.. in the central South Island.  The original closing date for race entries was 20 January but space was limited.  A wait list is now in operation.

Race co-organiser Nick Ross is absolutely thrilled with the response he's received from the mountain biking community.

"The feedback has been phenomenal and mountain bikers are coming from all around New Zealand," he says.  "Alexandra and Wellington are particularly well represented with four and five teams respectively.

"I'm delighted that it's appealed to such a range of abilities.  The field is a really good mix of recreational riders right through to international level athletes and includes a number of former national mountain bike champions.  Everyone's looking forward to the challenge, the amazing scenery and the whole multi-day experience and camaraderie," he says.

Nick predicts the team to beat will be New Zealand's top cross-country mountain biker and Olympian Kashi Leuchs , who has teamed up with fellow national representative Marcus Roy. The team likely to be hot on their heels will be well-known endurance athlete Mark Williams from Queenstown with team-mate Scott Wilder, a competitive road cyclist from Christchurch.

"Mark raced in the 2008 Transrockies in Canada with his brother and placed in the top 10.  Coming from an adventure racing background, he will be strong over the multi-day format, while Scott finished 11^th at the recent elite Road National Champs. They will give Kashi and Marcus a good run for their money," he says.

Nick believes Simon Harper (UK) and Gianluca Valsenti (Wellington) will also be very competitive. "They're strong road cyclists and triathletes and both are quick and determined," he says.

The wildcards of the race could be Trans-Atlantic rowers Rob Hamill and Jamie Fitzgerald.  They have endurance on their side but could potentially find the hill climbs tough.

Local tourism organisations are also showing their support of the event.  Destination Mt Cook Mackenzie General Manager Phil Brownie is a keen mountain biker and has been training hard with team-mate Cathy Richards from Visit Waimakariri.

"The race is bringing a whole new spectrum of mountain biking to New Zealand," says Phil.  "We're delighted the organisers have chosen our region to host their inaugural event and we're all 100 percent behind it."

Team-mate Cathy says "It's all too easy to say you're going to enter a race so Phil and I signed up straightaway and then worried about our training afterwards.  It's been a great goal to aim for and we've trained hard so we're keen to get the show on the road now.  I'm hoping the saying ‘the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle' is true."

The four day cross-country mountain bike race will see teams of two battle it out over 259km of picture postcard scenery from the Canterbury foothills of Mt Somers through the Southern Alps to Lake Tekapo in Mount Cook/Mackenzie country.  The course crosses braided rivers and expanses of tussock set against the rugged mountains of the main divide.  There is plenty of technical riding with a mixture of tough climbs, fast downhills, four wheel drive tracks, rolling tussock fields and open flats.  Full logistical support is provided, eliminating the need for support crews. 

The ones to watch:

Veterans section: Former New Zealand mountain bike reps Jason Blair and Michael Sanders will be tough to beat and should perform strongly overall.  

Classic section: Veteran sport stars Steve Moffat and Bob Foster will be setting the pace.  Look out for the Queenstown boys - adventure sport legend Geoff Hunt and team-mate Kevin Mclaughlan.

Open Women's section:  Megan Dimonzantos and Sadie Parker-Wynyard will be the team to watch.  Sadie is a former NZ mountain bike rep, while Megan came seventh in the MTB 24 hour World Champs in 2008.  They'll be pushed by Bridgit Murray and Tamsin Chittock from Christchurch.

Mixed section: Chris Burr from Nelson and team-mate Brenda Clapp will be hard to beat but have some stiff competition.  Chris is a former national mountain bike champ and Brenda is a former New Zealand and Oceania mountain bike hill climb champion and NZ mountain bike representative.  They'll be up against top multisporter Sophie Hart and Shane Armstrong who are riding fit following a summer cycle touring adventure in South America, and top adventure racers Ian Edmond and team-mate Nora Audra.

To find out more about the Skins Alpine Epic visit www.alpineepic.co.nz.