MTB

Rotorua Bike Festival 2016 – WEMBO 24 hour Solo World Championship

By Blue Dog Media

One of the toughest races on the international mountain bike calendar will be a feature of the second week of the Festival.

The WEMBO 24 hour Solo World Championship will start at midday on Saturday February 20. Some of the world’s top endurance riders will be in the field, like 6 times world champion, Jason English from Australia.

There will also be a separate team’s event. It’s a unique opportunity for Kiwi 24 hour soloists and riders to compete alongside the world’s best on home territory and the IMBA gold status trails in the Whakarewarewa Forest.  
 
Also confirmed in the starting line-up is current women’s 24-hour solo world champion, Sonya Looney.
 

The livewire 32 year old is originally from New Mexico in the USA and now lives in British Columbia in Canada. She’s a talented and very experienced rider.
 
Mountain biking history?

2015 24 Hour Solo World Champion, 4x USA National Champion, USA Marathon Worlds Team, Brasil Ride Stage Race Winner, 2x Breck Epic Winner, 2x Yak Attack Winner, 3x Bailey Hundo Winner.  Stage race wins in 6 countries.
 
Have you heard about Rotorua?

Yes, I actually heard of it because of the Enduro World Series (I'm also racing the Trans New Zealand Enduro Stage Race in the South Island the week after I race WEMBO 2016). I've never been to New Zealand and always wanted to come visit I’m doing the full tour.  People from New Zealand are some of my favourite.
 
Looking forward to the trip?

Very much.  It'll be winter in British Columbia where I live.  We can't ride outside in the winter, so it'll be absolutely wonderful to be flying into summer weather and maybe even a shock to the system.  It'll be nice to hear the crunch of my tires on dirt and feel the sunshine on my skin.

I also can't wait to see all the beauty that New Zealand has to offer and learn more about the culture.  The Koru symbol is one of my favourites and has always been my good luck charm as a professional athlete.  I have had different renditions of it. My current one is actually from an artist in New Zealand.
 
Goals for 2016?

I'm excited to continue trying to win every stage race I go to next year, which will be two in Chile, South Africa, Canada, and more.  But I'm also taking on Enduro as a new discipline, too.  There’ll be a learning curve for sure, but I’m excited to start learning how to race Enduro.  I've been riding in that style at home a lot, but I have never raced it and I am excited to get on Scott Bikes for 2016.
 
Favourite things? And favourite things to do?

Enthusiasm, chocolate chip cookies, IPA, chocolaty espresso, my husband Matt, sunshine, big mountains, entrepreneurship, technical riding, cool hats, photography, laughing out loud, doing yoga, playing music (singing, guitar, flute, mandolin, piano, anything), playing tennis, running, Stand Up Paddleboard, camping, going to see live music, cooking, public speaking, and of course, traveling the world.  
 
 
Anything else?

Yes, I love public speaking. Riding bikes and doing the things you love will transform your life in ways you never imagined.

I talk about the different places I've raced all over the world from the Himalayas, to the Sahara Desert, to the jungles of Sri Lanka and South America and how experiences there can be applied to real life to help you make changes, grow, and realize that you are more capable than you ever imagined.
I love to talk about how to overcome fear, the power of positive thinking and attitude, redefining success, having a sense of humor, and doing the things you always wanted to do. 
 
Photo: Colin Meagher
 

 
Another rider who will be on the start line at WEMBO is Australian, Brett Bellchambers.
The affable, 42-year-old is from Canberra (“I’m really a Tasmanian, though,” he says with his characteristic grin).

The man known as ‘Jeebus’ makes it really hard on himself for the 24 hours. He’s a 3-time singlespeed 24 Hour Solo World Champion, but fell one podium step short at the 2016 WEMBO event in Weaverville in California.

Mountain biking history?

I’d ridden a motorbike from the age of four till the age that I was legally able to ride one, haven’t ridden one since then. Got my first MTB at the age of 18 in Hobart, 1^st year Uni (1991) and haven’t looked back since then. Started racing MTB when I moved to Adelaide in 1996. Started MTB Single Speeding in Hobart in about 2003 with the often legendary, often not, One Gear More Beer (OGMB) crew. Ended up in Canberra in 2006 – did my first 24hr solo in 2008 – it went OK. Grew a beard for a start line beard off for the 2010 24 hour Solo Nationals in Oz and since then things have just got weird and fantastic. I’m now 21 x 24hr solo races in and WEMBO 2016 will be number 22. I’ve collected some great sponsors along the way and MTB life is pretty good.

You’ve been to Rotorua before?

This will be my 4^th trip. First time was way back in 1998 – pre wife, just me, a rigid-steel bike with a bob trailer and plenty of time on my hands. Met a guy at the car park, tagged on for a ‘training loop’ and had a blast! The second time was for the Singlespeed Worlds in 2010 – post wife and kids – in a campervan. Had a great time like the other 1000 excited riders. Third time, was this year for the 2015 Anzac Singlespeed Championships – just me – got to hang out on great trails with great people, lose my bike on the start line and then write an article about it for Australian Mountain Bike magazine.  Not bad for an engineer pretending to be a public servant.

Looking forward to the trip?

Well, I think I am? 24-hour solos are about mental and physical pain management and a truckload of fun! I just found out that my brother and his family are going to be in UnZud at the same time and will be there for the race. So if [WEMBO race director] Tim Farmer’s idea of having a ‘Hecklers Corner’ at the top of ‘Be Rude Not Too’ with a bar and a band pans out  – it’s going to be a noisy, but fun and enjoyable, night at that part of the course – beware of the ‘beer hand up’.

Other than that I’m looking forward to renting some long travel geared bikes and hitting up a few runs from the top of the hill before the race with wife, son and bruver.
Did I just say gears and travel! As a family we’re pretty excited about the Rotorua Bike Festival, beforehand, and trying to get to as many of those events as we can.

Goals for 2016?

Well I really want to win back my 24 Hour Solo Single Speed World title in Rotorua at WEMBO 2016 – 2^nd in Weaverville at WEMBO 2015 hurt, but some days you just get beaten by a better man. I’d like to win a local 24hr solo race in OZ outright, again. Plus I’m thinking of doing some different races next year. I kind of like the short sharp 100km races at the moment, and I’ve just had an amazing time racing pairs at the 4 day HellFire Cup stage race in Tassie. Other than that, stay fit, stay upright, ride with great people and smile on the bike.
Favourite things? And favourite things to do?

I love those days when everything seems quiet, everything feels peaceful and the brain is calm. I love to lie in the sun on a blanket under the part shade of a tree and read comics with a large latte nearby. I love getting wrapped up in a kids game of futsal and forgetting where you are.

I love watching my daughter’s theatre group and wondering where she gets that outgoing spirit. I love watching my wife and son go riding.

Anything else?

Races don’t happen on their own, passionate people put other parts of their lives on hold to build something for the MTB community that they love and chose to associate with. Trails don’t happen on their own either, passionate people put other parts of their lives on hold to build something for the MTB community that they love and chose to associate with. A big thank you, from me, to those people. See you in Rotovegas in February – my brother is coming – you’ve been warned.

Photo: Mead Norton

Entries for the solo category or the team’s race that will run with it: wembo2016.com
And Brett will be speaking at The Big Bike Film Night at the Bike Festival, Monday February 15.  See the Festival website for more details: www.rotoruabikefestival.com