Race Report: New Zealand’s 2024 Enduro National Champions Crowned in Nelson

1-3 March was the weekend carved out to crown this year’s New Zealand national champions – Were Raewyn Morrison & Charlie Murray (Elite) and Guy Johnstone & Winnifred Goldsbury (Under 21) going to hold on to their titles or would new names emerge in 2024, that was the ultimate question!

With Hardline Tasmania taking place the weekend prior, Crankworx Summer Series in Christchurch being scheduled for the same weekend but cancelled due to fires and a hot contender to the women’s elite title George Swift being out due to injury it was a spicy lead-in with very few certainties with regards to the start list.

Being a National Championship, Cable Bay Enduro, also finds itself wearing the exceptionally elusive “UCI Enduro World Cup Qualifier” badge which meant riders with international aspirations were gearing up to collect points to ensure they could get between the tape when the Enduro World Cup commence in May with the first round in Finale Ligure, Italy.

The weekend was set to be an absolute stunner if you consulted the forecast and the vibe about town. Friday was the official practice day where the riders enjoyed multiple shuttle uplifts to practice stages 3-7, once each. Saturday morning the riders practiced stages 1-2 followed by a lunch break before they set off in waves to pedal the same two stages to kick off the race, but first….

It wouldn’t be the Cable Bay Enduro if it didn’t include a chance for someone to give enduro racing a go for the first time. Saturday morning therefore entailed a 3-stage Junior Enduro race with an 80-something strong list of participants, a 100% increase from last year’s junior race. But you’d do well to not let those small wheels and short limbs fool you because not only did they turn up in large numbers they also brought some serious speed, particularly Pippi Taylor, Sophie Vincent, Sylvie Kemp and Josef Houghton, Oliver Pickering, Harley Heyward who took out the overall podium in girls and boys respectively. The full results can be found here.




As the Junior race prizegiving came to an end the stampede began towards the SoundBoks heckle zone 1 at the end of stage 2. The racers would have made their way down stage 1 – Deliverance, the only grade 6 currently available at the adventure park and were now about to tackle the long and intense situation that made up stage 2 – Cookie Crumble Ridge, Gamble into Pineline link and Pineline. Those who found themselves high up the results after day 1 were Shannon Hewetson, Brady Stone, Charlie Murray; Raewyn Morrison, Louise Kelly, Julie Duvert; Lachie Ross, Tyler Waite, Cooper Millwood and Winnifred Goldsbury, Xanthe Robb and Erica Batchelor in elite men, elite women, under 21 men and under 21 women respectively.

Sunday morning came around, and little did anyone know of the epic battle it held in store! While the above-mentioned names would do their best to hold on to their good advantage from the day prior the rest of them had woken up hungry and were not planning on accepting the status quo. The Sunday racing provided a rolling conveyor belt of excitement and with an additional 3 SoundBoks Heckle Zones being set up in the lush native forests of the Cable Bay Adventure Park the Nelson Tasman locals and visitors made the most of the day! In fact, the promise of a “Best Dressed Spectator” award appeared to have brought out the very best in some people! Riders were making their way around the 5-stage day totalling 31 kilometres and 1700m of elevation gain sampling some of the adventure park’s finest singletrack; Gamble, Jurassic, the brand new The Poacher, Lost time, Broken Gnome and Veto.










With a run sheet that would put any wedding with a bit of self-respect to shame the prize-giving ceremony was determined to build suspense around the National Championship title.

At this stage the organisers decided to take a moment to give credit where credit was due and give a shoutout to the landowners Richard and Elina Ussher for their unwavering support of the event and mountain biking as a whole, Cycling NZ for their rubber stamp, Nelson MTB Club, all the valued sponsors (Check them out here) that made the race into an event and experience and the volunteers without whom it would not have happened.

Marty Richards and Glen Buckley then took to the stage to carry out the traditional ‘Blazer Ceremony’ where deserving members of the volunteer Cable Bay Dig Crew receive a blazer for their many hours service dedicated to the Cable Bay Adventure Park trails, huge congratulations and thanks to: Oli Floerl, Ben Johnson, Mandy Richards, John Etherington, and Ian Marshall



This was followed by the awards for the Silky Saw Challenge which had been going on throughout the weekend, the two fastest teams went up against each other and the clock in the honorable skill that is cutting through a tree branch and in a true battle royal type-test the members of the winning team then battled it out for the title of the Fastest Cutter at the Cable Bay Enduro 2024.

The podium finishers in each category were announced and suitably celebrated.

Are we building suspense yet?

The only other thing left to do was to announce the National Champions of 2024 so naturally it was time for the lengthy process of cat-herding all volunteers and dig crew up onto the stage for a photo.


Now, the Enduro MTB National Champions of 2024 are:

Elite Men:

1st: Shannon Hewetson – National Champion

2nd: Brady Stone

3rd: Charlie Murray



Under 21 Women

1st: Winnifred Goldsbury – National Champion

2nd: Xanthe Robb

3rd: Erica Batchelor


Elite Women

1st: Raewyn Morrison - Elite Women’s winner

2nd: Louise Kelly


Under 21 Men

1st: Lachie Ross – Under 21 Men’s winner

2nd: Ollie Jenkins

3rd: Aidan Robinson


The full results from the 2024 Cable Bay Enduro and Enduro MTB National Championships can be found here. A huge congratulations to the newly crowned national champions, all podium finishers, and every single participant for making their way around a challenging and spicy course – We look forward to seeing you back next year, 7-9 March 2025, for more good times, save the date!


Words: Jess Harvey
Images: Sven Martin

Posted In:
Racing and Events Enduro Racing Race Reports