Otago turned on its distinctive chilly winter charm when it hosted the Cyclocross National Championships at Whare Flat on Saturday.
Almost 50 competitors from around the country took part in the gruelling event, battling tree roots, slippery mud and cold.
The event involved riders, using what were essentially road bikes with thin mountain bike tyres, negotiating a 3km obstacle course designed to be unrideable in parts.
That meant competitors were forced to dismount and carry their bikes for portions of the race.
The leading riders completed six laps of the course in just over an hour, organiser and competitor Sophie Luther said.
The course and weather made for treacherous conditions.
''It was really good fun. You were covered in mud and you were slipping and sliding. It was snowing. It was perfect,'' Miss Luther said.
''We probably are a bit mad. We go out on our weekends and get cold and wet and muddy and try to ride our bikes in places we probably shouldn't.''
But it was still a competitive race.
''The guys at the front were taking it really seriously. There was a lot of falling over and things, crashes, it was good fun.''
She said the top of the 3km course featured mud so thick it was almost unrideable, while exposed tree roots proved hazardous.
Plus, it was snowing. Dunedin secured the national event after a team of local volunteers, headed by Dunedin CycleWorld director Matt Dunstan, ''decided that we wanted to try and host it'', Miss Luther said.
Results
Tristan Rawlence (Nelson) 1h 04min 53sec, 1; Logan Horn (Christchurch) 1h 06min 19sec, 2; 3. Brendon Sharratt (Wellington) 1h 06min 28sec, 3; highest placed woman, Anja McDonald (Nelson) 1h 19min 23sec.
