Emmerson Wilken.
"We've had up to 15 guys on site at any one time — from carpentry work, digging to planning. But we've actually been able to achieve a hell of a lot in a short amount of time."
The preparations have been completed in just two months.
Goomes is coming fresh off success after nailing the pinnacle of freeride mountain biking, the Red Bull Rampage in Utah, in November last year — claiming the women's first ever title.
"The cool thing about Rampage is you get to build it yourself so you only build it as big as you think you can go," said Goomes. "[In Queentown], it's built professionally but it's probably bigger than I went," she said with a nervous chuckle. "It'll be good."
The competition features a men’s and women’s division and will combine the three most dynamic disciplines in mountain biking: Big Mountain Freeride, Slopestyle and Downhill.
