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Experience wins out in enduro and short track MTB Nationals in Rotorua

Experience proved decisive whether a short-track sprint or full-day enduro on the final day of the UCI Mountain Bike Championships in Rotorua.Christchurch physiotherapist Mary Gray, who claimed Whaka 100 Marathon title last year, added the shortest of MTB titles, claiming the national short course victory on the final day of the championships in Rotorua.Gray edged out fellow Christchurch Singletrack Club rider Amelie Mackay and hometown Rotorua rider Ruby Ryan in the sprint finish to claim the C...

Walker and Bearman dominate BMX Racing national honours

Paris Olympic Games riders Leila Walker and Rico Bearman claimed the elite titles at the BMXNZ National Championships in Te Awamutu today.Walker, from the nearby Cambridge BMX Club, earned her second national elite BMX Racing title with three straight wins in the three-moto format which mixed the best elite and under-23 riders.She grabbed the holeshot in all three motos and was never threatened. Walker finished clear of fellow international elite rider, Megan Williams (Rotorua) and Te Awamutu’...

Lucky 11 for Cooper, Sheppard back home for national MTB championships

Two 30-something mountain bike legends showed that class is permanent as they dominated the Cycling New Zealand Cross-country Championships in Rotorua today.Christchurch professional Anton Cooper, 31, claimed his 11th elite national XCO honours while Australian-based kiwi Samara Sheppard dominated the elite women at the sport’s spiritual home in the Whakarewarewa Forest.It was the fourth time that Cooper has claimed the title in Rotorua and the second time for Sheppard, 35, who was based in th...

2026 UCI Junior Track World Championships Team Announcement

Cycling New Zealand is excited to announce the Team selected to the 2026 UCI Junior Track World Championships.The 13‑rider strong Team will represent New Zealand later this year in Zolder, Belgium, and features a balanced mix of Sprint and Endurance riders.The Team consists of:Men: Remi Dalton (Counties Manukau), Cooper Nilsson (Te Awamutu), Jack Allan (Counties Manukau), Oliver Keast (Canterbury), Riley Crampton (Canterbury), Alex Botha (Counties Manukau).Women: Minni...

Olympic pair to defend BMX Racing national titles at Te Awamutu

Olympians Leila Walker and Rico Bearman will be looking to extend their records at the BMX Racing New Zealand National Championships at Te Awamutu at the weekend.Sidelined with injury last summer, the 20-year-old Walker will be looking to add to her championship win in 2024.She claimed the Oceania elite title in New Plymouth last month in an impressive display by the Cambridge rider.Europe-based professional Rico Bearman will be hoping to build on his excellent 2025 season where he became the fi...

Cooper chases lucky No. 11 title at MTB national championships in Rotorua

The king of cross-country mountain bike, Anton Cooper is set to extend his extraordinary run in the Cycling New Zealand XCO National Championships at the spiritual home of the sport in Rotorua this weekend.The 31-year-old Christchurch professional is the hottest of favourites to add to his remarkable 10 elite championship titles at the famed Whakarewarewa Forest on Saturday.Cooper will be hoping to make it lucky 11 elite wins before joining the new Lapierre PXR Racing, a five-strong German-based...

Repeat hometown downhill mountain bike success for Hastings and Pene

Hometown stars Jenna Hastings and Tuhoto-Ariki Pene both successfully defended their New Zealand National elite downhill mountain bike titles on home turf in Rotorua yesterday.The pair, who both won their first national elite honours in Rotorua last year, repeated down the spectacular Kārearea Downhill, which was run as part of the global Crankworx series currently running in the city.Both riders will get to wear the New Zealand sleeve in international competition this year after a closely-foug...

Sprint cyclists edge back into competition

New Zealand’s female sprint cyclists dusted off the cobwebs in the opening round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Perth.After a silver medal in the individual sprint, Olympic Games champion Ellesse Andrews and compatriot Olivia King narrowly missed out on the A Final in the keirin on the final day of competition.Andrews was second in her first round, missing on the A final by 0.2s before finishing second in the B Final, while King , second in her heat, missed the A final by a blink to be ...

