Over 900 entries for Singlespeed World Champs - Rotorua

There is a very long entry list for the 2010 Singlespeed World Championships.

With four weeks to go till race day in Rotorua, New Zealand on Saturday October 23, over 900 mountain bikers from 30 countries are entered.

Entries close at midnight on September 30, after opening nine months ago at midnight on New Year's Eve.

"Rotorua's a major mountain biking destination and we knew we'd get good numbers from the USA, where the sport and the singlespeed worlds started, and from Australia, too." says Dean Watson, one of the event organizers.

"What's been amazing is the range of countries - from all over Europe and from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, Puerto Rico and Greenland, which is about as far away as you can get from New Zealand...the list goes on."

The event will have the most countries represented on the start line in it's 12 year history.

"It's well up on the previous best of 17 countries at the 2004 Singlespeed Worlds in Berlin," adds Gary Sullivan, president of the Rotorua Singlespeed Society, host club for SSWC10.

"And if you don't want to race you can still enjoy the pre-race and after match parties, by getting a Party Animal ticket."

The riders will face a tough, technical mountain bike course on Rotorua's world-renowned Whakarewarewa Forest trail network.

At the front of the field it will be serious business, with the first man and woman's winner's tattoos up for grabs.

The latest leading rider to enter is Ross Schnell, 2009 Singlespeed World men's champion, from the USA. He will line up with other US pro team riders, Heather Irmiger (2009 Singlespeed World women's champ), her partner, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Olympian and two-times Singlespeed World champ, Travis Brown and some of the very best cross-country riders in New Zealand.

"Top athletes, and top people too," says Sullivan. "And with a very necessary sense of humour."

For the rest of the massive field it will be all about stupendous feats of strength, wild costumes, having a laugh, telling lies....and beer.

"So much international sport is about as serious as it gets," adds Watson. "It's nice to kick back and have some fun."

The race is the finale of the Rotorua Bike Festival, presented by the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust.

"The trust are a wonderful supporter of a whole range of sporting and cultural events and substantial 'bricks and mortar' in town," says Watson.

"It is brilliant to have them involved and we hope that the festival will be a sustainable, on-going event as Rotorua really is a great cycling centre."

It's not all about fun.

Over 900 entries means that the event has donated 10 bikes (1 for every 88 entries) to 88BIKES, an international organization supplying bikes to kids in the developing world.

Singlespeed Worlds is also partnered with CanTeen, supporting young people living with cancer.

Kiwi band Head Like A Hole has supplied the event theme song - 'A crying shame.'

HLAH’s two metre bass-player, Andrew “Tall Beast” Durno will be on the start line in October.

Last week, he fossicked through the band's archive and found the original video
of 'A crying shame'.

It's a very big weekend in Rotorua for cycling.

BMX Rotorua hosts the North Island BMX Championships on Saturday and Sunday with top riders from all over New Zealand and Australia racing, including local 2010 World champions, Lachie Stevens-McNab and Dave Mohi, and 2010 silver medalist and 2009 World Champion, Sarah Walker.

"BMX is another sort of singlespeed," says Gary Sullivanm with a laugh.

The 2010 Singlespeed World Championships are powered by:

Kiwibikes and Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust
Speights Traverse, Pig & Whistle, Agroventures, Events and Venues Rotorua
Bike Vegas, Nzo dirtwear, Graeme Murray Photography, Merida Whaka 100
plenty of other friendly locals, and a great team of volunteers...
Thanks to:
New Zealand Mountain Biker, Spoke, VORB and Australian Mountain Biker.