"It is a challenging course and will test competitors at the Oceania championships," 2006 world junior champion Cameron Cole (Christchurch) told the Otago Daily Times.
Cole was one of the elite downhill riders who were impressed by the quality of the Signal Hill course during the New Zealand Cup event last weekend.
Justin Leov (Dunedin), the top-ranked New Zealand downhill specialist, who is ranked sixth in the world, also praised the course.
"It's got every aspect that is needed on a downhill track," Leov said.
"It is not just steep, it's not just a place for pedalling, it is not just jumps. It has everything mixed in."
Leov rated the two rock gardens on the top section of the course as world-class.
"There are only one or two World Cup courses up to that standard," he said.
"We have a venue where it would be ideal to hold a World Cup because it would test the riders in every aspect of downhill racing."
He also felt that it would provide a good test for riders at the Oceania championships.
"It is a technical course and is not going to be easy.
"It will be a good test for the riders before the northern hemisphere season starts."
Leov had a word of caution for riders who train and race on the course.
"You have got to be careful that you don't get injured and cut your season short," he said.
The president of Mountain Biking Otago, Hamish Seaton, said the NZ Cup event at the weekend was a good dress-rehearsal for officials on both the downhill and cross-country course before the Oceania champs.
The fire that ravaged the forest on the lower part of Signal Hill in 2006 proved a bonus for the 1500 spectators who lined the course.
"It has opened it up," Seaton said.
"Spectators can sit on the finish line and see a quarter of the course.
"On many courses spectators can't see very far. We have got spectacular jumps and corners towards the bottom and this is great for spectators."
Seaton said the courses were in good shape and needed just some small ongoing maintenance over the next couple of months to be ready for the Oceania championships.
The local committee is also seeking the approval of the Dunedin City Council to develop a 4X course on Signal Hill in time for the Oceania champs.
"It will take in part of the downhill course," Seaton said. "All the work on the tracks has been done by voluntary labour and involves hundreds of hours."
Holding the Oceania event in Dunedin would be the pinnacle for mountain biking in the province, he said.
"It will be the most prestigious mountain bike event held in Dunedin.
"It gets the highest Union of Cycling International points and is always the pinnacle of the racing season in New Zealand and Australia."
