The inaugural New World Tour de Wakatipu on Easter Saturday (April
11) could attract as many as 700 competitors, with more than 500
already entered in the 45km event which will take in previously
inaccessible parts of the district, traversing a course from
Millbrook Resort to Chard Farm. The entries for the event close on
Sunday 5th April.
Southern Traverse director Geoff Hunt says the event which caters for
elite, sport and recreational mountain bikers "has caught the
imagination of people from all over the region and other parts of the
South Island."
"This is an event which offers people exclusive access to the right
bank of the Kawarau River. The chance to go to places which are
usually off limits has created a huge response with over half the
field entered in the recreational division. This indicates clearly
the demand from 'social athletes' for events of this nature and we
are pleased to be able to provide a course which suits all levels."
The start line is at Millbrook Resort and the course leads to
Speargrass Flat Road, and over Slopehill Road to a single track
alongside the Shotover River and across the restored Lower Shotover
Bridge. The next stage joins the Kawarau River track via the Shotover
delta, and follows a short section of state highway to the privately
owned Kawarau River road on Coneburn Station, finishing at Chard Farm.
The sport and elite competitors will also ride around the Lake Hayes
track as part of the overall course.
"It is a privilege to be able to stage this mountain bike ride over
such a great course," says Hunt, "and it is thanks to Millbrook, the
Wakatipu Trails Trust, local landowners and the Department of
Conservation that it is happening. We are getting such positive
feedback from people who are excited about the opportunity to ride
along the otherwise inaccessible right bank of the Kawarau River
across Coneburn Station."
Some sections of the course including the Kawarau River Trail,
running upstream from the Shotover Junction, are currently being
upgraded by the organisers to improve conditions for competitors.
New companies have recently joined the "sponsor family" and Hunt says
they are indebted to them for their support.
"Giant Bikes will give away a state-of-the-art mountain bike as a
spot prize at the prize giving at Chard Farm and Konica Minolta has
also become part of the sponsor group."
Southern Regional Manager Charles Bateman, who is participating in
the Tour de Wakatipu along others on his staff, says the company has
always had good support from the Central Otago and Queenstown
business community.
"This support has resulted in Konica Minolta becoming the supplier of
choice for copiers and printers. With this in mind we are getting
behind this event in order to give something back and have some fun
in the process."
The Tour de Wakatipu will donate funds to Cure Kids, which is one of
Queenstown's favourite charities, and raises money for vital research
into children's life threatening illnesses.
The Tour de Wakatipu is sponsored by New World Wakatipu, with
supporting sponsors, Millbrook Resort and Chard Farm as our Start and
Finish sponsors, R&R Sport, Queenstown Airport, Giant bikes, Konica
Minolta, Southern Laser and More FM.
The event has a web site that enables online entries and this can be
found at www.tourdewakatipu.co.nz.
Southern Traverse Ltd. is a premier international Sport Event
Management company. Southern Traverse Ltd. operates and manages
elite events around the world, including the Adventure Racing World
Championship, the AR World Series and New Zealand's icon adventure
race, the Macpac Southern Traverse.
Other New Zealand events include The North Face Peak to Peak,
TrustPower Adventure Quest, the Macpac 24hrs of Southern Traverse and
8 hour Adventure Challenge, and the Fresh Choice Womens Triathlon.
The Adventure Racing World Series is an international circuit of
premiere adventure races representing 11 countries creating a
12-month calendar of professional events around the world and acting
as qualifiers for the Adventure Race World Championship to be held in
Brazil in 2008.
sleepmonsters.com is the official ARWorld Series web site
Casio Protrek are the official watches of the ARWorld Series
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
