He's the King — a title handed out to the best rider in the worldwide Crankworx mountain biking series. This week, Tuhoto-Ariki Pene returns to Rotorua to defend his title.
As crews rush from track to track with shovels, they prepare the stage for a week of world-class mountain biking at Skyline Rotorua.
It makes for an impressive transformation, but Pene is looking at the finer details. The minor curves and dips. This is where the milliseconds can be cut, and in those tiny moments, champions are made.
After competing worldwide last year, the 22-year-old Rotorua local stood at the top of the podium to be crowned the King of Crankworx.
“There's Salem. You got the whip off, speed and style, downhill, and pump track — so heaps of different events,” said Pene from the top of one of Crankworx’s most significant jumps.
The beauty of an event like this is you can’t be good at just one discipline. It’s about stamina and dexterity between all the events.
He said his love affair with bikes started early.
“I was probably like two years old.”
That’s when the training wheels came off, and he was doing laps in the family courtyard.
“I did my first nationals at three years old.”
Back then, it was all about BMX. The Pene family would travel from Rotorua in their bus, hitting every BMX track and competition the country could offer.
At five, he was a national champion. Even then, he had his eyes set on a world title.
But his dad’s job shuttling mountain bikers in Whakarewarewa forest in Rotorua introduced him to the fast-paced world of downhill mountain biking.
With his older brother Ihakara in the lead, he would spend every weekend and school holiday throwing himself through the forest to keep up.
“He was in front of me, and I used just to chase him down the hill," he said. “Just chasing him, following his lines, and trying to catch him because he was too fast.”
He was chasing the best. Ihakara was a young mountain biking champion.
“I think that's where I got my speed and flow from.”
Then, his brother wasn’t there anymore.
“When he passed away, it was like — everything was like s***.”
'Felt at peace'
The teenage Pene took to the forest on his bike to heal. It was a place he could go to clear his mind and feel a connection.
“I felt at peace on the bike, just flying through the trees.
“When I'm out here, it feels like he's always there. He's always going to be there.”
Pene talked about a time when he decided to use his life for something. He looked in the mirror and said: “I’m going to be world champion.”
He credits his family and friends as a support network that got him to the world stage.
Financially and emotionally, it was tough, but one event at a time, he forged his path in the world of mountain biking.
“For me, I'm way different from everyone else. No other Māori is racing mountain bikes, not on the world stage. And I do feel sometimes. A bit outcast, you know, different.”
But now he’s home. This is the tenth year Crankworx has been held in Rotorua.
In the early years, he stood by as a spectator, and then, as a young teen, he pulled on his helmet to compete. Now he’s the defending champ competing in the forest, where he learned with his family by his side. He’s a man racing for his culture, community, and whanau.
“To be here. I think it's the best thing for me. For me, it's like I’m spiritually connected to the ground or to the whenua.
“I just feel at home when I'm here.”
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