New Zealanders dominated the top spots at the Giant Toa Enduro mountain bike race in the Bay of Plenty.

Five Kiwis took out podium positions against more than 300 riders in both the men's and women's divisions.

Contestants rode more than 30km and climbed more than 1200m over a number of stages in Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Forest during the race over the weekend.

Edward Masters of Nelson won the men's division followed by Rotorua local Cole Lucas and Matt Walker of Kawerau taking out third.

Rotorua local Lucas says the day's heat added to the difficulty of the race.

'It was pretty hot out there and it felt like we just didn't stop all day. I had some good stages and just one crash, so I can't really be mad at that. The most challenging trail was Hot Cross. That one blew the cobwebs out straight away. Kataore is always a good track to finish on though.”

Masters starts his racing season on a high after his 2019 season ended early in August following a crash at the Enduro World Series in Northstar.

He's only been back three weeks so had no expectations for the race, he says.

'It's such a roller coaster. I've been injured for the past two off-seasons.

'I was just trying to keep up with the locals really. But I've ridden here a few times, so I kind of knew the stages.”

Masters says the heat added to the challenge right up ‘til the end of the day where racers faced a steep chute on Tuhoto Ariki and Kataore trails.

'I was sweating so much. Way more than I could take in. And then I cramped up so hard. So I was just stoked to get to the bottom in one piece. Didn't have any crashes all day. That's what you want.”

In the women's division Rae Morrison of Nelson took out first place, fellow Kiwi Kate Weatherly came in second and Georgia Astle of Canada rounded out the race in third.

The heat and dry tracks were a welcome change for Morrison.

'The last two times I've raced here it's been really, really wet.

'So riding in the dry now, you feel like a hero. Everything sticks. There's no sniper roots that're going to take your wheels out. I think it's the safest I've felt riding here before.

'I really enjoyed all the tracks and all the stages. A good mix of gravity and a few little climbs here and there.

The winners. Image: Kike Abelleira.

'Absolutely amazing. I just had a great time.”

'I'm not going to lie, it was a lot hotter than we expected,” says race director Craig Murray.

Rotorua experienced a dryer than average February, with drought conditions prevailing as the calendar rolled into March.

'29 degrees today, but the trails in Rotorua always hold up pretty well, so they're always going to be good.”

'We wanted to send the riders into our native forest because there's some great technical trails and they've got big roots, cool little chutes, and it's a bit different than some of the enduro races that we've had over the past season,” says Craig.

The Toa Enduro is the first in event in the week-long Crankworx Rotorua festival of mountain bike action.