20/01/03

Merriman training in New Zealand during European Winter

During the break in the Enduro racing calendar, Stefan Merriman has returned home to his town of birth, Tauranga New Zealand for training during the European Winter. Whilst many of Stefan's rivals struggle to get effective training in during the particularly harsh European Winter, Stefan is able to train daily on a variety of terrain in the Southern Hemisphere. Here is a series of photos of Stefan training on the new Honda CRE250 in a sand track, preparing for what's to come in the World Enduro rounds this year.

The biggest problem with training in the southern hemisphere in Summer is usually dust control. However, with fresh rain at least once a week, the Bay of Plenty region on the North Island of New Zealand provides the perfect terrain for training. In fact the FIM have recently announced that the 2006 ISDE will be held in Taupo, New Zealand, less than 100km from Stefan's home town, Tauranga!