The tattoo Whanganui's Shanan Whitlock received after winning the 2023 New Zealand Single Speed Champs.
The tattoo Whanganui's Shanan Whitlock received after winning the 2023 New Zealand Single Speed Champs.
Whanganui mountain biker Shanan Whitlock received a permanent award after winning the 2023 New Zealand Single Speed Champs.
Whitlock said he first entered the mountain bike race eight years ago and had previously managed a couple of top-10 finishes before finally scoring the win this year.
“Second and third have both been ex-world champs at it too so it’s pretty cool to manage that,” he said.
The Single Speed Champs is a unique race on the New Zealand mountain biking circuit as competitors race on bikes with only one gear across a three-lap race on a 10km long course.
As well as this there are other aspects to the champs you won’t find at a more traditional event, like the randomised starting procedure, the encouragement to ride in costume and a stopover where racers have to complete a challenge each lap.
Sometimes the challenge involves a drink, other times competitors have had to eat an ice block or a dry Weet-Bix to continue.
Whitlock said the race was serious for some, but not so serious for others.
“For the majority of people, it’s just a race for fun and then you have the rest of the field who really want that win because it’s quite an iconic event.”
The unique winner’s prize also played a part in the race’s appeal, he said, as the winner for both the men’s and women’s races walked away with a tattoo, put onto their body immediately after the race.
If the winner of the race doesn’t want the tattoo, they cannot claim the title, with everyone who finishes behind the first person to take the tattoo officially classified as second equal.
Whitlock said he had no second thoughts about getting the tattoo.
“It’s part of my life riding bikes, it’s my life,” he said.
It was also special to him as his dad, a long-time supporter and sponsor of the event was no longer able to do so this year after suffering a stroke around a year ago, so the win was something of a tribute.
Shana Whitlock on route to winning the 2023 New Zealand Single Speed Champs.
The secret to winning the event, he said, was managing to get a good start, which usually came down to luck, as race organisers randomise where bikes are placed at the start.
However, one person this year found a way to guarantee a good start.
The start of this year’s race was a 200m run to the bikes, but one competitor came to the race in a ghillie suit and hid under his bike.
“You’re not gonna get disqualified because that’s all part of it,” Whitlock said.
Other than the start, the best way to get speed during the race was to choose the right-sized gear and make the most of momentum, according to Whitlock.
“Keeping your momentum up on all the fast parts where you run out of gears and you can’t actually pedal and then the steeper [climbs] you’ve just got to fully commit and sprint up the hill.”
This year’s race was held in Taranaki, and other than the course being very slippery due to heavy rainfall in the lead-up to the event, he had no issues during the race.
Next year’s race will be held in Palmerston North, as their contingent of riders won the right to hold the event in a game after the race, and he said he would be there to defend his title.