Cooper claims ninth elite Oceania MTB honour

New Zealand star Anton Cooper claimed his ninth UCI Oceania Mountain Bike elite cross-country title at in Brisbane yesterday.Cooper, who will ride for the new Lapierre PXR Racing team on the UCI world circuit this season, dominated the Oceania race to add further to his outstanding record.After missing the title last year, Cooper established an 11 second lead on the opening loop and never looked back. He built on his advantage every lap to finish in 1:25:33, over three minutes clear of Australia...

Silver for Andrews in World Cup opener

New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews settled for silver in her first UCI World Cup outing in Perth.In a low-key start to the racing season for the Olympic Games champion, Andrews pushed through qualifying in the individual sprint as the fourth fastest in 10.548s,Andrews won her opening round before accounting for five-time world champion Pauline Sophie Grabosch (Germany) in the quarterfinals in two straight rides.The kiwi rider followed with an excellent effort to beat top qualifier Mina Sato (Japan)...

Paris Olympic champion leads modest start to 2026 track cycling season

Paris Olympic Games double gold medallist, Ellesse Andrews will make an unpretentious return to top-level cycling in the opening round of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup in Perth this weekend.Andrews joins fellow Cycling New Zealand high performance squad rider, Olivia King  to compete in the three-day competition which opens the 2026 UCI World Cup season, signalling the start of the qualifying process ultimately to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.After a significant break following Paris, ...

Dakin Chases Final Campaign for Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

New Zealand sprint cyclist Sam Dakin has his focus firmly fixed on a final season of high performance racing, culminating at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.Dakin has competed at two Olympic Games, three elite World Championships, and won a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games medal along with multiple national titles.The 29-year-old plans to step away from high performance cycling this year, hopefully following selection and a final campaign towards further success at the Glasgow Commonw...

Up-and-coming cyclists push their claims at track national championships

With the New Zealand high performance team focussed on key upcoming UCI World Cup competitions offshore, the focus is on the emerging talent at the Cycling New Zealand Track Championships in Invercargill.There are 130 riders competing across nine grades including para-cyclists along with 50 riders in Masters competition at the Southland Velodrome starting on Sunday.Eleven of the elite riders have emerged through Cycling New Zealand teams that competed in the UCI Junior Track World Championships ...

New Zealand female road & track cyclist calls time on her career

Outstanding New Zealand track and road cyclist, Michaela Drummond has announced her retirement from the sport.The 27-year-old, originally from Te Awamutu, schooled in Palmerston North where she first came into prominence on the track as a junior. Drummond won a world championship title in the team pursuit at the 2015 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Kazakhstan and added two silver medals the following year at Aigle, Switzerland in the team pursuit and individually in the omnium.While Drum...

Walker edges fellow kiwi to defend Oceania BMX Racing title in Brisbane

Twenty-year-old Olympian Leila Walker has started her 2026 season on a winning note, successfully defending her elite women’s title at the Oceania BMX Racing Championships in Brisbane.The Cambridge BMX Club rider had the closest of battles with compatriot Megan Williams from Rotorua, with both riders finishing on the same points after a three-moto competition.Walker, who had the fastest lap time of the series, finished on top in the final heat to be awarded the title o...

Oceania BMX Racing Championships offer opportunities for kiwi riders

There is more than the considerable prestige of winning titles at the Oceania BMX Racing Championships in Brisbane this weekend.There are 20 New Zealand riders competing in championship competition, and many more in BMX Challenge (Age Group) racing including riders from under 5 years to over 60, along with competition in the Cruiser class, for larger size wheel diameter bikes.There is added benefits racing at the Sleemans track at Chandler, a suburb 15kms from central Brisbane, with the upgraded...

