The Natural Selection Tour (NST) Bike is making its highly anticipated debut this weekend in Queenstown, New Zealand. Expanding beyond its snowboarding roots, the event aims to reimagine freeride mountain biking, taking inspiration from Proving Grounds events. With a course designed to push the limits of big mountain and freeride, this marks a major moment in the evolution of the sport.
Practice carnage: a brutal start
The course is nothing short of massive—huge jumps, massive drops and technical terrain that have already taken a serious toll on riders. Lucy Van Eesteren, Thomas Isted, Dylan Stark, Barb Edwards and Thomas Genon have all suffered major crashes in practice. Injuries range from broken backs to concussions and femur fractures. Sadly, they won’t be lining up to compete.
Who’s still in the game?
With so many top riders out, the big question is—who’s left to throw down? Here’s a look at the competitors still set to battle it out:
Women’s Competitors:
🇳🇿 Robin Goomes (New Zealand)
🇺🇸 Hannah Bergemann (USA)
🇨🇦 Georgia Astle (Canada)
🇦🇷 Cami Nogueira (Argentina)
🇳🇿 Vinny Armstrong (New Zealand)
🇨🇦 Vaea Verbeeck (Canada)
🇺🇸 Janelle Soukup (USA)
🇨🇦 Kirsten Van Horne (Canada)
🇺🇸 Angie Marino
Men’s Competitors:
🇵🇱 Szymon Godziek (Poland)
🇪🇸 Adolf Silva (Spain)
🇺🇸 Talus Turk (USA)
🇺🇸 Reed Boggs (USA)
🇪🇸 Bienvenido Aguado Alba (Spain)
🇺🇸 Carson Storch (USA)
🇺🇸 Nicholi Rogatkin (USA)
When and where to watch?
Unfortunately, NST Bike won’t be live-streamed, so fans will have to wait until March 5th to catch all the action. The event will be broadcast on Red Bull TV—but in a world of social media, can results really stay secret until then?
A look back: how NST Bike came to be
The Natural Selection Tour first dipped into mountain biking in 2019 with Proving Grounds in Prineville, Oregon. The event blended big mountain freeride and slopestyle, giving riders the freedom to choose their own lines and showcase their unique styles. Now, in 2025, the NST is taking that concept to the next level in Queenstown, building a brand-new course designed to push freeride progression even further.
With some of the biggest names in the sport ready to send it, this inaugural NST Bike event is shaping up to be a must-watch moment for freeride fans…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…