Cooper is using the three day race as some final preparation before he heads overseas.
‘‘I’m super excited to get back down to Alexandra and ride the Prospector stage race. It’s going to be a great opportunity to ride a marked course around some awesome trails, and also a good few days training on the bike before I head off to Europe to race on the World Cup circuit and finalise my preparation for the Tokyo Olympics," he said.
Cooper will team up with national under-19 champion Ethan Rose in his team.
The race will be over more than 120km and involve elevations of more than 4000m.
About 150 competitors will line up, with most of the entrants in two-rider teams. The two riders must stay within two minutes of each other.
The race begins on Friday with a prologue in Matangi Station. Saturday will have cyclists riding around a 60km loop circuit in the hills above Earnscleugh which involves 2100m of climbing.
The ride is a mixture of technical rides and downhills.
The final stage on Sunday will be back at Matangi Station, on a 55km loop course which involves 1900m of climbing.
Race director James Williamson said there had been good support for the event, which he hoped would become a prominent event on the New Zealand mountain bike calendar.
"We knew we had a great idea to establish an event that was sustainable and that benefitted our local community ... and when borders eventually reopen it will attract offshore riders to future events,’’ he said.
"For year one, securing a strong field of entrants, with approximately 80% coming from out of town, is a real indication that the mountain biking around Alexandra is regarded as being among the best in the world."
It is New Zealand’s only multi-day mountain bike stage race. Its name, ‘‘The Prospector’’, is in reference to Central Otago’s gold mining past, as many of the tracks and trails that will be ridden during the event were built by prospectors
