You have mentioned previously the ‘ hire a bike ’ for the World Enduro series , what ’ s that ?
Yeah , so , my first season in Enduro GP we had to pay for my ride . It was a must-do for a rider from New Zealand with no experience in GPs , knowing nobody and I hadn ’ t proven myself . Everything was covered , you ’ re basically a semi-factory rider for the weekend ( or season ). You pay your money and just open the gas . Hopefully if you ’ re quick enough , you can attract a contract for the following season .
What is your training programme ?
[ laughs ] My training program consists of having fun and mixing it up . I like to get out on my MTB and push my heart rate high , a bit of gym work too , but mostly just riding my bike . I was road cycling a fair bit over lockdown , covering around 200-300km a week . There ’ s definitely a benefit with the 3-4 hour rides to build your endurance and stamina .
In the pre-season I ’ ll ride a lot of motocross , just doing motos and getting my base fitness up . During the race season I do a lot of special tests , while trying trying to get over one hour of total time in the saddle - similar to what we do on race day . And you know what also really benefits , going out trail riding , hill climbing etc . It all helps , you can learn a lot more than you might expect just being out having fun with your mates .
Tell us about your daily life as a team rider ?
Daily life during the season is pretty physical . I normally wake up around 8am , have some breakfast , then call the other riders to make sure they are still keen to ride . I ’ ll load the van and head to the track we ’ ve decided on the previous night . If we ’ re riding motocross , we ’ ll spend the whole day at the track . If we ’ re riding Enduro , we normally we have to be in and out fairly fast depending on the location . The Police there don ’ t agree with you riding off-road , even though the bikes are registered . I personally haven ’ t had any issues with the Police , but I know riders who have . You just have to be careful and know the “ safer ” spots to ride . After riding , we grab a big feed and chat some shit about the day , then head home and dry the gear etc . We will typically spend five days a week riding , with two days off , or cycling inbetween . I do my own cleaning , washing and cooking .
KIWI RIDER 47