Mountain biking: Wild card entries announced for Crankworx

Kawerau's Matt Walker

Local downhill rider Matt Walker is one of the wildcard entries announced today for the 2015 Crankworx Rotorua Enduro event, which will run as part of the Enduro World Series.

Enduro is the fastest growing competitive discipline of mountain biking in the world, and there is huge demand for the limited 400 spots for the Rotorua event in March.

Nine Kiwis have already reserved their place at the top event thanks to their ranking in the Endurance World Series (EWS).

This includes female riders Rosara Joseph, Anka Martin, Gabby Molloy and Meggie Bichard, and male riders Justin Leov, Jamie Nicoll, Joseph Nation, James Hampton and Kurt Lancaster.

Twenty wild card spots have also been reserved for top Kiwi riders, with 15 of those riders announced today.

The top five Kiwi female riders and top 10 male riders from the 2013/14 New Zealand Mountain Bike Crown Enduro rankings have been offered wild card entries.

The women are: Raewyn Morrison, Jenna Makgill, Anja McDonald, Harriet Harper and Sasha Smith.

The men are: Matt Walker, Byron Scott, Connor Macfarlane, Hayden Lee, Ed Kerly, Karl Paterson, Reuben Miller, Jimmy Pollard, Ben Robson and Tom Lamb.

Another five places will be allocated at the Crankworx Rotorua Enduro race manager Neil Gellatly's discretion. Riders wishing to express their interest should email Gellatly if they think they are eligible. The criteria includes placement in a New Zealand Enduro event in the 2013/14 season and the 2014/15 season up to December 14, and/or placement in an international Enduro event in 2014.

Public entries will open at 9am New Zealand time on Thursday January 22 with entry fees about NZ$135. Enduro World Series events can sell out within the hour, so this is a date to highlight on the calendar.

The Crankworx Rotorua Enduro is round one of the Enduro World Series (EWS) season, marking the start of the professional mountain bike racing calendar.

Race manager Gellatly said he believed it was the first time a wildcard announcement had been made transparent and he was proud to hold 20 spots for Kiwis, so they can ride at home alongside the world's best.

"It's important to have a strong New Zealand presence in this Crankworx Rotorua Enduro race as it's a sport we want to grow - if these wildcard entries help to propel Kiwi riders onto the world circuit, it will be huge for New Zealand mountain biking."