Top biking brothers prove not so hot on horses
They may not be the best at picking winning race horses but they sure can ride winning mountain bikes.
Brothers Edward and Wyn Masters, two of the country’s top mountain bikers, returned home to New Plymouth for Christmas.
They spent the final day of their break at the Pukekura Raceway’s family fun day races with family and friends before heading off overseas to compete against the world’s best mountain bikers.
‘‘I had a win in the first race but it’s been pretty quiet since,’’ Edward said of their day out.
The pair are mostly based in Europe and spend a large part of their season on the road competing and travelling from race to race.
In the off-season they return home to New Zealand and divide their time between Queenstown or home in New Plymouth.
Edward said he spent last Christmas in Queenstown but copped a bit of stick from his parents so decided to head home this year.
‘‘You can’t beat coming home,’’ Edward said. ‘‘It’s good to come back to Taranaki and surf and just hang with friends.
‘‘And ride motorbikes’’ Wyn added.
The pair got into mountain biking when they were 11 by building jumps in the back yard at home in New Plymouth and their careers evolved from there.
They have a busy year coming up now that Wyn has recovered from injury. ‘‘We’ve got 15 races races over five months, starting with Chile then Columbia in March,’’ Edward said. ‘‘The more you travel the more you appreciate home.
The pair said the 2017 season began well for them but it was all downhill after that. ‘‘We got off to a good start in the Rotorua Giant Toa Enduro,’’ Wyn said. He won the event, while Edward finished third.
‘‘It was a Kiwi 1,2,3 so to do it at home was even better,’’ Edward said
‘‘But it was up and down for the rest of the year,’’ Wyn added.
He said he had some issues with his bike setup, while Edward had a bit of trouble staying on his.
‘‘My best finish last year was 13th in Canada, but I spent way too much time on the ground at the other races,’’ Edward said.
The pair have signed new contracts. ‘‘It just makes it so much easier, just focussing on racing,’’ Wyn said.
They had been out to their home track out at Mangamahoe a few days previously and noticed just how much it had changed.
‘‘It’s cool to be back again after so long,’’ Edward said. ‘‘I haven’t ridden there since the early 2000’s so to go back to where it all started was surreal.’’