The Pioneer V2.0
Take a look back at the 2018 edition of The Pioneer to see what might be in store for 2019!
Words: Mike Blewitt Photos: Tim Bardsley-Smith and Jemma Wells
“No one rides cross-country in Queenstown.”
The backpacker working in the bike shop was pretty firm in his response. I was hunting out a 70mm stem in something with a 10 degree angle or less, to help get the bars a little lower on a bike after putting a Fox 34 SC 120mm fork onto my XC bike for the 2018 edition of The Pioneer.
I’d checked three shops already, and I can see where this shop assistant was coming from. Queenstown Bike Park and the Skyline Gondola tower above the picturesque town in the Southern Lakes region of New Zealand’s South Island – most bikes are gravity sleds and most helmets are full face. But I was in Queenstown for The Pioneer, a 6-day mountain bike stage race that would tackle the intermediate trails, backcountry ways and high farm tracks around Queenstown and Central Otago. I wasn’t alone either – accompanied by my wife as my team mate for the pairs event, with about 600 other mountain bikers here for the same experience.
It turns out quite a few people would be riding cross-country in Queenstown.
A new face for 2018
After editions in 2016 and 2017, the event team behind The Pioneer went back to the drawing board for 2018. The point to point route from Christchurch to Queenstown was long and difficult for riders and crew alike. The experience was exceptional, but the riding needed a little more variety.
With a date shift from late summer to the start of summer, The Pioneer crew had time to get creative. Their course teams consulted and worked with local riders and a course was revealed that was a little shorter than before, more compact, but certainly no easier. Trail names like Rude Rock, Skippers Canyon, The Moonlight Track, Seven Mile, Flat Top Hill, Sphinx Trail and more popped up into the route – these trails would be on any trail riders tick list for a visit to Queenstown and Central Otago. The Pioneer was going to get pretty hectic!
On The Pioneer trail
The internet was abuzz in the months leading up to The Pioneer in 2018. Not only had the event numbers swelled, but there was genuine curiosity about just what the new route would be like. Had the organisers gone crazy? Were we really racing in bike parks on high seat posts? Was it actually possible to have so much climbing?
Having raced the Swiss Epic in 2015 (which is now a part of the same global Epic Series as The Pioneer), I knew that yes, it would be likely that we would be on the trails of the bike park in Queenstown. And yes, you can climb close to 3000m in about 60km. But would it be a death march, would it be hard? I expected it would be difficult, and I suspect most riders wouldn’t bother signing up if they had thought it would be easy. The Pioneer is a bucket list mountain bike event and a truly epic mountain bike experience. You have to work for that kind of thing.
With a crazy snow storm pummelling Queenstown barely a week before the event, the internet went crazy again. Would the race be cancelled? Would the route change? Surely we can’t race in the snow/cold/wet? But as Australians, we were quick to realise that not only did the Kiwi event crew have plans in place for weather, but New Zealand’s weather was quick to change back. And they would have made us race in the rain anyway – that’s what every other country does, just not us.
With a clearing forecast, the prologue was the first test for riders, the course designers and the rest of the event crew. Coronet Peak was in the cloud, and snow was shovelled off the infamous Rude Rock descent just days earlier. We would be racing on a modified route, heading straight into the Rude Rock descent in 30 second intervals, before tackling Skippers Canyon, climbing out, and then taking on a new trail below the road to Coronet Peak.
The course had mud, some riders had drizzle, and often the start and finish area was in a cloud. But the 2018 edition of The Pioneer had arrived, and everyone was buzzing. “The mud wasn’t that bad!”, “How was that view!”, “I thought I saw an Orc!” and similar musings were heard.
The next day the true racing began, where we would be bar-to-bar with our competitors. The prologue results had put us all in the appropriate start chutes, but the start along the lake out of Queenstown was still pretty busy. We rode on gravel paths, backcountry singletrack, purpose-built mountain bike trails above the lake, and then headed back towards Queenstown, towards the bike park.
There was toil, there was tantrums, and there were tired legs. And that was just me. But the road climb up to access the bike park showed many teams were just about on their limit. We climbed through the park, on old trails and up some closed descending trails, until it was just all downhill to the finish. One chute after another, then a berm, a tabletop, huge braking bumps, another blown out berm and then ‘beep’ you’re over the timing mat.
But then, The Pioneer truly started.
Until this point we had been in Queenstown. The picturesque village on the lake has everything you need, at a price you can probably justify. Queenstown throbs with an international crowd, but from the finishline we would move to coaches and shuttle to Alexandra, and move into the race village. Now, the stage race would truly begin.
While you can book a house and have a friend or family member take you to and from the race start each day, the beating heart of The Pioneer is in the race village. It’s a very comfortable setup, with tables and chairs, vendors selling hot chips, pulled pork rolls, felafal wraps, coffees, ice cream and more. There is massage, a bar, music, games – and all manner of ways to boast about your prowess that day. It was very comfortable staying in Queenstown in an apartment – but the experience started once we moved into the camp.
The following stages in Alexandra continued to deliver the new mix of riding that The Pioneer was serving up. We had national cycle routes mixed with hand cut trails. We had rail trail, ridgeline traverses and rock gardens. When the event shifted to Bannockburn, we were even more in the backcountry, as the whole camp covered a farmer’s field. Once you were finished for the day, there was little left to do save for look at the ranges, and talk with other riders over a beverage. It was exactly what a mountain bike event should be. The final run into Queenstown was no parade, and I don’t think anyone left anything in the tank, with the look of elation on riders faces crossing the line showing that everyone was happy to have finished a monumental challenge.
