Opening of Hot Rod track culmination of joint project
PROFESSIONAL mountain bikers and enthusiasts were celebrating on Saturday thanks to a $40,000 extension to an already worldfamous descent from Coronet Peak.
Queenstown Mountain Bike Club president Chris Conway said the existing and ‘‘iconic’’ Rude Rock trail already attracted riders from around the globe.
He said the additional Hot Rod track would mean 1200 vertical metres from the top of the Queenstown mountain to the valley floor would be covered by the two trails.
About 100 mountain bikers lined up to try the new track on Saturday, witnessing financial backer Rod Drury and landowner representative Russel Hamilton cut the ribbon on Saturday morning.
Work on the trail began last summer and was interrupted first by the lockdown and then by difficult winter weather.
It was a joint project by the mountain bike club and Queenstown Trails Trust.
Mr Conway said it had always been a dream to extend the route and Mr Drury, cofounder of online accounting software firm Xero, said it would help make Queenstown a destination holiday for the sport.
He said the ‘‘mustdo’’ route would be a driver for domestic tourism while the borders remained closed.
Hot Rod, named after Mr Drury, was constructed by Elevate Trail Building and the engineers were cheered along the route when they took the maiden ride after the ribbon was cut.