Words by Lester Perry
Images by Henry Jaine

On 23rd and 24th March 2024, Nelson Mtb Club knocked out the tenth edition of what is arguably NZ’s toughest gravity race; the Mammoth Enduro. Riders were presented with six epic descents linked by equally epic liaison climbs. The course designers aren’t total masochists, and eased the pressure on competitors by throwing in a couple of (no doubt banter-filled) shuttle uplifts to keep spirits high.

A few out-of-towners joined the local heavy hitters, but as with any enduro race, the locals certainly have the upper hand when it comes to knowing the trail nuances and how to race them well. This is definitely the case on Nelson’s technical steeps, where local knowledge pays dividends in the form of seconds on the clock.

Hailing from Christchurch, seventeen-year-old Winni Goldsbury turned up to Mammoth having ridden some, but not all, of the race stages. Practice was to be her first look at some of the trails. Not exactly confidence-inspiring when you’re about to go head to head with not only Nelson’s finest, but the women who are some of the nation’s fastest enduro racers.

The ace in Winni’s hand was that she’d proven herself just three weeks earlier at the NZ Enduro National Championship at Cable Bay Adventure Park, just outside of Nelson. Winni not only won the U21 championship but bested all other women in attendance, including the Elites.

Winni battled on foreign soil against local fast woman, Rae Morrison, duking it out over the Mammoth’s stages, trading stage wins and the race lead multiple times throughout the two competition days. Winni narrowly cinched the win over the seasoned Morrison by a sniff under a second! This was tight racing at its finest, and not only a huge surprise but another boost in confidence for the ever-improving Winni, with yet another podium in her break-out 2024 season.

She’s been at this bike game a while now, most of her life to be precise. At just six months old, she and her twin brother were presented with a pair of bikes by their grandfather. Handcrafted from old Kauri weatherboards from his house, these first bikes mean the pair can claim they were literally riding bikes before they could walk. From then on, mountain biking has been a key part of life for Winni, from doing skids at the local park, to cutting laps at the Christchurch Adventure Park once that was built. Since her first races at age 11, it’s been all go – and her passion for riding and racing continues to grow.

We caught up with Winni after Mammoth to get her thoughts on the event, dig a little deeper into her past, and get a glimpse into her hopes for the future.

“Becoming the NZ Women’s Enduro National Champion for 2024 is definitely a pretty great start to the year; hopefully, I can keep the momentum going for the rest of the year! Racing the Mammoth for the first time was awesome because the race had lovely people both participating and running it, as well as being run on an amazing bunch of trails. Honestly, it feels kind of like a dream to be up there with these ladies. I get to race with women as amazing and kind as Lou Kelly, Rae Morrison, George Swift and Xanthe Robb; it’s absolutely astounding. To be able to keep up with them makes the whole experience even more surreal,” explains Winni.

Winni had a couple of solid, and ultimately successful, days at the Mammoth, but the race wasn’t without adversity. On the first day, her chain came off during the first timed stage. Returning to the timing tent, the person who was doing the timing said that Rae’s time for stage one was 30 seconds faster than her time, which meant Rae would’ve been 4th in the pro-elite men category. Winni thought Rae must have had an amazing run. As luck should have it, though, the intel she received was incorrect, and Rae had finished only one second ahead of her in that opening stage. Seeing Rae’s time was still within reach added some pressure and ultimately fired Winni up to push harder heading into day two.

“The second day was also sweet. I was just so happy to be there racing with all those awesome people. Overall it was an amazing weekend,” she confirms.

Day two kicked off with Stage 2, ‘Te Ara Koa’ into ‘Fringe DH’ and finishing down ‘Butters’; three trails combined to make one epic 3.3km trail, and the longest of the race. Aside from a lap in practice, Winni hadn’t ridden Fringe DH or Butters, and the stoke was real to get to race them for the first time. Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn’t on her side, and she took a crash on this stage. All was not lost, however, she took the race lead from Rae, finishing the stage to take a sub-1-second buffer going into stage 3.

