Yeti Trans NZ Enduro Day 4 - Alexandra

Deon Baker and Raewyn Morrison take stage honours

Alexandra is known as the hottest, driest and coldest town in New Zealand. It is a town of extremes and today’s racing was no exception. With five stages to complete and no shuttles to help riders get back up the hills, today was a day to challenge riders’ physical and mental endurance.

The desert like landscapes around Alexandra offers a totally different style of riding to that which riders have had to face until now. Slick sharp rocks, loose dirt, massive drops and razor thin lines challenged the riders on all five stages. “It was quite amazing, riders were finishing the first stage today already looking completely exhausted and we saw a number of mechanical issues including broken chains, punctures and bent wheels.” said race organiser Megan Rose.

None of this however was enough to faze Raewyn Morrison (New Zealand), as she stomped her authority on the women’s field again, taking another impressive win and moving herself up into 8th place overall. With a massive smile after the race, Raewyn seemed chuffed. “That was an amazing day today, we were just having so much fun. The trails were in mint condition,” said Raewyn.

The men’s race proved more exciting, with Deon Baker (Australia) taking the best time of the day, twelve seconds ahead of Zac Williams (New Zealand), with a further eleven seconds back to third place Stu Dickson (Canada), who retains his lead in the overall going into the final day.

Deon said after the race, “Those tracks were dry and loose, much more like what I’ve been riding back home in Perth (Australia). My favourite stage was the final one, which ended down Shit Track. It was a bit pedally, but those crazy rock formations were just amazing to ride on.”

Stu Dickson offered a slightly different view: “All the riders tried to tell me what to expect in Alexandra, but it was totally different to what I was expecting. It actually really scared me. It was so loose and tight, I was struggling to stay on the trails and keep things smooth”.