French rider Pierrick Burnet claimed victory in the men’s 47km mountain bike race at the Motatapu off-road event on Saturday (March 7), leading a strong international field across the high country between Glendhu Bay and Arrowtown.

About 2700 competitors took part in the annual event, which featured five races including a 52km ultra run, 42km trail marathon, 47km mountain bike race, 15km trail run and a junior event.

Pierrick crossed the line in 2:00:07, finishing ahead of Jono Miller (2:01:04) and Joshua Haggerty (2:05:52).

Pierrick described the course as “pretty brutal”, saying practising the river crossings near the finish helped him gain time late in the race.

Priscilla Thompson won the women’s mountain bike race in 2:18:48, narrowly ahead of Kate Boe in 2:19:42, with Ruby Ryan third in 2:22:26 after stopping mid-race to repair a flat tyre.

The longest race of the day, the 52km ultra run, started in darkness before climbing through the Harris Mountains and descending into Arrowtown.

Wānaka-based runner Luke Wilson won the men’s ultra in 6:14:59, improving on his runner-up finish in 2024. Tahiti’s Delbi Gongora finished second in 6:19:31, with Majell Backhausen third in 6:23:02.

Hannah Wall successfully defended the women’s ultra title in 6:54:04, more than an hour ahead of Katherine Wright (7:56:29) and Marie Dethoor (8:29:13).

In the 42km trail marathon, Jack Oates claimed victory in the men’s category in a time of 2:58:09, finishing ahead of Coast to Coast Longest Day champion Hamish Elliott (3:10:28) and Jono Pinckney (3:17:14).

Winner’s of the 42km trail marathon Mel Aitken and Jack Oates.

“The rivers are nice to look at, they’re not so fun to run through,” Jack said of the deeper river crossings late in the course.

Mel Aitken won the women’s marathon in 3:31:53, ahead of Talia Flannery (3:49:04) and Kirsten Hall (3:51:56).

PHOTOS: Supplied