This season’s New Zealand Motorcycle Cross-country Championships are nearly upon us, with an exciting line-up of talented Kiwis getting ready to tame some of the most rugged terrain in the Southern Hemisphere.

Four rounds of intense action are on the calendar for the KTM-sponsored national series this year, with the first round due to kick off near Te Anau, at the bottom of the South Island in just a weeks’ time, on February 17.

“The Te Anau community has come to the party and it’s great to be able to run an event down there. It’s not just a North Island championships, it’s a national event,” said Motorcycling New Zealand cross-country commissioner Chris Smyth.

Round two in Taranaki on March 16 will also break in previously-untried ground, giving no rider any advantage over his rivals.

Palmerston North’s Adam Reeves will be keen to win back the title he held for three consecutive seasons between 2009 and 2011, although first he’ll have to find a way past reigning national cross-country champion Adrian Smith, of Mokau.

Te Awamutu’s Mark Penny, Tauranga’s Reece Burgess (pictured above), Pukekohe’s Matthew Vining, brothers Lance and John O’Dea, and New Plymouth’s Renny Johnston will threaten for the senior title, while Wellington’s Hugh Lintott, Hamilton’s Sam Brown, Onewhero’s Jim Orton, Stratford’s Karl Roberts, Dannevirke’s Stacey Smyth and Raglan’s Jason Dickey could also feature among the leaders.

The series kicks off near Te Anau, in Fiordland, on February 17, with rounds to follow in Taranaki, Christchurch and, finally, it wraps up in Hawke’s Bay on May 18.

The venue for round one is signposted from Lagoon Creek Road, off the Te Anau-Mossburn Highway (SH 94).

KTM NZ CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS CALENDAR:

Round one: February 17, 2013, Southland;

Round two: March 16, 2013, Taranaki;

Round three: April 21, 2013, Christchurch;

Round four, May 18, 2013, Hawke’s Bay.

© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com