UK mountain biking sensations give Queenstown the thumbs up

08 March 2011
The New Zealand lake and alpine resort town of Queenstown has been given the ultimate seal of approval by international mountain biking sensations the Athertons.

The UK brother/sister trio of Dan (29) Gee (26) and Rachel (23), who have a string of world cup victories between them, arrived ‘Down Under' in March for two months of pre-season training.

They have been making the most of Queenstown's world-class tracks which range from backcountry trails, serious downhill rides, a jump park and heli-biking to short scenic trails, road rides and New Zealand's only gondola-assisted bike lift.

Launched in January this year, the lift allows riders of all abilities to load their bikes onto the Skyline gondola and transport them to the top of Bob's Peak for easy access to million dollar views and a myriad of trails down to the town centre.

Queenstown has provided the Athertons with a unique opportunity to hone their competitive edge both mentally and physically. Not only have they been improving their physical fitness at Queenstown Events Centre's highly regarded gym and aquatic facilities, they've also pushed their personal limits by bungy jumping, an adventure activity Queenstown is famous for.

Gee Atherton says training in Queenstown has exceeded the family's expectations.

“We just don't want to leave – this place has everything! Not only does it have a great mix of downhill and cross-country trails, it has the most spectacular scenery, the gym facilities we need to keep us physically strong and a huge range of activities to keep us busy when we're not riding.”

Whilst in town, the Athertons are also filming for reality podcast series The Atherton Project which features on www.Redbull.co.uk

Gee got a taste for Queenstown and its biking potential last year while filming adventure bike movie Follow Me. He believes it's the best training ground in the Southern Hemisphere and could be “the next big thing for the mountain biking fraternity”.

Press Release from
Jen Andrews
Communications Manager
Destination Queenstown

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To download high resolution images please click on these links:

To download high resolution images please click on these links:
1. From left: Gee, Rachel and Dan Atherton on Skyline above Queenstown
JPEG Image, 1.20 MB

2. Gee Atherton on Skyline track above Queenstown
JPEG Image, 1.18 MB

3. Rachel Atherton doing the Nevis – at 134 metres this is New Zealand's highest bungy.
JPEG Image, 522 KB

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Queenstown's growing reputation as a must-visit biking destination

Queenstown's growing reputation as a must-visit biking destination will be further enhanced this Easter with the highly-anticipated inaugural Queenstown Bike Festival on 16 -25 April.

Headlining the festival will be the three day Ben Lomond Dirtmasters Downhill, Ben Lomond Dirtmasters Downhill a challenging three kilometre course in the Ben Lomond Forest open to elite riders only and the Outside Sports Brake Burner Outside Sports Brake Burner a six hour non-stop tag team or individual mountain bike Super D. The New World Tour de Wakatipu , a fun challenging mountain bike event set in the Wakatipu Basin that links the two rivers and two lakes using some of the new tracks developed by the Wakatipu Trails Trust.

The progamme also caters to all ages and abilities with rides for kids, a social wine-trail and coffee rides.

For more information about Queenstown visit www.queenstownnz.co.nz or visit QueenstownBikeFestival.co.nz to download the programme of events.

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OUTSIDE SPORT SUPER D ENDURO 6hr Mountain Bike Race

The first event in the Queenstown Bike Festival is the OUTSIDE SPORT SUPER D ENDURO.

Ben Lomond Forest
16th April 2011

Race start 10am

Operations
The Skyline Gondola has assured us of every second car for the duration of the 6hrs and there will be no other bikers able to use the gondola.

Timing is going to be done at the end and start of each run, so it will be the racing time that will count.

Route Markings
The route will be marked as required with SUPER D and TAPE signage

What to bring
A bike that will get you to the end of a 6hr race - the Super D format is neither a DH or XC race but something in-between - the ideal bike is a 4-6inch travel all-mountain bike

After the race
Prize giving will be about 5.00pm Skyline Restaurant followed by after party at Dux de Lux with video of the day.

Full details on on Outside Sports SUPER D ENDURO

Entries open at about midday on the 15th March

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A James Allan photo

Ben Lomond DirtMasters

The Course
A technically demanding course which will start at the top of the Skyline Gondola will be about 3km long, finishing in Brecon Street where there will be a full on party atmosphere.

The course covers 3kms down steep downhill tracks. Beginning at the top of the Skyline gondola the course utilises existing downhill tracks cut by the Qtn Mtn bike club and a small section of overgrown old track, leading down onto the ‘Hammy's Trail'.

A rough outline of a course has been drawn and it incorporates elements of already established trails ‘new Vertigo', ‘Rock Garden', ‘Grundy', a short stretch of the skyline access road, some unnamed old trails and a section of new trail linking back towards the Gondola base.

Qualifications and practise would occur on this section on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd April

On Sunday 24th April the full course will be used.

On leaving the forest the course and passing through the ‘timing gate finish' and riders enter a ‘neutral' non timed section into ‘the Urban Section'. While the clock is not running, riders still have to cycle through the edge of the camping ground to follow Man Street to the ceremonial finish down the Steep stairs dropping into the finish line outside the Lone Star Brecon Street Queenstown.

Entries open at about midday on the 15th March

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Southern Traverse

Southern Traverse Ltd.
PO Box 410, 341 Peninsula Rd, Kelvin Heights, Queenstown
[email protected]