Gore Motorcycle Club rider Blake Affleck is mastering one of the toughest sports going.
The 16-year-old motocross racer won one race and came second twice to become New Zealand’s No 2 junior (12-17-year-olds) at the New Zealand Cross-Country Championships in Nelson in February and Tainui over Easter.
Fields of more than 30 raced for hours over 10km-16km off-road circuits.
Lapping slower riders becomes a major challenge as riders manage speeds well over 100kmh, technical water crossings and picking lines through rugged forest.
"Mentally, riding isn’t too bad. You just stay 100% focused," Blake said.
Blake first raced as a 12-year-old, and 2024 is his last year as a junior.
He did have a big crash in his last race but was up and running the following weekend.
"It doesn’t worry me," he said.
"He loves it, he’s intelligent and takes takes calculated risks, he works really, really hard at it and he did incredibly well," mother Jenn Affleck said.
