Heavy rain overnight was no impediment for champions Craig Oliver and Olympian Sammie Maxwell who successfully defending their national titles at the 2024 Whaka 100 MTB Marathon in Rotorua on Sunday.

After four hours of arguably the toughest annual mountain bike test in New Zealand, Oliver (MitoQ-NZ Cycle Project, Christchurch) out-sprinted younger brother Ben for the honours over the 100km test in the famed Whakarewarewa Forest.

It was a repeat of his victory last year, which means he has drawn level with brother Ben with two wins each at the Shimano Whaka 100, which doubled as the official Cycling New Zealand Marathon Championship.

The pair were awarded the same time of five hours exactly for the 100kms that comprised over 3,100m of climbing made more challenging after heavy overnight rain. While conditions were stunning for the race, the softer surface made for an even tougher test.

Maxwell battled with American professional Gibson for much of the elite women’s race, until the Decathlon Ford professional edged ahead at the 60km mark, finishing strongly in 5:46.44 to retain her national championship marathon title.

Gibson, who has been ultra-competitive for her Trek Factory team over sprint distances on the world circuit, finished 15 minutes behind the kiwi star.

Craig Oliver said the early pace was hectic with former UCI Marathon World champion, Sam Gaze leading the way.

“Sam (Gaze) went out pretty aggressively and I knew that if he got a gap that is all the motivation he would need to really send it,” said Craig Oliver.

“So I tried to cover him a bit early on and we were pushing quite hard on the downhill but Ben was always rode pretty steady and always came back to the wheel pretty easily so I knew he was going to be super-strong.”

Craig Oliver in action during Sunday’s 2024 Whaka 100 MTB Marathon event in Rotorua. Photo: Rachel Hadfield.

Gaze had a mechanical issue and later withdrew, as it came to an Oliver-brothers showdown.

“It has been competitive between us from when we were young but to be honest we have not ridden together much lately,” said Ben Oliver. “We have had pretty different preps – I came back from overseas and Craig did a little road stint overseas and came back and has been training for this.

“This has honestly been one of the few rides we have done together this year. We have always been super-close and it came down to the wire today.

“I tried to let them (Craig and Sam) burn their matches racing eachother up the front early on and just tried to pace myself. I knew there was one point that whoever was leading would likely win. I had to jump out of the creek quickly but Craig just had the gap he needed to hold on in the sprint. Oh well, older brother got it.”

Craig agreed that the brothers had always driven eachother to improve.

“Growing up I am not sure if the loser had to do the dishes at home, but it was pretty fierce competition some stages.

“I would try to do learn something but it took me ages to master it and then half a day later he (Ben) would nail it as well. It just annoyed me because he would pick things up quicker than me but really it’s been great.”

Brother Ben said the Shimano Whaka 100 continued to be both a massive challenge and hugely enjoyable.

“The race is brutal – 100km in that forest plus a bit of rain last night – Rotorua does not usually get muddy but it had a bit of mud out there which made it slippery and slow-going.

“There was a pretty crazy pace from the get-go and after five hours of racing, we end up with a sprint finish.

“It was so cool seeing all the spectators out there around the course and the finish line here is epic – this is the place you want to perform around New Zealand – this is one of the best races.”

The two brothers pair up next week, heading south to ride for MitoQ-NZ cycle Project team in the Tour of Southland road race.

Maxwell, who had a minor surgery on her heart early this month, was not planning to race this weekend. But after some pleasing test results on her general health, she twisted her coach’s arm.

“I love this race so much, but I wasn’t doing this race as I was on break,” said Maxwell. “I got some test results back … that showed I am in a really healthy position so I begged my coach to let me ride because I love this event and wanted to be here.

“I literally did a four and a half hour ride on Saturday and a five-hour ride on Tuesday – and that was my training. I guess the moral of the story is be healthy and you don’t have to train,” Maxwell joked.

Maxwell said she rode conservatively but kept Gibson with in reach but stepped things up over the closing stages, and was delighted to win again and secure the national champion’s jersey.

The three-day event attracted more than 3,000 competitors of all ages over a range of races from the Eliminator super-sprints on Friday to the Whaka Miler (160km) event and today’s Shimano Whaka 100.

Elite Results:

Whaka 100km, elite men: Craig Oliver (MitoQ-NZ Cycle Project, Christchurch) 5:00.04, 1; Ben Oliver MitoQ-NZ Cycle Project, Christchurch) same time, 2; Matthew Wilson (Cambridge) at 5s, 3.

Elite women: Sammie Maxwell (Decathlon Ford, Taupo) 5:46.44, 1; Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek Factory, USA) at 3:51s, 2; Priscilla Thompson (MitoQ-NZ Cycle Project, Christchurch) at 35:14, 3.