Glover (21), an honours student in geography, made his intentions clear from the start, opening up a handy lead and maintaining a comfortable margin over the rest of the field, despite the disadvantage of riding a bike with a single chain.
''I got a good gap, but the guys were definitely closing toward the end,'' he said.
''I was just lucky I could hang on.''
Glover began cross-country mountain biking as a 14-year-old and branched out into enduro.
''It's a bit different to this sort of race,'' he said.
''It just doesn't suit me too well. I was just lucky I could hold off until the end.''
Strength on the last hill saw Bradshaw clinch second place in 2hr 7min 18sec, with Mathew Lees third in 2hr 8min 16sec.
Mary Gray lived up to her pre-race favouritism to win the open women's section, finishing in 2hr 28min 6sec.
Gray (18), a science student, has plenty of national and international experience but was contesting the event for the first time.
Despite not knowing what to expect, Gray shared the lead over the first half of the course with Anja McDonald, taking full control at halfway.
Behind Gray, McDonald was overtaken on the final hill by Sarah Bryant, who clinched second place in 2hr 36min 13sec, with McDonald third in 2hr 37min 46secWanaka's Jeremy Town took the lead on the last hill 2km from the finish to win the short-course (23km) mountain bike section in 1hr 22min 6sec.
Town (29), a graphic designer, was followed in by Dunedin's Tom Kaminszky, who clocked 1hr 22min 55sec, and Quintin McCostie (Wanaka) in 1hr 25min 33sec.
Paula Hasler won the women's section of the short course in 1hr 44min 57sec, with Ilka Fedor second in 1hr 49min 14sec and Merrin Brewster third in 1hr 53min 13sec.
Pre-race cyclocross favourites Gavin Mason and Alex McGregor suffered with punctures, opening the door for Tristan Rawlence to win the section over 43km in 2hr 25min 35sec.
