Organisers of a national mountainbiking race are offering a reward to catch vandals who sabotaged the event on Sunday.
Saboteurs pulled arrows off trees and restapled them in the wrong direction in Whakarewarewa Forest, near Rotorua.
Their actions led to a 12-year-old Auckland girl completing a 75km course instead of the 20km race she entered for, the Rotorua Post reported. Another competitor also ended up riding 75km, instead of his 45km race nearly sparking a search and rescue operation.
Organisers said he was so exhausted after his seven-hour ride, he left the course and headed straight into town to get food, neglecting to hand in his transponder.
Highlander New Zealand Mountainbike Marathon Championships event director Marcus Diprose said the sabotage happened after the safety motorbike and lead competitors had passed through the course.
"I don't know what goes through someone's head who sabotages a course and puts lives of forest users at risk," he said.
`If (a competitor) gets lost in the forest, they get lost majorly. From my perspective, I can't emphasise the safety issue enough."
He offered a cash reward of between $500 and $1000 for any information leading to the identification of those responsible.
