Mountain biking:Top riders gather for training

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anton Cooper will be in town this week at a pre-season training camp. Photo / File

Some of the biggest names in New Zealand mountain biking will visit Rotorua this weekend for a training camp.

Commonwealth Games medallists Anton Cooper and Sam Gaze will be in attendance, as well as guest speaker and New Zealand road cycling great Julian Dean.

Rotorua-based New Zealand Cross-Country Racing (NZXC), under the umbrella of Mountain Bike New Zealand, will organise the event which starts today and runs until Sunday. Descend Rotorua will also be helping out.

NZXC rider Carl Jones said it was a great event to help mountain bikers prepare for the upcoming season.

"The camp is perfect to get everyone together and get the New Zealand riders and coaches on the same page with the newest training styles and nutrition info. It will blow a lot of people away," he said. "The focus of the camp for where we are now in the season is on preparation stuff."

A total of 55 downhill and cross country riders will visit Rotorua for the three-day camp.

The camp will use the forest tracks in the Redwoods and facilities at Waiariki Institute of Technology.

NZXC racing director Sam Thompson and Descend Rotorua have put together the schedule.

"There won't be miles of riding and racing at this camp, the focus is definitely on the preparation and upskill in a bunch of areas important to successful performance, besides just riding your bike," he said.

High Performance New Zealand staff will deliver specialist sessions in nutrition, mental skills, and injury management.

"It's fantastic to have some of the country's best sport specialists delivering sessions on this camp. We have 12 coaches attending also.

"That's pretty critical to mountain bike development in the country - educating the coaches too."

The riders attending are aged between 15 and 30. Dean will be speaking to the camp on Saturday night about being a professional and overcoming setbacks.