Peaty's Whip Off 2026: NAMBA's First Niseko Contest

Tom Mortiboy

Head of Marketing & Communication19 August 20263 min readEvent recap

On 15 August we held the Peaty's Whip Off at Twin Peaks, our first ever contest. Thirteen riders, three categories, and it definitely won't be our last.

01 Right, so what's a whip off?

Whips are all about getting your bike sideways, and a whip off is all about who can do it the best. Style, height and execution all come into play on the quest to be top dog.

Shiita Ogawa with the bike fully sideways and flat over the big jump, competition plate on the handlebars — Shiita Ogawa showing us what an epic whip looks like.

The three judges, Mark Wyckmans, Andy Meadows and Meg MacDonald, on the bank beside the trail with clipboards and score sheets — Our guest judges: Mark, Andy and Meg, score sheets at the ready.

02 The jump line everyone laps

Since the opening of our jump line, Launch Control, in 2025 it has quickly become the most popular trail at Twin Peaks, and thanks to the dedicated climb trail Repeat Offender, quick fire laps make for great progression.

The Launch Control jump line running away empty through green summer forest, two figures small in the distance — Pretty rare to see Launch Control with nobody riding it, let alone on a Saturday.

A dirt roller on the jump line with someone standing beside the trail and spectators further along it — Pretty rare to see Launch Control with nobody riding it, let alone on a Saturday.

03 Before the first run

Peaty's kindly supplied the prizes for the day, all on display at the end of Launch Control so you could see what you were riding for. Waivers were signed in advance, so it was turn up, get your number, and go for a warm-up lap.

The NAMBA event tent at the top of a dirt trail in summer birch forest, bikes lying on the ground and a few people gathered under it — The tent at the hub, with a preview of what's up for grabs.

Prizes laid out on a trestle table: folded shirts, teal bottles of Peaty's product and a red Peaty's box — The tent at the hub, with a preview of what's up for grabs.

Riders and volunteers gathered on the trail for the rider briefing at the start of the day, one of the organisers holding up a board — The rider briefing, before the first warm-up laps.

A rider airborne over the jump with the bike turned sideways beneath them, between the Twin Peaks and NAMBA flags — Warming-up those whips.

Eita Moriyama in red trousers and a red helmet airborne over the jump between the Twin Peaks and NAMBA flags — Warming-up those whips.

04 The women went first

Angharad, Stephanie and Sachi were up first, hitting the medium jumps at the start of Launch Control.

Sachi Matsuzawa, Stephanie Watanabe and Angharad Mortiboy laughing together with their bikes at the side of the trail

Angharad Mortiboy, Stephanie Watanabe and Sachi Matsuzawa standing with their bikes on the trail before their runs, Angharad throwing a peace sign — Sachi, Stephanie and Angharad.

Sachi Matsuzawa, plate 1 and the winner of the women's category, pushing her bike up the trail in a full-face helmet, spectators behind her — Sachi, Stephanie and Angharad.

Sachi Matsuzawa airborne off the medium jump in tiger-print leggings, the bike turned sideways beneath her, between the Twin Peaks and NAMBA flags — Sachi sending it.

05 Then on to the men's

Once the women's category had finished we all headed down to the bigger jump at the bottom of the line.

Kouya Hamaya in a navy t-shirt pushing his yellow Santa Cruz up the trail with plate 7 on the bars, Eita Moriyama alongside him with plate 10 — Kouya Hamaya and Eita Moriyama

Seiko from our trail crew in his natural habitat: he can be found lapping Launch Control whenever he's not on the tools.

Seiko Doi riding back up the trail in his burgundy top and beige trousers, grinning broadly, spectators lining the bank behind him — Seiko on the way back up for another one.

Seiko Doi in a burgundy top and beige trousers throwing a no-hander over the big jump, both hands off the bars and arms spread wide — Both hands off.

Lucas in a yellow t-shirt high above the lip of the big jump, bike turned sideways beneath him, the Twin Peaks flag and spectators below — Twelve runs off the big jump at the bottom of the line. Click any of them for the full-size version.

