The first of the three-race series, called King and Queen of the Hill, is a 13.5km gutbuster up the Snow Farm road, on the same course as the former Race to the Sky motorsport event, on Saturday August 15.
The second race is a shorter but more demanding 7km haul up the Treble Cone skifield access road on Saturday, September 26.
The third race will take place on a yet-to-be-announced course in the Central Otago high country later in the year.
No formal records existed for mountain bike climbs on the courses, but times were thought to be about one hour for the Snow Farm road and 49 minutes for the Treble Cone road, Mezger said on his website.
The entry fee for each race was $15 and all proceeds would go to charity, he said.
"Riders will be asked to estimate their hillclimb time at each event.
"The participant with the closest actual time chooses the charity," Mezger said.
