A race for allcomers - even pirates

Taking the lead in the under 5-year-old dual slalom race at the Queenstown Bike Festival at Frankton Beach yesterday is River Winsor, 4, in his pirate-themed outfit.

Organiser Emmerson Wilken said the racing was designed as an accessible event for the whole community, rather than the more serious mountainbiking events on the festival calendar.

Junior riders as young as 2 hit the track for some head-to-head racing, with adults - many of them parents - testing out their skills later in the afternoon.