Sarah Rawley (Golden, USA) rides by day and writes by night all week long at the Yeti Trans NZ. By the end of the week, she sang aloud how much she loves wet roots, all the way down Stage 3.
Emily Slaco won Day 5 by one minute 27 seconds, and the overall by four minutes 29 seconds. She crushed the Open Women's field day in and day out, simply out of the joy of riding, not racing, her bike.
You thinking getting to the top of the longest, steepest hike-a-bike is tough on Day 5? Try doing it with a 23kg camera pack. Pro photag Digby Shaw shows us how it's done. Michael Hayward cheers on his fellow media squid.
After climbing up Skyline Access Road right after breakfast only to race the gnarliest descent of the week, riders were treated to a lift up the gondola before charging into the final two stages of the week.