In its 9th year, Motatapu will have a record number of competitors across its five events, as well as the having best elite fields ever to take part.
While entries closed for the Speight's Summit Mountain Bike event in November 2012, entries for the Triathlon, Multisport and Running races closed at 5pm on Wednesday. A new record of 3676 people will take part on 9 March 2013.
Race Director Gemma Boyle, says the new record is significant, as the self-imposed maximum mountain bike field of 2000 riders on course has remained in place since 2007.
"Growth has come from the XTERRA UDC Finance Triathlon and the Arrowtown.com Miners Trail run," she says.
Gemma Boyle is also thrilled with the high caliber of the 2013 field, "we have a fantastic elite field lining up in the mountain bike and triathlon and it's great to see the best of the best competing alongside the weekend warriors and first timers."
The elite mountain bike field will include current Motatapu record holder and Junior World Champion, Anton Cooper, who will compete against the cream of New Zealand cross country mountain biking racing as the NZXC Racing team.
NZXC Racing was setup to reward the determination and effort of NZ athletes and provide a pathway of inspiration for aspiring kiwi athletes. The NZXC team includes Carl Jones, 2011 New Zealand Elite Champion, Dirk Peters the number one Elite rider in NZ, Amber Johnson number one under 19 rider with two recent podium finished at World Cup level, and Katie O'Neill number three elite rider in NZ. Katie O'Neill will face stiff competition in the women's elite field from current Motatapu record holder, Kate Fluker and pro adventure racer Elina Ussher.
Gemma Boyle says in the Triathlon, New Zealand's top two XTERRA athletes will continue their battle for supremacy that has seen them race head to head at the World XTERRA Championships in Hawaii in October 2012, as well as last weekend's Coast to Coast.
"Braden Currie, the current XTERRA Motatapu UDC Finance Triathlon record holder, will try and defend his title and record from Richard Ussher, who he beat at the 2012 XTERRA World Championships. Braden finished 17th overall to Richard's 24th placing. Currie also beat Ussher at last weekends Coast to Coast.
 Braden Currie at Motatapu 2012(Photo: MMPro; click to enlarge) |
The Triathlon elite field also includes NZ Olympic Triathlete Nicky Samuels, who is looking to use the race to qualify for both the NZ Elite team to the ITU Cross Triathlon in the Netherlands in July, as well as the 2013 XTERRA World Championships in Hawaii.
Gemma Boyle says the women's field also includes 2012's XTERRA World Championship Bronze Medalist (20- 24) Elisabeth Hoefler from Austria, who last year watched her first XTERRA Triathlon as a volunteer at Motatapu, while on holiday here, and then afterwards decided to take up the sport.
"Elisabeth had an incredible year winning numerous national titles in her native Austria and then crowning it off by a Bronze medal at the XTERRA Triathlon World Championships. She didn't even know what a triathlon was until coming to New Zealand."
The elite field has an added incentive, thanks to Volkswagen NZ. Volkswagen NZ is putting up a $1,000 cash prize pool for any new records across all the events, except the multisport and team events.
The Motatapu Speight's Summit 47km mountain bike event is New Zealand's largest mountain bike event and traverses three high country stations from Lake Wanaka to Arrowtown. The route is accessible only once a year, through this event. The Motatapu also includes four other events to be held on 9 March: New Zealand's third- largest marathon – Icebreaker Marathon, the Arrowtown.com Miners Trail 15km mountain run, the XTERRA Motatapu UDC Finance Triathlon and, new for 2013, the R&R Sport Multisport event.