Racing down Peaking Ridge for Stage 4 was a highlight for Winni, the difference in speed from just riding it at her normal pace to a full- attack race pack, transformed the trail from a janky rhythmless physical challenge to a grin-inducing run where the root-balls and jank became flowy jumps and compressions.

Stage 5 was raced down the infamous 629 trail and its smorgasbord of steep dropping turns, slippery chutes, roots and rock; a jewel in Nelson’s MTB crown! Partway down the stage, Winni “had a random burst of energy which lasted until the end of the race; sprinted the entirety of the final horrible climb up Maitai Face”. It seems it may have been more than just a “random energy burst” though, having stopped at the food station on the climb to Maitai Face for a quick break to pat a puppy.

Maitai Face is a staple at most enduros in the area, dropping riders down through lofty pines, over roots, off-camber – and it has some of the steepest grades in the region; tough in the dry but nearly-unrideable in the wet. Fortunately, the weather gods played ball and delivered bone-dry conditions for the Mammoth riders. It was this 6th and final stage where Winni secured her win, pipping Rae by a narrow 3.5 seconds, putting her ahead once again and giving her the overall win by a scant half a second. A dominant performance battling not only Rae Morrison but Xanthe Rob, who raced consistently through the day to round out the top three over a minute and a half back.

Winni’s not one to get too bogged down in the details of bike setup; there are no special tweaks or specifics to her setup, it’s more of a “run what you brung” scenario. Her only comment about setup was the use of a pair of Reserve wheels fitted with Cushcore inserts and Maxxis Assegai tyres, pumped to 23 PSI front and rear, allowing her to attack Nelson’s gnarliest, remaining fully focussed on the task at hand rather than nursing her steed or riding light while concerned about flat tyres.

Breakout seasons often come after a period of hard work and focused training; for Winni though, her approach is more laid back than many at her level. “My training schedule is very, very serious, and intense,” she jokes. “No, no, my training is very relaxed and is limited to push- ups and intervals. I just ride every day and try to keep up with people who are faster than me.”

As simple as that.

Winni’s seemingly laissez-faire, relaxed attitude and absolute froth for mountain biking aren’t unique to her; it’s a full-family affair.

“My parents have both been extremely important in my MTB journey so far, as they are also obsessive mountain bikers. My mum, Melanie Blomfield, is a super competitive person all around and mountain biking is no different. She has dominated the 50+ category for the last five years and often beats most of the open women in local races. She has always been phenomenal and extremely supportive of my racing,” explains Winni. “My dad, Richard Goldsbury, was a cross country and downhill racer in the 90’s and 00’s. When enduro came into existence he definitely enjoyed that, and now he sometimes gives races the privilege of his participation, although mainly spends his time taking stunning photos of riding, and building the coolest tracks in Canterbury. He is very supportive. They’ve both influenced my riding so much because of their different riding styles, so I’ve learned to ride lots of different types of terrain. We travel across New Zealand a lot and get to ride all the different types of riding NZ has to offer.”

Off the back of Mammoth, Winni picked up couple of injuries which slowed her down for a few weeks but, once recovered, she was all go – preparing to head over to Europe to race some enduros. By the time this magazine breaks cover, she should be jetting her way to the other side of the globe to begin another chapter in her life.

Alongside Winni, Shannon Hewetson backed up his win at the NZ Enduro Championships at the Mammoth.

“Mammoth Enduro was a really rad event,” says Shannon. “They had everyone speculating on the tracks with the organisers staying tight lipped right up to the week of, meaning most were in the same boat practice-wise. We raced some of the best, most iconic trails – both skill and fitness-wise – for Nelson. Peaking Ridge and 629 were lots of fun, but all stages required a lot of focus with their duration, and all had high consequences if you misjudged things. The weekend went smoothly for me, didn’t really expect to do what I did; I thought I’d be feeling flat after Cable Bay (NZ Champs). Sometimes those days when you think things could have gone better, or you could have had better intensity, can really surprise you! Coming off the back of taking out Nationals Champs a few weeks prior, I felt a lot of pressure to back it up with a solid win, so was pretty stoked to take it out and to close out the summer season with another win.”

Thats a wrap for our Mammoth Enduro series. We’re looking forward to next year’s race and hope to see some of you there!