Trifecta adds thrills to bike festival

The Rotorua Bike Festival was a huge success last year and will be even better this year with the added support of Rotorua businesses.

It's the Rotorua Bike Festival tourism trifecta - with three events on three consecutive evenings as part of Rotorua's 10-day annual celebration of cycling.

The three events will happen at three of the city's leading tourism venues during the festival, beginning with the Shweeb World Championship on Wednesday February 19.

The Shweeb is a unique pedal-powered pod hanging under a monorail on a figure-8 course at Agroventures Adventure Park. The aerodynamic pods swoop and flow over the terrain at up to 50km/h, swinging out in the corners for a thrilling ride.

"Because the Shweeb is the only one in the world, if someone sets the fastest time, it's a world record and they win $1000," said Mary Tolley from Agroventures. "The bike festival is growing each year, attracting more visitors and we're very proud to be involved in such an iconic event."

The next night the focus moves to the Dual Slalom race at OGO on Mount Ngongotaha.

The organisers are describing this as "rivalry at its most naked" with a real crowd-pleasing format.

The course was designed and built by a talented group of young Rotorua riders and friends including downhilling brothers, Louis and Connor Hamilton. And the site was the venue for the 4X event when Rotorua hosted the 2006 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships in 2006.

There'll be an added twist. The top riders of the day will throw on their speedos and bikinis and exchange their bikes for OGOs to see who the fastest ball roller is.

The final part of the trifecta is on Friday, February 21.

The Sprint Warrior will be at Skyline Skyrides, just down Fairy Springs Rd from OGO, on the only mountain bike trails accessible by gondola in the North Island.

It was hugely popular with riders and spectators last year, and was the first of the 2014 festival events to sell out.

However, there is an open day on Wednesday for riders to get a look at the Warrior racecourse, without the pressure of racing.

Jeremy Christmas, from the Rotorua Bike Festival Trust, said with just under a month to go they were on track for another successful festival.

"And having Rotorua businesses like Skyline, OGO and Agroventures backing the festival is a really good sign for the future."

The 10-day festival runs from Friday February 14 to Sunday February 23.