2006 UCI MTB and Trials World Champs, Rotorua, New Zealand
Rotorua is the hometown of mountain biking in New Zealand. In just under two years, August 22-27 of 2006, this small city, in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island, will also be the centre of the mountain biking world, when the World Championships return to the southern hemisphere for the first time in ten years.“We are truly excited to be chosen by the UCI to host this major event,” said Dave Donaldson, chairperson of the local organizing committee for 2006.
“They have given every mountain biker on the planet, just the excuse they need to visit New Zealand. For Kiwis, it is the opportunity to showcase our trails to the mountain biking world and to see the world’s best in action in our own backyard.”
![photo]()
The event village and courses for the Worlds will be purpose built on the slopes of Mount Ngongotaha, This will optimize spectator access and TV coverage for a potential worldwide audience of 200 million people. It will also make it possible to locate cross country, downhill, 4-cross and trials in one venue.
Mount Ngongotaha is an imposing sentinel at the northern approach to the city.
Ngongo - to drink; taha - calabash:
To drink from a calabash. Ihenga (the discoverer who came from Hawaiki before the great Maori migration to what they call Aotearoa - the land of the Long White Cloud - New Zealand) ascended this mountain and met a fairy woman. She gave him a drink from her calabash. Then he was afraid and ran away, but gave the name to the river and mountain.
The steep, challenging, Downhill track will initially run through the land of local Maori, the Ngati Whakaue, before charging down through the Skyline Skyrides estate with it’s gondola, restaurants and luge tracks, to a finish line just above the bottom gondola station. This will be where the main village will be located and will be the start/finish area for the XC.
The XC course will wind up a long, lung-busting climb to the top gondola station and then descend back to the village. Trials will be located in and around the village and the 4X course will be just down the road in a natural amphitheatre at the Mountain Action adventure park.
![photo]()
There are stunning, panoramic views from the slopes of Ngongotaha: to the steaming, thermal areas in Kuirau Park, the Pohutu geyser in the Whakarewarewa Village, the lakes that surround the city and beyond to the azure Pacific Ocean and the active volcano, White Island, off the coast of the Bay of Plenty.
![photo]()
And there's so much more. In a country with some great mountain biking, the MTB trails of the Whakarewarewa Forest network on the southern outskirts of the city are some of the finest.
Mike Ferrentino of US magazine, BIKE, described it like this: “Rotorua…Tourism central…This haven of geysers and mud pools is, and always has been, New Zealand’s meeting point between tourism and Maoritanga…Not that we really had time to notice or care, sucked immediately as we were into the local forest, onto trails built by mountain bikers with mountain bikers in mind. Trails in verdant shade that dip and weave and roll. Trails that sneak through trees in a way that makes hard riders hoot with joy yet at the same time could coax a huge grin to the face of a 70-year-old grandma on her first bike ride ever. Sure, gawk at the geysers, wrinkle your nose at the stinking mud holes, soak in the springs, but get down on your knees and kiss the mulchy earth of these trails because they are the true hidden treasure here”
The Whakarewarewa tracks provide a rich playground for locals and tourists (from New Zealand and overseas) all compressed into around 30 hectares of lush, ferny forest and catering for everyone: from beginners and family groups right through to the experts.
In August 2006, visitors are sure to ride there, and they’ll be a perfect training ground for competitors in the Worlds. The weekend before the World Championships it will be the site of a 70-kilometre Citizen’s Marathon called The Highlander. This will feature the full range of the Whakarewarewa Forest - from fast flowing single track through Pine, soaring Californian Redwoods, giant Australian Eucalyptus and native New Zealand ferns to tough climbs up forest roads. And there are magnificent views over the Rotorua Lakes - Okareka, Tarawera, Blue Lake, Tikitapu and Green Lake, Rotokakahi - and across to the venue for the World Champs, Mount Ngongotaha.
