WORDS | Amanda Pearce
PHOTOS | Taken by the rad medics and marshals
Into it’s ninth year, Shred Like a Girl hit the hills of Nelson on Saturday 9th November for an awesome day of shredding bikes. All eyes were on the weather as the forecast had been threatening to rain all week. Riders were delighted to be treated to overcast but fine skies with next to no precipitation.
Racers had 2 course options for the Enduro, with either a 3 stage Intermediate or a 5 stage Advanced course. The Intermediate course consisted of the following tracks - Stage 1 Koata Whetu, Stage 2 Lower Firball, Stage 3 Turners and the Advanced course - Stage 1 Butters, Stage 2 Koata Whetu, Stage 3 Lower Firball, Stage 4 Top Dog, Stage 5 Turners.
After some pre race banter and coffee, riders loaded into the shuttle vans and headed up the hill for their respective first stage.
Rain earlier in the week made for some slick conditions on Butters, adding some extra trickiness to the already grade 5 trail. The Advanced riders handled the track with ease, all getting down in one piece, ready for the next stage.
Getting a much needed haircut earlier in the week, Koata Whetu was running in mint condition. With lots of flowy berms, loose sections to keep you on your toes and some tight trees to wiggle through, Koata Whetu is always a fan favourite, guaranteed to put a smile on any riders face.
Next up was a well known Nelson classic, Lower Firball. With lots of flat out fast sections and plenty of humps and bumps to get air off, this trail really got the blood pumping. It was then a hot and muggy pedal back up the hill to a much needed feed station at Firball skid.
Advanced riders then made there way over to the start of Top Dog. Sitting at the easier end of it’s grade 5 rating, Top Dog has a bit of something for everyone, with heaps of features including rocks, roots, berms, rollers, drop offs and more.
It was then onto the final stage for all riders, Turners. Dropping into the Maitai side of Koata Park, Turners is a gravity riders dream. Full of berms, doubles, table top’s and step downs, this was the perfect trail to finish off the day.
After a big morning on the trails, riders then made their way back to the event village for prize giving. Congratulations to Pippi Taylor for taking out the Shred Like a Girl overall title for 2024.
A massive thanks to all the volunteers for giving up their time to make this day awesome! Cheers to the Nelson Mountain Bike Club for all your support and last but not least, a big round of applause to Mel Schroder for everything you do to make this event happen. See you all next year!
