Leading up to the Rotorua leg of the 2025 Crankworx World Tour in March, three local mountain biking champions shared their thoughts on changes to the downhill track.

The downhill track had been in the Whakarewarewa forest for two years and returned to Skyline Rotorua in November.

Mountain biking champion Jenna Hastings, 20, told The Rotorua Daily Post she was stoked to add her input into refreshing the downhill track.

“It does hold a very special place in my heart as it kind of gave me that leg up in my career and is the reason I’m doing what I am now.

“In 2021, up here at Skyline, they had Crankworx and it was no spectators because of Covid. I was 17 and I actually won the downhill, so it kind of skyrocketed my career a bit,” she said.

Hastings was crowned a world champion in 2022 after winning the junior women’s downhill at Les Gets, France.

She said Empire of Dirt trail builders Adam King and Chris Martin were taking inspiration from Hardline Tasmania – “which is a sick bit of track” – as part of changes to the track.

Hastings' other favourite tracks to ride were Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup track in Canada and the Val di Sole BikeLand in Italy.

Brooke Macdonald on the Crankworx downhill track which returned to Skyline Rotorua in November. Photo / Clint Trahan

Brook Macdonald says Rotorua is a mountain bike riders’ ‘Mecca’

Pro mountain biker Brook Macdonald, 33, nicknamed “Bulldog” for the many times he got back up after crashing, called Rotorua home.

After 15 years of professional riding he said he was definitely one of the veterans.

“We’ve been at the forest for, I think, two years now so it’s nice to be coming back to Skyline [with] a completely new track,” Macdonald said.

He said Rotorua was “up there” in terms of his favourite tracks.

“You can ride here rain, hail or shine, and it’s still great.

“When it rains, two days after it’s probably in its peak conditions,” Macdonald said.

He said Rotorua’s variety of trails helped make it the mecca of mountain biking in New Zealand.

“Obviously we have Christchurch and Queenstown and Nelson, and those places are also amazing but I think for me, Rotorua is the best.”

After more than a decade as a pro rider, Macdonald said living out of a suitcase could get tiring so moving to Rotorua from Hawke’s Bay was something he should have done sooner.

“Hawke’s Bay kind of just phased out with the mountain biking and the forestry and stuff like that.”

Rotorua "born and bred" Lachie Stevens McNabb claimed the best Kiwi race-time at the UCI MTB World Championships in Andora last September. Photo / Rachel Hadfield

Professional downhill mountain biker and three-time BMX World Champion Lachie Stevens-McNab, 20, was “stoked” the downhill track was back at Skyline Rotorua.

Born and bred in Rotorua, he said he had some good memories from when he was younger of watching the pros race the track.

Stevens-McNab said it was cool to have pre-season races in the build-up to the World Cup in May.

“And to race at home, is pretty cool.”

In September, McNab became the best Kiwi rider at the UCI MTB World Championships in Andorra, placing 16th in the elite men’s competition with a top speed of a tick under 54km/h.

The Crankworx Downhill race will be held at Skyline Rotorua on March 8, 2025.

Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.