![photo]()
Over the last 100 years visionaries in the New Zealand Forest Service planted experimental stands of trees from around the world to create the Whakarewarewa Forest. It’s this variety that gives the mountain biking trails their distinctive flavour. And from the moment you enter Rotorua you know you’re somewhere quite different. Geysers of steaming water shoot from the ground. Bizarre smelling pools of boiling mud bubble and belch. Geothermal pools create a kaleidoscope of colour. Volcanoes are most everywhere you look. This remarkable landscape is far more than stunning vistas. It is a succession of incredible adventures and experiences.
Rotorua: Feel the Spirit... Manaakitanga
This is our catch cry and it holds a powerful promise. It is your invitation to experience the essence - the spirit of this extraordinary slice of New Zealand. Manaakitanga is a deep-rooted concept in Maori culture, it implies guardianship - over our land (whenua), treasures (taonga), people (tangata) and you - our visitors (manuhiri). As your hosts, we are fiercely proud of this tradition and it is our responsibility to ensure you receive the very best of our history, our time, and ourselves.
Once you’ve had your fill of the fantastic mountain biking trails check out the luging at Skyline Skyrides. Take a quad bike ride around the Mountain Action estate. Experience a unique slice of New Zealand farming life or for the adrenaline junkies try bungy jumping, zorbing, jet sprinting or four-wheel drive tours. Soak up some local culture at the Rotorua Museum and Art Gallery and at authentic Maori Villages. Or just soak those aching muscles in steaming hot mineral pools.
It’s all here in Rotorua...
Feel the Spirit... Manaakitanga...
The countdown to 2006 has begun...
Special thanks to Graeme Murray for all images used.
Contacts:
General enquiries: info@2006rotoruamtb.com
Event Director: Arthur Klap
Chairperson, Rotorua 2006 Organizing Committee: Dave Donaldson
Media: Graeme Simpson
2006 Photographer: Graeme Murray
“They have given every mountain biker on the planet, just the excuse they need to visit New Zealand. For Kiwis, it is the opportunity to showcase our trails to the mountain biking world and to see the world’s best in action in our own backyard.”
Vanessa Quin, one of New Zealand's two current World Champs racing in the 2004 Oceania Champs (New Zealand, Australia, Pacific Islands) in Rotorua before heading to Europe for her World Cup campaign.
The event village and courses for the Worlds will be purpose built on the slopes of Mount Ngongotaha, This will optimize spectator access and TV coverage for a potential worldwide audience of 200 million people. It will also make it possible to locate cross country, downhill, 4-cross and trials in one venue.
Mount Ngongotaha is an imposing sentinel at the northern approach to the city.
Ngongo - to drink; taha - calabash:
To drink from a calabash. Ihenga (the discoverer who came from Hawaiki before the great Maori migration to what they call Aotearoa - the land of the Long White Cloud - New Zealand) ascended this mountain and met a fairy woman. She gave him a drink from her calabash. Then he was afraid and ran away, but gave the name to the river and mountain.
"For Kiwis, it is the opportunity to showcase our trails to the mountain biking world and to see the world’s best in action in our own backyard.” Dave Donaldson
The steep, challenging, Downhill track will initially run through the land of local Maori, the Ngati Whakaue, before charging down through the Skyline Skyrides estate with it’s gondola, restaurants and luge tracks, to a finish line just above the bottom gondola station. This will be where the main village will be located and will be the start/finish area for the XC.
The XC course will wind up a long, lung-busting climb to the top gondola station and then descend back to the village. Trials will be located in and around the village and the 4X course will be just down the road in a natural amphitheatre at the Mountain Action adventure park.
4X, Cross country and Downhill will all feature on the 2006 schedule.
There are stunning, panoramic views from the slopes of Ngongotaha: to the steaming, thermal areas in Kuirau Park, the Pohutu geyser in the Whakarewarewa Village, the lakes that surround the city and beyond to the azure Pacific Ocean and the active volcano, White Island, off the coast of the Bay of Plenty.