Olympic Games track cycling medallist looks for new challenges

Paris Olympic Games medallist, Nicole Shields has decided it is time to move on from life as a fulltime high performance cyclist.The Central Otago rider, who won a silver medal with the women’s team pursuit on the track at the Paris Olympic Games, has announced her retirement from high performance sport.Shields, 26, initially focussed on road cycling before she joined a training group on the velodrome at Invercargill. This led to selection in the New Zealand teams to the UCI Junior Track World...

Local Taupo rider makes good on homegrown mountain bike trails

With the international elite riders already focussed on the international season, it was the opportunity for under-23 mountain bikers to step up in the final round of the Mountain Bike New Zealand National Series in Taupo.Hometown rising star Coen Nicol, who was third after the opening two rounds of under-23 XCO racing, took his opportunity on his home course to claim the elite men’s race.He started fast to open a lead of over a minute and grew his advantage over Waikato rider Fletcher Adams, ...

Day #5 Wrap - Oceania Track 2026

Both New Zealand and Australian elite track cycling squads will approach the upcoming international season with confidence after strong performances at the Oceania Championships that finished in Cambridge today.The five-day meet is the first significant competition before both high performance squads compete in the UCI Track World Cups in Perth, Hong Kong and Malaysia next month.Cycling New Zealand high performance director, Ryan Hollows said he was pleased with the quality and approach from the...

Day #4 Wrap - Oceania Track 2026

The Australian visitors fought back in the sprint, but the Kiwis claimed the endurance events on the penultimate day of action at the UCI Oceania Track Cycling Championships, supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome, Cambridge tonight.Leigh Hoffman, who won the silver medal at the world championships last year, showed his strength and class to dominate the men’s keirin final.The South Australian, who won the individual sprint, powered past kiwi Sam Dakin on the fi...

Day #3 Wrap - Oceania Track 2026

The high profile sprinters, Australian Leigh Hoffman and New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews showed their star qualities on day three of the UCI Oceania Track Cycling Championships, supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome, Cambridge tonight.Andrews, returning from a significant time off the bike, clocked a slick 10.632s to top qualifiers in the individual sprint.The double Olympic gold medallist cruised through the elimination round of match sprinting before accounting...

Day #2 Wrap - Oceania Track 2026

Below a wrap of finals from day two of the UCI Oceania Track Cycling Championships supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome, Cambridge today.—Elite Women Sprint:Olympic champion Ellesse Andrews moved through to tomorrow’s semifinals in the women’s elite sprint, after two straight rides in the quarterfinal over Australian Sophie Watts.She will come up against Australian Molly McGill in the semifinals, after she accounted for compatriot Deneaka Blinco in two str...

Day #1 Wrap - Oceania Track 2026

An exciting day of racing opened the UCI Oceania Track Cycling Championships supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome, Cambridge today.—Elite Women4000m Team PursuitThe New Zealand combination of Samantha Donnelly, Bryony Botha, Prudence Fowler and Ally Wollaston qualified fastest in 4:14.489 in their heat ahead of the Australian quartet of Keira Will, Sophie Edwards, Claudia Marcks and Nicole Duncan who where time at 4:16.799.Both teams quickly overtook thei...

Olympic and Paralympic track stars take first pedal-strokes to Los Angeles

New Zealand’s leading riders take their first pedal strokes towards the 2028 Olympic Games when they host the UCI Oceania Track Cycling Championships in Cambridge starting tomorrow.The championships, supported by GJ Gardner Waipa, carry important qualifying points and provide a platform towards the upcoming series of UCI World Cup competitions in Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia which form the key qualification process to the world championships and ultimately to LA 2028.Cycling New Zealand h...

Veteran Bennett goes solo to claim second NZ Road Cycling national title

Veteran Nelson professional George Bennett produced an ambitious and stunning solo effort to claim the New Zealand Elite Road Cycling Championship, supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, near Cambridge today.The 35-year-old attacked off the front of the small lead group with three of the 20 laps remaining. The World Tour rider was never threatened from that point as he powered to an emotional victory, after a challenging 2025 season.A tearful Bennett was overwhelmed with the win, his second nation...