13th Promises to Be a Great One

13th Edition of Iconic Motatapu Promises to Be a Great One

Close to 3,500 competitors will line up at the Macpac Motatapu this weekend for the 13th hosting of this iconic multisport event that takes competitors from Glendhu Bay (Lake Wanaka) to Arrowtown, by water, foot, bike or a combination of the three in the UDC Finance XTERRA triathlon.

The Miners Trail has 690 entries, the off-road Marathon 437, the Ultra Run 96, the UDC Finance XTERRA Triathlon 225 and the Skoda Mountain Bike 1,916 entries as the event continues to be one of the most popular one day multisport events in the Southern Hemisphere.

The quality of the elite fields is world class, with competition hot in almost every category of racing, highlighted best in the men’s category in the SKODA Mountain Bike Race, as a host of leading professional riders look to see their name engraved alongside some of the greats in the sport such as Anton Cooper, Sam Gaze and Dirk Peters.

There are however many great stories of inspiration and achievement, as competitors travel from all around New Zealand, and indeed around the world, many of them bringing family and supporters with them to enjoy time in the beautiful Queenstown Lakes Region before or after competing.

Of the 23 different countries, Australians are best represented with 270 entrants making the journey this week to compete across the range of events on offer. A snapshot of the other internationals sees 28 Americans lining up, 6 from the Czech Republic, 4 entries from Great Britain, and 3 from Argentina - including 73-year-old Luis Rene Menendes who is the oldest to line up in the Ultra Run.

Other countries to be represented on Saturday include Denmark, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Philippines, Germany and Sweden.

While the SKODA Mountain Bike event continues to be the most popular event on offer with 1,914 riders, those choosing to run or walk total 1,221 when taking into account the Miners Trail, Off-Road Marathon and Ultra Run.

There is extra spice in the UDC Finance XTERRA Triathlon too, with the race acting as the official age group qualifier for the New Zealand team to the ITU World Cross Triathlon Champs in Penticton, Canada in August.

There are 16 spaces available per age group for the Tri NZ Cross Tri team who will compete in the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships. To qualify athletes must compete and place within 20% of the winner in their respective age group and complete a selection nomination form before midnight on March 7, all details are on thewww.triathlon.kiwi site.

Macpac Motatapu
March 4, 2017
Wanaka to Queenstown
www.motatapu.com

Featuring:

• SKODA Mountain Bike – 47km – solo and teams
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• Miners Trail – 15km
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• Off Road Marathon – 42.2km
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• UDC Finance XTERRA Triathlon – 2km swim, 47km mountain bike, 15km run
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• Ultra Run – 51km - solo and teams

CLICK HERE for access to the Macpac Motatapu Media Drobox, including all prior press releases and race day media material

Competitors of Note

• Hamish Carter – Olympic Games gold medalist (triathlon), competing in the Ultra-Run in a team with Alistair Grigg.
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• Mike McRoberts – TV3 News Anchor, taking part in the Off-Road Marathon
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• Hayden Roulston – Olympic track cycling medalist, former pro road rider, competing in the Skoda Mountain Bike
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• Mahe Drysdale and Nathan Cohen – multiple world and Olympic rowing medal winners, taking part as a team in the Skoda Mountain Bike
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• Carl Meyer – former world championship winning rower, a top ten contender in the SKODA Mountain Bike Race
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• Rachel Smalley – Newstalk ZB broadcast journalist, taking on the off-road marathon event
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• Ian Morgan – Christchurch runner who has become something of a social media star with his running account on Instagram. Collapsed during the Queenstown International Marathon in 2015 and following heart surgery now runs 80 to 140km a week, always with his phone and always posting pictures. Morgan has shoe sponsorship and is recognized all over the world for his running feats.

Leading Elite Contenders

SKODA Mountain Bike

Men

• James Williamson, Alexandra. A member of the Watson & Son Manuka Honey team with Scott Lyttle that won the 2017 Pioneer, former elite national road champion and Motatapu runner up in 2015, Williamson will be one to watch on Saturday.
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• Hayden McCormick, Te Awamutu. McCormick is road cycling star, a former National Time Trial and U23 Champion, McCormick rides for the British One Pro Cycling team.
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• Tim Rush, Oamaru. Rush is a former runner up at Motatapu, finishing behind Anton Cooper last year in his first attempt at the race. Like Williamson he rode the Pioneer (with brother Kris) with mechanical issues derailing their team effort. Possible favourite given his experience on the course last year.
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• Hayden Roulston – as mentioned above, Hayden is a former Tour de France rider, winner of Olympic medals on the track and while now retired, is not to be counted out on Saturday.
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Women

• Kate Fluker, Queenstown. Fluker is gunning for an amazing six in a row at Motatapu. The only question mark might be any after effects from a fall during the Nationals at Cardrona this weekend gone where she finished second in the elite women’s race.
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• Marissa Graham, Ranfurly. 25-year-old Graham has competed in various events from triathlon, off road tri and cycling – in particular on the mountain bike. Runner up in the XTERRA Triathlon at Motatapu in 2016.

UDC Finance XTERRA Triathlon

Men

• Dougal Allan, Oamaru. One of New Zealand’s premier long distance triathletes, Allan is competing off the back of his impressive win at Challenge Wanaka last weekend, but will have the endurance in the legs to be a serious contender here. The winner here in 2015.
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• Olly Shaw, Rotorua. The defending champion and an off-road expert, having already represented New Zealand and finished top ten in the ITU World Cross Tri Champs in 2016, the one to beat here.
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Women

• Julia Grant, Christchurch. A long-distance triathlete with a number of podiums throughout her career, Grant is a previous place getter here at Motatapu.
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• Mary Gray, Dunedin. Gray is the defending champion, taking out the title last year in a time just under five hours, experience can be vital on such a course, expect Gray to contend again.
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• Martina Fellmann, Timaru. Fellmann has raced for some years now on the New Zealand and Oceania triathlon circuit, representing New Zealand at the ITU World Age Group Championships and finishing on the podium in 2013 in the 20-24 age group.
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Ultra-Run

Women

• Lucy Bartholomew, Australia. Lucy is the stand out in this field. The young Australian is forging an impressive career in ultra-running and will be tough to beat, the real class on the start line and testament to the reputation of the event.
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Men

• A tough one to pick, in truth an open field with any number of athletes capable of putting together a good race and standing on the podium.

ENTRY NUMBERS *not considering late entries:

• SKODA Mountain Bike – 1,914

• Off Road Marathon – 437

• Miners Trail – 688

• XTERRA UDC Finance Triathlon

- Individual – 124

- Teams – 37 teams (101 competitors)

• Ultra-Run - 96

- Solo - 60

- Team - 18 teams (36 competitors)

TOTAL = 3,360

PARTICIPANT INFO

• Average age: 43

• Gender split: 65% Male 35% Female

• Oldest Competitor: Barry Gardiner, 79yrs old from Christchurch, Skoda MTB

• Youngest Competitor: Oscar Gallagher, 16yrs old from Brisbane, Miners trail

REGION STATS

Biggest representation from a region - Canterbury = 39% (1,338)

• Otago region 16% (577)

• Southland 5% (180)

• Auckland 5% (177)

Overseas representation = 11.5% (378) from 23 countries

• Aussie = 8% (270)

NEW THIS YEAR:

• Official Macpac Merchandise

• New MTB Rolling Start Process

• New MTB Teams Division

• Earlier Marathon Start Time

• Triathlon selected as the Cross-World Triathlon Champs NZ qualifier.

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