afterwards . “ It was difficult to navigate , but I pushed hard and managed to get a gap over my rivals . That proved to be crucial . I had a bit of time on Jake [ Whitaker ] and that was just as well because I struggled to stay with him on Sunday . He was riding very well and I had to do everything I could to stick with him . “ There was one section called ‘ The Last Climb ’ that was impossibly steep . Myself , Jake , Tony Parker and [ Taupo ’ s ] Wil Yeoman teamed up to use ropes to haul one another ’ s bikes up the cliff before we could carry on and , after that , we then found we still weren ’ t at the top and it became even steeper still ,” Birch explained . “ My fitness wasn ’ t the best this year and in the end , I was just trying to hang on .” As for runner-up Whitaker , he said he was “ over it ” after finishing second to Birch once again at this event .
“ I think I rode pretty well , apart from having a bit of a crash ... a big crash actually ... on day one . That put me about six minutes behind Chris [ Birch ] and that was virtually impossible to claw back ,” the 31-year-old explained . “ I caught up to him a bit on Sunday and we were neck-and-neck . I have been runner-up or finished third too many times at this event . I ’ m over it .” Event organiser Sean Clarke confessed afterwards : “ I think this year we reached the limit for hardness .” Other grade winners were Auckland ’ s Ryan Hayward ( Silver ); Rerewhakaaitu ’ s Zach Sefuiva ( Bronze ) and Australian Rick Braico ( Iron ).
The event was sponsored by Husqvarna NZ , Forbes and Davies , O ’ Neal , Ogio , Arai Helmets , Maxima Racing Oils , Forma boots , Maxi Grip , Blur , Forest Trail Events , Kiwi Rider magazine , SATCO logging attachments and Michelin tyres .
50 KIWI RIDER