The new 16km off-road section was officially opened on Thursday, and the former Waitaki District Council chief executive was one of about 100 cyclists who lined up to try it out for the first time.
"I always knew it was going to be one of the more spectacular sections," Mr Ross said.
"You’re riding through quite mountainous terrain and you’re right beside the lake, and, of course, you come out at the Benmore dam, an elevated spot with fabulous views all the way up to Mt Cook."
Mr Ross, who was the council’s chief executive for 13 years, had been involved in discussions about the 322km Alps 2 Ocean trail — which stretches from Aoraki/Mt Cook to Oamaru Harbour — from the start, and he was proud of what had been achieved.
"We first started work on this over 10 years ago — so it’s a red-letter day for us and I can’t wait to go out and actually give it a go," he said.
Mr Ross moved to Wanaka with his wife Susie in 2017 and was enjoying mountain biking in his retirement.
Ms Jones encouraged cyclists to adopt the section of trail as their own and become ardent ambassadors for the Alps 2 Ocean.
Construction of the grade two and three section started in July and cost $1.2million, primarily funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and other contributors. It replaced the on-road piece of trail that went over the Otematata Saddle, and was part of a larger project to take all of the trail off State Highway 83 through the Waitaki Valley.
It had not been an easy project, but the contractors and engineers had done an excellent job — and general support had been significant, Mr Kircher said.
"It’s a real testament to ongoing inspiration and aspiration that this trail has got to where it is."
