Rotorua's Sam Shaw is one of the more laid-back mountain bikers around. Rocking shorts and a T-shirt along with a pair of novelty socks, it often looks as if he was taking a ride through the forest when a race broke out around him so he joined in.
But do not let the carefree attitude deceive you. Shaw has a burning desire to win. A desire to go as fast as possible against the best riders in the world and he has the talent to do it.
At the weekend he did just that at the three-day, multi-stage 2018 New Zealand Enduro in Marlborough, balancing speed with consistency to finish second overall. The man who beat him, by almost two minutes, was former Enduro World Series champion Jerome Clementz, of France.
"The racing was good, it was good weather this time. The trails were slightly slick on the surface and dry in places, so super slippery. The first day you just had to lay off the brakes and try to hold your line and you'd pretty much slide off the track.
"I'm really happy with how it went, I played the consistent game and it worked out. I kind of went into the weekend expecting to be a top-five placer. When I found out I was in third after day two I thought I might as well push for second," Shaw said.
