Dunedin will play host to 173 of New Zealand’s best young mountain bikers at the national secondary schools championships this weekend.
The event will be held over two days and 62 schools will be represented.
Riding will begin today with downhill races at Signal Hill and will continue at Forester Park and Bethunes Gully with the cross-country event.
"This is yet another real bonus for Dunedin," event director Chris Arbuckle said.
"While the secondary schools event is all about participation and building confidence for younger riders, it has that competitive edge.
"We ran a South Island schools [event] last year and hope the weather works with us this year."
Mountain Biking Otago won Cycling New Zealand’s club of the year and event of the year awards last year.
It is now recognised as one of the few clubs in the country readily supporting national-level events.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anton Cooper will attend as a VIP.
"This is not only about building the next generation of competitive riders, or even extreme sport people, but also those whom can grow to just love riding," downhill event director Kristy Booth said.
"And it’s at the core of why we hope to provide young enthusiasts to maintain a steady stream of people using Dunedin’s and Otago’s trails and tracks."