Lake Rotorua from Mount Ngongotaha with Rotorua City on the right.
And there's so much more. In a country with some great mountain biking, the MTB trails of the Whakarewarewa Forest network on the southern outskirts of the city are some of the finest.
Mike Ferrentino of US magazine, BIKE, described it like this: “Rotorua…Tourism central…This haven of geysers and mud pools is, and always has been, New Zealand’s meeting point between tourism and Maoritanga…Not that we really had time to notice or care, sucked immediately as we were into the local forest, onto trails built by mountain bikers with mountain bikers in mind. Trails in verdant shade that dip and weave and roll. Trails that sneak through trees in a way that makes hard riders hoot with joy yet at the same time could coax a huge grin to the face of a 70-year-old grandma on her first bike ride ever. Sure, gawk at the geysers, wrinkle your nose at the stinking mud holes, soak in the springs, but get down on your knees and kiss the mulchy earth of these trails because they are the true hidden treasure here”
“We are truly excited to be chosen by the UCI to host this major event, they have given every mountain biker on the planet, just the excuse they need to visit New Zealand." Dave Donaldson
The Whakarewarewa tracks provide a rich playground for locals and tourists (from New Zealand and overseas) all compressed into around 30 hectares of lush, ferny forest and catering for everyone: from beginners and family groups right through to the experts.
In August 2006, visitors are sure to ride there, and they’ll be a perfect training ground for competitors in the Worlds. The weekend before the World Championships it will be the site of a 70-kilometre Citizen’s Marathon called The Highlander. This will feature the full range of the Whakarewarewa Forest - from fast flowing single track through Pine, soaring Californian Redwoods, giant Australian Eucalyptus and native New Zealand ferns to tough climbs up forest roads. And there are magnificent views over the Rotorua Lakes - Okareka, Tarawera, Blue Lake, Tikitapu and Green Lake, Rotokakahi - and across to the venue for the World Champs, Mount Ngongotaha.
Over the last 100 years visionaries in the New Zealand Forest Service planted experimental stands of trees from around the world to create the Whakarewarewa Forest. It’s this variety that gives the mountain biking trails their distinctive flavour. And from the moment you enter Rotorua you know you’re somewhere quite different. Geysers of steaming water shoot from the ground. Bizarre smelling pools of boiling mud bubble and belch. Geothermal pools create a kaleidoscope of colour. Volcanoes are most everywhere you look. This remarkable landscape is far more than stunning vistas. It is a succession of incredible adventures and experiences.
Rotorua: Feel the Spirit... Manaakitanga
This is our catch cry and it holds a powerful promise. It is your invitation to experience the essence - the spirit of this extraordinary slice of New Zealand. Manaakitanga is a deep-rooted concept in Maori culture, it implies guardianship - over our land (whenua), treasures (taonga), people (tangata) and you - our visitors (manuhiri). As your hosts, we are fiercely proud of this tradition and it is our responsibility to ensure you receive the very best of our history, our time, and ourselves.
Once you’ve had your fill of the fantastic mountain biking trails check out the luging at Skyline Skyrides. Take a quad bike ride around the Mountain Action estate. Experience a unique slice of New Zealand farming life or for the adrenaline junkies try bungy jumping, zorbing, jet sprinting or four-wheel drive tours. Soak up some local culture at the Rotorua Museum and Art Gallery and at authentic Maori Villages. Or just soak those aching muscles in steaming hot mineral pools.
It’s all here in Rotorua...
Feel the Spirit... Manaakitanga...
The countdown to 2006 has begun...
Special thanks to Graeme Murray for all images used.
Contacts:
General enquiries: info@2006rotoruamtb.com
Event Director: Arthur Klap
Chairperson, Rotorua 2006 Organizing Committee: Dave Donaldson
Media: Graeme Simpson
2006 Photographer: Graeme Murray
Author Info:
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