Jamie Nicoll

Jamie Nicoll reflects on his sixth, and last (as in the event is no longer happening) Trans Provence - the iconic multi-day enduro race that traverses the mountains of Southern France, before rolling into Menton and the azure blue Mediterranean.

With the biennial influx of international pros here for the EWS, the 2019 NZ Enduro was guaranteed to be a high octane affair. The weather gods did not treat the pros kindly though with heavy rain over the first two days. None of this diluted the big grins and general stoke though.

Earlier in the month, Jamie rounded up his mates Max Schumann, Ines Thoma and Anja McDonald for a session on the Old Ghost Road. Stefanus Stahl from the German magazine Mtb News joined the fray and produced a sharp video of the trip with Jamie narrating. Great to get a feel for the OGR if you haven’t yet indulged, and excellent to reminisce if you have.

With the kiwi summer marching on at full volume and the event calendar half done ’n’ dusted we’ve complied a selection of hand-crafted photos from Jamie Nicoll’s Nomadic Weekend at the 440 Mtb Park and the Dodzy Memorial Enduro at Wairoa Gorge.

Jamie's latest Europe adventure comes with a his and hers perspective. The getting there is a little tough, but worth it on this romantic Swiss get-away to a rustic Swiss refuge hut in La Derbonne Valley of western Switzerland.

Tony Hutcheson and his venerable Olympus recently banked an indulgent four weeks of European singletrack. Mid trip, he and Malcolm Stoney hooked up with Jamie Nicoll and Max Schumann for a week of gnarl, gnocchi and grappa in Val Gardena.

Jamie Nicoll, along with good mates Ines Thoma and Max Schumann, upgraded their usual camping adventures to luxuriate in the decadence of St Moritz for a long weekend. Initially sceptical about such an indulgent adventure, Jamie was quickly swayed by Egyptian cotton sheets and the abundance of high-alpine technical and flow tracks. Plus the Swiss-punctual train uplifts. He'll be back.

Jamie Nicoll, along with fellow Santa Cruz adventurer Max Schumann and a tight group of like-minded masochists braved the Arctic night, -30 degree temperatures and feral reindeer to ride the length of Pallas Ylläs Park in Finland.

The Old Ghost Road has established itself as one of New Zealand's pre-eminent multi-day backcountry mountain bike adventures. 85km of benched singletrack, 4 purpose-built huts, ladles of history, buckets of volunteer sweat... and deep pockets with the likes of Lotto stumping up cold cash to fund the project. Ground Effect Revolutionary Jamie Nicoll was recently subpoenaed to film this TV clip promoting Lotto's support of the iconic track.

Jamie recounts the last five months away from NZ with adventures in the Alaskan mountains, the Arctic Circle and various missions in the European Alps.

There were large doses of envy around the office when Jamie sugested Guy join him and Santa Cruz photographer Gary Perkin on a mtb roadie from Picton to Rotorua. With the NZ Enduro in Marlborough and the EWS in Rotorua two weeks later a swag of international riders were in town, including the Santa Cruz enduro team and 50to01 crew. The roadie morphed into a travelling circus with the 'talent' (Josh 'Ratboy' Bryceland and CG Cedric Gracia perhaps the most recognisable), media and even a camp chef.

The NZ Enduro serves up three days of gilt edged Marlborough singletrack around the top of New Zealand’s South Island. With the EWS hitting Rotorua in a fortnight’s time, there was plenty of international star power (and their media entourages) in attendance this year - including our own Jamie Nicoll, and eventual winners Damien Oton and Ines Thoma.