Mountain bike Enduro World Series leader Wyn Masters ready for Derby

The distinctive New Zealander won the opening round of the Enduro World Series at a rain-soaked Rotorua and heads to Derby for Australia’s inaugural involvement in the competition keen to double up.

“Derby is a pretty good place to ride,” said Masters, who checked out the area earlier this year.

“It’s awesome to have 80 kilometres of trails and to be similar to New Zealand so it couldn’t be better!

“It’s a cool little town and good to see that it has really taken off just because of mountain biking. There’s a pretty good vibe there and I think it will grow even more in the next few years after this event."

Hailing from New Plymouth and set to turn 30 later this month, Masters has been racing mountain bikes for 18 years, winning the 2010 New Zealand championships before joining the EWS in 2015. 

Having come third in Rotorua two years ago, he said the secret of last month’s victory was minimising mistakes.

“It was pretty tough, muddy and slippery and whoever had the least bad stages, rather than the most good ones, came out on top.

“I was pretty happy to win there but have been sick since. I got some chest infection but hope to get rid of that before Sunday.”

Masters is among 300 riders who will contest the 56 competitive kilometres in Sunday’s seven stages, linked by 1700m of climbing.