Video: Highlights from the NZ MTB Rally 2024
Here comes the official movie of this amazing 6 days enduro race adventure which took place in Nelson Tasman in march for the very first time!
Enjoy the video
If you missed the action you can find all the race reports here
There are only 120 entries for the NZ MTB RALLY, and the very first edition was sold out in one day, so don't miss the registrations opening if you want to be part of the adventure in 2025!
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See you next year!
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First of all, thank you for organising the rally! I can not imagine how much effort and stress it must’ve taken to run it but I’m pretty sure your challenge was just as big as Matthew’s! Congratulations!
This summary is obviously just my personal opinion, but it’s informed by many chats I had with other participants. It’s probably worth mentioning I might be spoiled by spending a lot of time in Morzine, Finale Ligure and the Alps… Anyway, I hope you’ll find it constructive and it will help you make the event even better
Allowing everyone to arrive a day early at no extra cost was a great idea and definitely helped to get to know some people before the start. Big thumbs up for that!
Day one:
There were too many riders to fit us all onto the shuttles in one go so we got divided into two groups. From what I’ve heard it was a great day for the earlier group, sadly I got assigned to the latter. It was a complete mess and a terrible start to the race for the 2nd group of riders. First impressions are hard to change so unfortunately this bad experience loomed over the rest of the race.
We didn't get any breakfast (pancakes with marmite isn’t breakfast in my book) and the feed station was only crisps and lollies so I ran out of my muesli bars and bonked really hard before the last stage. The whole day felt rushed and there was no time for even a short break. By the time we got to the end, the BBQ was over and there were no more soft drinks left, not even water. I wanted to go for a quick dip in the river but my day bag got lost...
The trails were really good but unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy them as much as I could have - not a great start.
The food at the holiday park was OK but IMO not suited for a multi-day endurance event. Example - casserole with cheese and veggies.
Day two:
Better organisation than day 1 and less waiting, but maybe this time I was lucky and ended up in the right group (the one that got to start the day with a nice cup of coffee in the hut).
The first liaison and the 1st trail were awesome, that’s exactly how I imagined riding in NZ: thick, lush green forest and a natural trail with multiple line choices. Sweet as!
The 2nd trail would be a nice XC uphill trail, not an enduro stage. It wasn't fun to ride and I think the only reason it was included in the extended course was to wear us out and make the day longer. Thumbs down…
The liaison to the last stage of the day had nice views but it wasn't fun and personally I think we spent too much time on the bus (over the whole day). I wish we had more time to ride the trails in Kaiteriteri - the last stage was pretty cool!
I really enjoyed my sunset stroll on the Abel Tasman Coast Track from Marahau, this place is absolutely stunning. I got lucky - our bus got there just in time for me to catch the last rays of the sun. Please consider mentioning that next year as a nice before-dinner activity!
The dinner was good but the way it was served wasn't ideal IMO - rather than have everyone queue for pizzas at the bar (and figure out how much pizza they are allowed...), just have the pizzas served to each table. I doubt it was your decision to do it this way but maybe it’s something you can ask the restaurant to change next year.
Day three
My second favourite day of the event. The boat was a nice touch and definitely a pleasant start to the day - taking a bus to the other side of the bay wouldn't be as much fun. The trail choice was great - nice mix of physical, tech and fast. I got lucky and started with stages 1-2-3, doing them in the reverse order (like some people had to) wouldn’t be fun… The feed station was the best food I had during the whole event!
Day four
We start with a 2h wait by the landing pad, after climbing up a steep fire road from the feed station, baking in the sun. Had someone told us it’s going to take that long I would’ve stayed by the feed station/by the river.
The wait is over, we get to the top (the heli ride was pretty cool, nice views) and drop in… into what is probably one of the shittiest “enduro” trails I’ve ever ridden. Flat, loose with flat turns or awkward berms and it just keeps on going like that for a couple of minutes. I didn’t fly all the way from Europe to ride trails I could easily do on my gravel bike! The last ⅓ was ok-ish but the whole thing was pointless. And this trail is accessible by bike, why fly us there with a heli? Waste of time, money and fuel.
The 2nd half of the day on the other hand was amazing - physical but fun liaisons with great views, fast and technical rooty trails and finishing on a pretty cool bike park flow trail, then straight into the finish area with beers. The day would’ve been so much better had the 1st part been organised similarly.
Day five
Not much riding but the best experience of the event.
While the 1st heli drop was pointless, this one was amazing. Landing on a small clearing at the top of a mountain was an unforgettable experience. From there straight into a fast, open stage followed by a challenging hike-a-bike through a beautiful forest. Then two more rooty and pretty unique and maybe slightly awkward trails - exactly my vibe. Getting out of there was a mission but it was a great adventure and it takes the crown as the best day of the event.
Waiting for the heli took probably about the same time as on day four but it was more pleasant - the pad was by the river, plenty of shade etc.
