Top mountain bike comp coming to town

The world’s top male and female mountain bikers will compete in freeride MTB comp, Natural Selection Proving Grounds, on Queenstown's Mount Dewar.

The TreeSpace land, above Arthurs Point, was chosen after five world class freeride mountain bikers came to New Zealand to scout locations.

Robin Goomes, Reed Boggs, Casey Brown, Brett Rheeder and Carson Storch were torn between Mount Dewar and a Wānaka site, but chose Queenstown for its dynamic, natural terrain features.

"The land here lends itself perfectly to freeriding with big open mountains and rolling terrain that’s asking to be ridden," pro NZ mountain biker Goomes says.

"Having Proving Grounds come to NZ will be massive for the community and local riders looking to bridge the gap into the international scene."

Five years ago Proving Grounds debuted in Prineville, Oregon USA. The ground-breaking competition blurs the lines between big mountain and slopestyle riding. As with Natural Selection snowboard events, athletes choose their line to best showcase their personal skill, style, and strengths. And men and women will drop in on the same course with equal riding and prize opportunities.

Todd Barber, Founder of Proving Grounds Tour, says: "The aim in New Zealand is to create the next evolution in freeride MTB competition, by choosing a location that uses the natural terrain to guide the design of the course, this will allow for limitless potential, with limited impact.

"The combination of the terrain at Mount Dewar and the team at TreeSpace, who not only understand our values, but also share them, is going to create an amazing venue.

"We’re working with Tom Hey at Elevate Trail Building to design a world class venue that is not only thrilling for the athletes, but also conscious of the natural landscape and our duty to preserve and also regenerate the area."

'Search for the Next Proving Grounds' directed by Jeremy Grant, now streaming on-demand on Outside Watch.