Mountain biking: Hard-won chance to represent NZ doubly 'surreal'

Tony Hogg trains for the world championships on the Signal Hill mountain bike track near Logan...
Tony Hogg trains for the world championships on the Signal Hill mountain bike track near Logan Park, Dunedin, yesterday. Photo by Craig Baxter.
There's a first time for everything but for Dunedin mountain biker Tony Hogg, his trip to the world 24-hour championships in Alberta, Canada, in June will combine two firsts: his first time further afield than Australia and his first chance to represent his country.

Hogg (34), manager of the Dunedin Landscape Centre, earned the trip when he won the New Zealand 24-hour mountain bike title at the Whakarewarewa Forest, Rotorua, last weekend.

"I'm stoked. It's exciting. It's a bit surreal because I've never been past Australia before," Hogg told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.

"It is still very surreal to think that what I set out to do, I achieved, and here I am now planning my trip to compete against the best in the world in Canada."

Hogg, who played premier rugby for Zingari-Richmond in the early 1990s as an openside flanker, put on weight and became a smoker after his rugby career ended.

He started mountain biking four years ago in a bid to get his fitness back.

"I had ballooned to 95kg and wanted to change my lifestyle.

"I competed in a couple of races, enjoyed it and wanted more."

He reduced his weight to 75kg a year ago and has retained that weight over the past 12 months.

"I don't diet and I don't do weights in the gym because it bulks me up," he said.

Hogg steadily improved and won 12 races in 2007.

These included the Coastal Classic, the 80km Molesworth Muster, the Masters Games title and the Naseby 12-hour race.

These performances showed Hogg he could compete at the top level.

He has worked harder and now trains seven days a week, spending between 20 and 25 hours a week on his mountain bike.

Nothing will change as he builds towards the world championships.

"The worlds are just three months away. I can't afford to change my routine. But I will spend more time in the saddle and race every two or three weeks," he said.

Hogg had a painful time over summer, with his sport-induced asthma slowing him down in January and February.

"It is pollen-based," Hogg said. "When the rains washed away the pollen in February and March I was OK."

Hogg uses a preventive inhaler twice a day to keep the airways open.

He grew up in Alexandra, developing a love of the outdoors when he lived close to Butchers Dam, and used to ride his bike, fish and hunt in and around the nearby hills.

Hogg had not been expected to win the New Zealand title, his first, at Rotorua because three top Australian riders, including the Australian 24-hour solo champion, Andrew Bell, were in competition.

The field also included New Zealand's Thomas Lindup, the under-23 world champion.

A qualifying spot to the world championships was at stake.

Hogg adopted a bold plan and kept up with the two leading team riders on the first 15km lap.

A solo entrant isn't meant to do this.

"It didn't go completely to plan," Hogg said. "After the third lap I thought my race was over as my rear hub began to fail mechanically."

Hogg extended his lead over his 10 opponents in the solo event each lap and was able to stop after 21 hours because he was already three laps ahead of his opponents and could not be caught.

Each lap took about an hour.

His wife Donna was his support team and fed him with gels, sports drinks, carbohydrate bars and his tried-and-true race foods of baked beans, baked potatoes, hot cross buns, and bean and pasta soup.

"My stomach got into knots and I found it hard to eat after 18 hours. I still had six hours to go and needed to eat and replace what I was consuming."

Todd and women's winner Erin Greene both come from Dunedin and are sponsored by R & R Sports.

 

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