MTBOer Top Vet in Tour de Peak

Makara Peak MTB Park, Wellington, 1/2 Dec 02

Top Wellington MTB-orienteer and course planner Julian Cox was the fastest veteran in the Tour de Peak at Makara Peak MTB Park last weekend. The Tour de Peak involves covering all tracks in the park in any order. Cox's time of 2hr42 was the fifth fastest overall.

The Wellington rider may be more familiar with route planning at Makara than most. In 2001 he planned the courses for the Wellington MTBO Champs in the park, and in 2002 he planned the final there for the Wellington MTBO series. Cox finished 4th in the series, but the points he could have scored in the final may have put him in 2nd place behind Craig Starnes.

Series winner Starnes who won the Tour de Peak in 2001 did not compete this year. But other MTB-orienteers taking part included Matt Farrar, Bill Brierley, Marco Renalli, Steve Meeres and Jill Ford. Mike Fee and Jenny Visser did the "Creek to Peak" relay. The full results are on the mountainbike.co.nz website.

The park recently won an award for the partnership between a local authority (Wellington City) and volunteers (Makara Peak Supporters Club). As well as making and maintaining tracks, the supporters have planted thousands of native plants.


This page written by Michael Wood and installed 4 Dec 02