The photo does not do justice to just how steep this hill is , and this actually wasn ’ t even close to being the toughest obstacle on the No Way In Hell course at Oparau
The 32-year-old father-of-two , now more frequently racing cross-country and enduro races , took his 2024-model KTM 300EXC to finish the gruelling race just a fraction over four minutes ahead of runner-up rider Wil Yeoman ( Yamaha ), of Taupo , with New Plymouth 17-year-old Sam Parker ( Husqvarna ) claiming the third podium spot . Papakura ’ s Ryan Hayward ( KTM ) finished fourth overall and Parker ’ s 49-year-old father Tony Parker ( Husqvarna ) defied the odds to round out the top five .
THE HILL CLIMB CLAIMED The soul-destroying and body-breaking aspects of the course were blindingly apparent to spectators , with perhaps 30 riders stranded halfway up the first major hill-climb , slumped next to their lifeless bikes , just an hour into the gruelling 70-kilometre race . And it got steadily tougher from there onward , some of the terrain something that even Hillary and Tenzing might have thought twice about .
KIWI RIDER 29