Day six:
Trail center with a mix of flowy and technical natural trails plus one short jump line.
All stages were pretty cool but the first two were amazing and the view from the top of the first one wasn’t too bad either! Less waiting for shuttles, plenty of time in the afternoon to pack bikes before the dinner/closing ceremony. Riding the blue jump line blind at “race pace” was a bit dangerous - there were a few unexpected, blind turns and jumps that sent you directly into a rut at the edge of the trail.
Other notes:
When I signed up for the event I was hoping to get some cool riding photos out of it, but because I was always at the back of the pack, I only got three. It would be great if you could release all the photos. They can be unedited to save you extra work.
It’d be great if you could release stage results even if they don’t count towards the ranking (last day) - it’s still interesting to see how you rode
I didn’t get the podium so it didn’t affect me but a cutting board is IMO a pretty lame trophy, plus super inconvenient to travel with (weight limits for luggage)
I understand herding cats is stressful but the communication could’ve been a bit friendlier on a few occasions
Giving a trophy to the “best volunteer” was a great touch and showed your appreciation to everybody who helped run the event. Sadly I forgot his name but it was a well deserved “win” in my opinion. Always with a smile and I got an impression he’s good at keeping things running smoothly.
TL;DR
* the experience should be the same for everyone, no matter the start number. This time it wasn’t.
* heli drops for the sake of heli drops are a waste and shouldn't happen. If there aren't enough good trails for two heli drops then make only one and spend the money on other things
* fueling is important, make sure there's plenty of carbs in the diet
* running out of food on BBQ / feed stations is not an option. I hate waste but I dislike uneven treatment even more and I don't want myself and others to feel bad for eating as much as I/they need to
* I understand waiting is a part of racing but there was way more of it here than in any other events I participated in. The loading lists for the 2nd heli could be reversed - last heli from day 4. takes the first heli on day 5 to even out the time spent waiting.
* Consider letting the extended course riders start first, then short course followed by ebikes to make everyone finish around the same time
* building a lot of hype around an event sets expectations really high, it might then be difficult to live up to them. I understand if conflicts with marketing and getting enough participants but in my view it was maybe a bit over-hyped
If you’re thinking about signing up for the next year and you’re from Australia or NZ - go for it. If you’re from Europe and looking for an excuse to visit NZ and plan on staying longer to explore the country - sure, why not! But if you plan on travelling >30h one way just to do the rally you might be a bit disappointed.
Cheers!
Number 94
Some highlights of that feedback are:
- All but one respondent were satisfied (9%), very satisfied (32%), or extremely satisfied (58%) with their overall experience.
- Of those who had an opinion, when comparing The NZ MTB Rally to other well-known world-class multi-day enduros, 28% thought it was roughly equivalent to, and 71% said it was better than others they could compare with.
If you'd like to read a more balanced view on how most people felt about the event, check out our google reviews which are currently at 4.9 out of 5: (Hit the reviews tab at this link
maps.app.goo.gl/4cPKTf6UmXsBTTPAA.
To address a few points raised in the comments above:
Having clarified directly with the rider who wrote this feedback, his concerns about excess wait times were entirely concerning the first shuttle or movement of each day (not for subsequent shuttles between stages).
We deliberately made our starting order with slower riders in wave 1 and faster riders in wave 2, to allow the slower riders more time and less pressure to get around the rather long course. This start order was based on self-declared technical ability, on sign-up. It is possible that some riders, in retrospect, overestimated their own ability and would have been better off starting in the first wave...but for obvious. reasons once the waves were set, we were limited to allow any swapping around.
Rider No 94 of 100 all-inclusive riders would have been at the very back of the starting order (being the very fastest in terms of self-seeding info we had prior to the race).
That considered, we were aware that a handful of riders were eager to start earlier each day, where possible - and we accommodated this were we could (eg if there were a handful of spare shuttle spaces in the first wave, due to no-shows).
This inevitably resulted in an even smaller number of riders from wave 2 attempting to join wave 1, that were unable to do so, and then had to wait around for a significant amount of time for the 2nd wave.
This also caused a knock-on effect at breakfast. We arranged buffet breakfast to be served in 2 waves, such that the second wave was served fresh, not food that had been standing for an hour or so. We are aware of one occasion (the first day) when eager riders from Wave 2 tried to go to breakfast immediately at the end of Wave 1, and they mistakenly understood that the food had run out. To be clear, we absolutely did not run out of food at that time, or at any time during the event. A second wave of fresh food was put out some time later that service, and there was always ample to go around.
A final point on the wait time for helicopters. With two helicopters carrying 5 passengers per run, someone has to go last and yes, it's going to take a while. We kept costs down by making sure that at no point were our helicopters waiting for riders to turn up (imagine a hideously expensive taxi sitting outside waiting for you with the meter running...and you'll get the idea). That said, we absolutely accept that this can't have been ideal for those at the back of the line and we have already put changes in place to improve this for the next edition, for small on-cost.