Kouya Hamaya in a navy shirt with plate 7 on the bars, whipping his bike flat over the big jump between the Twin Peaks and NAMBA flags — Twelve runs off the big jump at the bottom of the line. Click any of them for the full-size version.

A rider airborne over the jump in a white helmet, a photographer lying on the bank at the left shooting up at them — Four more bangers.

A rider airborne with the bike turned sideways, framed through out-of-focus ferns in the foreground — Four more bangers.

06 Fifty people came to watch

We were genuinely stoked with the turnout for our first contest at Twin Peaks.

A dirt trail running down through the forest with spectators standing and sitting along both banks as riders come through — A great turn out.

Spectators standing along the side of the trail clapping and cheering after a run, bikes on the ground in front of them — So many people came to watch and cheer on our riders.

One of the most important jobs of the day: sticker duty. Handing them out to everyone is serious business, and we made sure everyone got something to remember the day by.

Holding out a NAMBA sticker to the camera, close up, with the event going on out of focus behind him — Who doesn't love a free sticker?

Riders pushing their bikes back up the trail past spectators standing along the side, ferns on both sides — More laps, more stoke.

Riders and spectators standing on the trail between runs, one rider in a yellow t-shirt and one in red trousers — More laps, more stoke.

A young rider in a full-face helmet riding up towards the camera while another rider is airborne over the jump behind, spectators on both banks — Chise and Sen with Sasha chasing them down.

Once the scored runs had finished the riders gave us a real show of a party train, styling things out for the crowd.

The party train: one rider off the top of the big jump while the next two are already coming down the line behind him, spectators cheering from the bank — The party train: one lap for the crowd!

The party train: one rider airborne over the jump while two more ride up towards the camera below, spectators filming from the right — Choo choo

07 The kids were the best bit

It was great to see so many of the local kids coming up and riding at this level. It wasn't that long ago we were helping these same kids down intermediate runs at Twin Peaks. That's what happens when kids have somewhere like this to ride.

Sen Johnson in a full-face helmet and yellow-lensed goggles looking towards the camera over the top of a dirt roller — Sasha, Chise and Sen. Three local kids and, between them, the whole under-16 podium.

08 Brake rotors and bragging rights

Winners received bragging rights, a pile of Peaty's kit, and a one-off custom medal.

Sachi Matsuzawa grinning as she holds up her winner's medal, made from an old brake rotor and a wooden disc burned with the Peaty's Whippet in a Devo energy dome, hung on a length of bike chain — Sachi Matsuzawa with the women's medal. Whippet + Devo hat.

Men 16 and over

1 Eita Moriyama
2 Kouya Hamaya
3 Shiita Ogawa

Men under 16

1 Sasha Cady
2 Sen Johnson
3 Chise Watanabe

Women

1 Sachi Matsuzawa
2 Stephanie Watanabe
3 Angharad Mortiboy

The men's 16 and over podium on top of the big jump: Kouya Hamaya second on the left, Eita Moriyama first in the centre wearing his medal, Shiita Ogawa third on the right — All three podiums, on top of the big jump.

The under-16 podium on top of the big jump: Sen Johnson on the left, Sasha Cady in the centre with the winner's medal on a green chain, Chise Watanabe on the right, and Dan Graham in a straw hat handing out the prizes — All three podiums, on top of the big jump.

Sasha Cady wearing the medal for winning the under-16 category, with Sen Johnson just visible to the left and Chise Watanabe standing to his right — Sasha with the under-16 medal, and Shiita Ogawa just after announcing placing third.

Shiita Ogawa celebrating with both arms raised and a broad grin after his run, other riders around him — Sasha with the under-16 medal, and Shiita Ogawa just after announcing placing third.

09 We'll be doing it again

After the success of this year's event, we'll definitely be running it again next summer. Follow us on socials for news and updates, or subscribe to our feed on the events page.

Coming from further away? Check out our guide to plan your trip, which has the practical stuff about getting here and where to stay.