34 SportS
Jentree puts Marlborough
on World Mountain
biking stage
Story By Kat Duggan
A world-class mountain biker has come full
circle, establishing an international mountain
biking destination here in his Marlborough
backyard. After winning his first national Junior and Pro
Elite National titles on the property in 2002,
Justin began his international racing career,
spending 16 years on the international stage.
Justin Leov retired from the world racing
circuit in 2017 before setting up Jentree, a
purpose-built mountain biking park with his
wife Victoria. The couple returned to Blenheim and were
looking for their next opportunity when the
chance came to purchase Jentree, which had
since closed to the public, two years ago.
Victoria says establishing the destination
has been a passion for the couple, driven by
Justin’s original connection with the property
on Taylor Pass. “We heard a rumour that Jenny and John
might be interested in selling the place, so
we got in touch with them and came up for a
cup of tea and left with an offer on the table,”
Victoria says.
“Back in the early 2000s, John and Jenny
Meek owned Jentree and they had it as a
riding venue for people to come up to ride
and build tracks and just enjoy.
“[Justin] lived up the valley and he used to
spend every day up here after school building
tracks and riding,” Victoria says.
“We managed to buy the property and the
trees had all just been milled, so basically we
got to come back to a blank canvas; putting
the trees back in and really just building it
back up to a community asset for riders.”
While initial plans were to establish one new