Another view on The Pioneer with Andy and Adam
Andy and Adam are based in Brisbane, and are just one team that were seen to be laughing their way through the event. It was their first time doing The Pioneer, or anything like it.
“I came to Queenstown about a year ago on my honeymoon, and fell in love with the place,” said Andy. “At the same time information about The Pioneer started to appear on Facebook so I said ‘Hey Adam, do you want to do this?’ And that was pretty much it.”
“I thought yeah, that is something crazy to do!” laughed Adam as we sat around before dinner one evening. While they both been riding for a while, The Pioneer was going to be a big step.
“I started mountain biking in 98, at the Interschools,” said Andy, “and then I got into road cycling and forgot about mountain biking. But I’ve slowly got back into it as I got older.”
The fact that it was out of the ordinary was a big part of the appeal for the two of them, as Adam explained. “Partly this is about doing something challenging with a mate, and also just about having a crazy adventure! Life is short, get out there and do something crazy once a year. It is 100 times better than I thought it would be, to be honest. The Pioneer has really delivered on everything it promised and more. I have fully enjoyed the whole week.”
The Pioneer is a big investment, in time and finances. Both in terms of getting ready and getting there. And that’s not lost on Andy or Adam.
“Just do it,” stated Adam. “It’s a big expense, but the return on investment is infinite. The people, the setup, the course – the value for money is there and it is totally worth it. As Andy has said, it’s Type 2 fun. It is fun now, but I know I’ll be home and really, really missing it. I can’t recommend The Pioneer enough.”
“I agree,” Andy added, “especially moving into the camp village. Once we got out and about and out into the backcountry it really clicked. Everything is there in the camp and you don’t have to think about anything else other than riding your bike, and eating and sleeping. And that’s the good life!”
We’re not short of a mountain bike stage race in Australia, and The Pioneer might have sowed the seed for this partnership.
“We have already been talking about Port to Port and maybe Cape to Cape next year, and maybe the Swiss Epic the year after. It’s certainly hit some buttons for us,” said Andy. Preparation was different for the two riders, who needed to juggle work and family around getting ready for The Pioneer.
“We trained completely differently,” said Adam. “But go long. Get some long rides in. But like anything in life, you have to make time. Work was smashing me, but at 3 months out I had to make time on the bike a priority. Make do with the time you have.” Andy concurred, although he enlisted some help.
“I got a coach as I didn’t have much time mid-week. So I did a lot of trainer sessions mid-week and tried to get a long ride in on the weekend. That’s what I stuck to and it got me through.”
“Attitude is huge,” adds Adam. “You have to want to be here, keep it light and don’t take it too seriously. I think that’s key. We aren’t aiming for the podium, we’re here to have fun and you have to keep that in mind. That really helps for the long days.”
What bike for The Pioneer?
For 2016 and 2017 I raced a 100mm XC 29er, with 1×11. And in 2018 that was pretty much the same except for a few useful changes. I put a Fox 34 SC on the front, and the 120mm travel slackened the head angle a little bit. I also rode with slightly wider tyres that still rolled very well. My dropper post was 125mm long, and I fitted a 180mm front rotor, ensuring I had metal pads front and rear.
The Fox 34 SC was also stiffer, and plusher off the top compared to my usual Fox 32 SC. It’s not totally advisable to go whacking a light trail fork on any XC bike. But this really transformed my Norco Revolver!
I used a Shimano XTR group set, with a 32t chainring and 11-46 cassette. For The Pioneer, the wider the gear range, the better. And really think about those long, steep climbs.
Each day is demanding for you and your bike, so you really want to use parts you can trust for a week. Things that will work for 30 hours of riding in a wide variety of conditions. Get into a routine with your daily bike maintenance. Check tyres, suspension pressure, test bearings and check bolts are at the right torque. It is worth carrying a small chain lube due to numerous river crossings. If in doubt – sign up for the bike service. The team from Bike Therapy do a really good job.
Essential Info
What to expect
– Big views, big climbs, big days
– Full-service
– Excellent hospitality
– Any kind of weather
What to take
– All the mandatory gear!
– Hand sanitiser
– Comfortable cycling kit
– A bike in perfect working condition
– A sense of humour and a sense of adventure
What to leave behind
– Flimsy tyres and resin brake pads
– Your best race shoes – you will be walking
Where to fly to
– Queenstown
What else can I do?
– Jetboating
– Parasailing
– Spa treatments!
– Ride Queenstown Bike Park
– Canyoning
– Wine tasting
Riding The Pioneer in 2019
The race dates are December 1-6, and teams of two will be tackling 424km with 15125m of climbing. While The Pioneer is part of the Epic MTB Series, it is its own event and worth doing in its own right if you want a challenge and have a sense of adventure. It’s no walk in the park. It wasn’t in the first two years and the new route shows it hasn’t been watered down. But a sense of satisfaction doesn’t game without hard graft, and The Pioneer team will make you work hard. But they will also reward you. And for that reason I think a lot more people will continue to be riding cross-country in Queenstown.
For more info or to enter head here - https://www.thepioneer.co.nz
