A bike track built through three years of determination by a Whitby resident and local volunteers is preparing to host New Zealand’s Pump Track National Championships, just 15 months after opening at Postgate Park.
The championships will be held on Saturday 21 November, bringing riders from around the country to compete for national titles on the 1000-square-metre asphalt track.
For Whitby resident Daniel Heath, who spent years raising money and working with Mana Cycle Group to turn an underused corner of the park into a cycling facility, it marks another milestone in an extraordinary community project.
Heath grew up just doors away from Postgate Park. His vision for the track began during the Covid lockdowns, when local schools were creating small cycling tracks but lacked the space and resources to build something more ambitious.
He believed Porirua could provide something better.
In March 2025, while the project was still being developed, Heath told Porirua News that the track would be built by international specialists Velosolutions, whose facilities were already being used for major cycling competitions.
At the time, hosting a national championship was a possibility. Now it is becoming a reality.
The track officially opened on 15 August 2025 following a community fundraising effort that took around three years.
Porirua City Council provided land at Postgate Park, while funding was secured through the community project led by Heath and Mana Cycle Group. No ratepayer funding was used to construct the track.
Specialist builders Velosolutions completed the asphalt facility, which includes a winding course of banked corners and rolling features designed for riders to build speed through their movements rather than constantly pedalling.
It caters for a range of users, from younger children learning to ride through to experienced cyclists looking to develop their skills.
At the opening last year, Heath reflected on what it meant to see the project completed.
“It’s taken three years to get here,” he told Porirua City Council.
He said seeing the finished facility in the park where he had grown up was an extraordinary experience.
The track quickly became a popular destination for local riders, with children, teenagers and adults taking advantage of a facility that can be reached from walkways across Whitby, eastern Porirua and Bothamley Park.
Now the same track will provide the setting for a nationally sanctioned championship organised in partnership with Cycling New Zealand, Velosolutions and Mana Cycle Group.
The event includes an elite category for riders aged 17 and over, along with non-UCI championship categories for younger riders and different adult age groups.
Those categories include under-10s, 10 to 12-year-olds, 13 to 14-year-olds and 15 to 16-year-olds, giving younger cyclists an opportunity to experience national-level competition.
Elite competitors must hold an appropriate Cycling New Zealand annual licence, while one-day licences are available for certain non-elite categories.
The championship will also put Whitby and Porirua on the national cycling calendar, bringing competitors, supporters and their families to a facility created largely through local initiative.
For the community, the achievement extends beyond a single day of racing.
A project that began with one resident’s determination to provide better cycling opportunities for local children has become a permanent public recreation facility capable of hosting major competitions.
The Pump Track National Championships take place at Postgate Park on Saturday 21 November. Registration information and competition requirements are available through Cycling New Zealand and the event organisers.