Sonya Looney Powers to 2nd In New Zealand

2017 marked the 2nd Pioneer stage race across the Southern Alps of New Zealand. The Pioneer spanned 7 days, 330 miles, and 50,000' of brutal climbing on remote, rocky terrain.  Looney and Wadsworth paired up for the Mixed Category and took 2nd place despite an extreme mechanical and RV breakdowns.

SCOTT rider Sonya said, "Gordon and I both were incredibly focused coming into this race.  The Pioneer had some of the hardest climbs I've ever done; like 4km sections at 26% grade!"  In fact, the climbs at The Pioneer are some of the most challenging climbs out of any stage race in the world.

The Pioneer only offers the 2 person team format of racing.  Sonya and Gordon had the most fun of anyone out there, and could been seen laughing, yelling, and singing in between hammering out anaerobic heart beats and pedal strokes.  Sonya said, "It really is the key to having a successful race and experience!  You spend every minute with your teammate, especially when your RV breaks down and you have to cram 4 people into a 2 person campervan... yeah that happened too."

Sonya recalls, " On Day 2, we had about a 5 minute gap.  About 25km to the finish, a huge rock jumped out and nearly destroyed Gordon's wheel. We went from charging hard for the win to survival mode in the blink of an eye. We were stopped for 30 minutes and spent the rest of that day riding very slow so that Gordon's tire would make it to the finish line.  In the end, that unfortunate moment ended up being the deciding factor for who would win the race.  We both accepted it, stayed positive and raced for the rest of the week.  By the end, it was clear we weren't going to make up that time, so we party paced the last day and had a great time!"

The South Island of New Zealand provided beautiful blue lakes, endless dramatic mountains, wind, and mostly cool weather.  The 2016 Pioneer had temperatures in the 90s most of the race. But this year was New Zealand's coldest summer in 10 years. Racers wore rain jackets and leg warmers for several of the stages.

Sonya will be writing an adventure story around the event, so keep an eye out for it.