Cohen And Drysdale Pair up for Motatapu Challenge

COHEN AND DRYSDALE PAIR UP FOR MOTATAPU CHALLENGE

If they were forced to ride with all the silverware they have won in their glittering rowing careers, Mahe Drysdale (MNZM) and Nathan Cohen (MNZM) would surely finish near the back of the field when they take on the SKODA Mountain Bike race at the iconic Motatapu event this weekend.

Thankfully for the pair who between them boast three Olympic gold medals, one bronze medal, seven World Championship gold medals, a World University Games gold and many other awards and accolades, they can leave their rowing CV’s behind them as they head outside their comfort zones for 47km on mountain bikes, riding in the new team category in the SKODA Mountain Bike Race, alongside close to 2000 other riders.

For 31-year-old Cohen, when Drysdale made the call to join him as a team mate, he had no hesitation.

“He knows I am very much into mountain biking post my rowing days, he thought I might be interested and maybe he needed a bit of motivation to get out there, so I thought maybe I can hurry him up and we can have a good crack at it.

“We are great mates, this is a chance to go ride our bikes in a great part of the world, I probably didn’t appreciate the scenery and experience when I rode before, I was too busy nose to the wheel trying to race it, so this will be nice to take it a bit more leisurely this time around.”

Cohen will be hoping for a better day than that last occasion in 2014, when he suffered a decent mechanical to wreck his chances of a strong finish.

“I tried riding hard that day, but my back wheel blew out at the start of the big descent, had to walk and run last 9km, so it didn’t quite go to plan.”

Drysdale is in a very relaxed frame of mind leading into the event, a luxury for a man who is used to the pressure of going into Olympic Games and World Championship regattas as the gold medal favourite.

“Something I haven’t done before is a team event which makes this all the more appealing. After the last Olympics I did Coast to Coast and IRONMAN but adding a team mate and having someone to share the experience will be fantastic.

“This is very exciting to be a part of, it is a great event, something we rarely get to take part in because our national rowing trials are usually at that same time of the year, so this is great to take the opportunity and get out and do what is an iconic ride through beautiful countryside.”

Cohen agrees with that view, but did have a sneaky dig at his good mate and the prospect of giving the current Halberg Sportsman of the Year a bit of a working over.

“We want to enjoy it, that is all part of these great events, but we will ride as hard as we are able to these days. Mahe has just had a busy time with the arrival of a new baby and not been out too much. We will make him suffer as much as we can given his current state!

“For me though it is a great way to get out, ride in great places and enjoy it. At the same time the competitive streak never quite leaves you, but the body doesn’t keep up with the mind these days so it is not quite what it was back when I was rowing.”

Cohen is a regular on the mountain bike these days when taking time out from his own family life and work as a financial advisor with Christchurch firm FANZ Private Wealth, a subsidiary of SBS Bank. That leisure time has however taken a massive hit with the recent Port Hill fires that have seen the Christchurch Adventure Park close just weeks after opening to glowing reviews.

“I am fortunate, I live right next to the Adventure Park and I had started riding there, I had a loop up into the hills, along the ridge and dropped in the park to finish off. Unfortunately, with the fires there is none of that available now and I have had to turn to the road bike for my riding and training.

“Everyone was saying what a great facility and asset the Adventure Park was, so it has hit hard for sure. The thing for me was how it catered for people of all abilities, with families, kids and everyone able to come out and enjoy the riding, it wasn’t just for extreme or downhill or endure riders. Hopefully in the near future they can get it back up and running, because it is a great asset.”

Both Cohen and Drysdale are making a weekend of it at the Macpac Motatapu, taking their respective families to the event for a few days to enjoy the region, as well as take on the ride.

Drysdale is very much on the record that he has unfinished business in rowing, and he tongue in cheek suggested that becoming a dad for the second time almost has him pining for the long days of training and early mornings on the water.

“For me these next 7 or 8 months are about family and giving them some time, so to be able to come here and enjoy a week with them in a beautiful setting and take part in a great event like this as a family is perfect.

“Being away from rowing though, I have had no excuses on the family front with our recent arrival and for the first time I know what it is like to be sleep deprived. It has been an amazing time and I am loving it, but it makes me appreciate all the more what goes on behind the scenes when I am focused on my rowing.”

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

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

Leading 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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.
• 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.
• 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.
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.
• 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.
• 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.

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.

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.

As well as leading contenders in each of the events, other entries of note include:

• Hamish Carter – Olympic Games gold medalist (triathlon), competing in the Ultra-Run in a team (
• Mike McRoberts – TV3 News Anchor, taking part in the Off-Road Marathon
• Hayden Roulston – Olympic track cycling medalist, former pro road rider, competing in the Skoda Mountain Bike
• Mahe Drysdale and Nathan Cohen – multiple world and Olympic rowing medal winners, taking part as a team in the SKODA Mountain Bike
• 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.

MOTATAPU BY THE NUMBERS:
• 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.

About IRONMAN
A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN®Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, Iron Girl®, IRONKIDS®, six of nine International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon Majors Series, mountain bike races, premier marathons and other multisport races. IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, provide more than 680,000 participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 260 events across 42 countries. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.

About Wanda Sports Holding
Wanda Sports Holding is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape – in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Wanda Sports Holding incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN, and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.

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