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Kiwi cycling trio on start line for final Grand Tour of 2025

The experienced George Bennett will join fellow Nelsonian Finn Fisher-Black and Dion Smith to fly the kiwi flag in the final Grand Tour of 2025, the Vuelta a España.The trio will be on the start line in Turin, Italy at the weekend for the first stage with the Vuelta finishing in Madrid on September 14.Bennett (Israel Premier Tech) achieves his eighth start in the Vuelta a España, the most by any New Zealand rider, and his 16th Grand Tour overall which is second among all kiwis behind the ...

Strong claims back-to-back multi-stage cycling honours

New Zealand professional Corbin Strong produced an impressive final stage performance to claim the overall honours in the Artic Race of Norway today.It was his second general classification victory in a UCI 2Pro stage victory in succession following on from the overall honours in the Tour de Wallonie in Belgium two weeks ago.The Southland rider, in his fourth year on the WorldTour, went into the fourth and final 141km stage around Tromsø with a slender six second margin from British star, Tom P...

Country loops set to test riders in 2026 Elite Road Cycling Nationals

The well-travelled hills between Te Awamutu and Cambridge will provide a stern test for riders, with the courses announced for the 2026 Elite Road Cycling National Championships.The championships are set for 5-7 February 2026, and hosted for the next two years by the Te Awamutu Sports Cycling Club, which has a rich heritage in the sport, hosting popular club racing along with their annual Te Awamutu Tour.It will be the third time that Te Awamutu has hosted the Elite Road Championships, having st...

Fisher-Black outstanding in Tour de France Femmes

A brilliant performance from Niamh Fisher-Black saw her finish fifth overall in the Tour de France Femmes.The Lidl-Trek kiwi, third on the queen stage of the Cole de la Madeleine on stage seven, was fourth in the final stage at Chatel Les Portes du Soleil after another significant climb.It equals her previous best in a Grand Tour, after placing fifth in the prestigious Giro d’Italia Donne three years ago.The Paris Olympian finished seventh in the mountains classification and hel...

Lily Greenough beats conditions to claim UCI BMX Racing World title

Cambridge teenager Lily Greenough braved the wet conditions to claim the junior women’s title at the 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Copenhagen.In the treacherous conditions, the seventeen-year-old rode with a maturity beyond her years to dominate the junior women’s competition, winning her quarterfinal and semifinalimpressively.Greenough was outstanding in the final, claiming the holeshotout of the gate and riding faultlessly on t...

8 Kiwis Advance to BMX Finals Day

Eight New Zealand BMX riders ridden through to the quarterfinals on the opening day for elite riders at the UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Copenhagen.Early rain made conditions tougher, especially for the junior riders, but conditions eased and dried as the day progressed.Olympians Leila Walker (Cambridge) and Rico Bearman (North Harbour) are through to the quarterfinals in the elites, joined by North Harbour’s Michael Bias and Rotorua’s Megan Williams.They will be joined by the Cambr...

Six of the best for New Zealand BMX Racing riders

It proved six of the best for the New Zealand team in Challenge racing at the UCI BMXRacing World Championships in Copenhagen.The New Zealand team earned six medals in the four-day Challenge competition for age group competitors, which now gives way to the Elite racing over the weekend.The kiwis finished with three gold medals, two silver and a bronze, which is the best by the New Zealand team in the post-Covid era.BMX New Zealand Chairman, Chris Greenough said he was proud with t...

Powerful NZ mountain bike team set for UCI World Championships

Kiwi mountain bikers will pose a powerful challenge across the board from a 47-strong team announced today by Cycling New Zealand for the upcoming UCI MTB World Championships in Switzerland.Fifteen New Zealand riders are ranked inside the top-10 in the world across the disciplines of cross-country, marathon, downhill and enduro, and will lead the kiwi charge for the two weeks of the world championships from 30 August to 14 September.There are eight separate UCI World Championships to be decided ...

Kiwi riders set for UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Denmark

Over 40 New Zealand riders have congregated in the cycling city of Copenhagen for the UCI BMX Racing World Championships.Eleven kiwis will contest the elite racing, which follows the Challenge (age group) competition for racing and cruiser classes which starts today.The riders are at home in Copenhagen, a city where locals own more bikes than cars, and nearly half the population pedal to work.In the modern era of UCI BMX Racing, it is just the third location to host the world championships for a...

Kiwi cycling quartet set for final female Grand Tour challenge

Four kiwi riders are among the 22 teams to contest the final of three women’s Grand Tours when the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift gets underway at the weekend.Paris Olympian Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Olympic medallist and sprinter Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez), Henrietta Christie (EF Education-Oatly) and Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla-Jayco) will contest the nine-stage challenge.The contest sets off in Vannes, a walled town in the Brittany region of northwest France, and finishes nine days later i...

Marathon MTB National titles set for iconic kiwi events over next four years

Two of New Zealand’s classic mountain bike participation events will double as Cycling New Zealand’s UCI Marathon MTB National Championships for the next four years.The Marathon MTB National titles will be decided at the Whaka 100 in Rotorua in 2025 and 2027, and the Tombstone Bike at Hanmer Springs in 2026 and 2028.The Marathon MTB National Championship is the longest of the championship events, and is a selection race for the UCI Marathon World Championships.This year’s Marathon World Ch...

Key track cycling events announced for Grassroots Trust Velodrome

Cycling New Zealand will signal the start of the campaign towards the 2026 Commonwealth Games with two key track events in Cambridge in December.The Grassroots Trust Velodrome will host the Omnium and Madison National Championships in Cambridge on 10-11 December as standalone national events.Organisers are hoping to also confirm a UCI Class 2 international track competition to follow on from the championships, which would likely at...

Magnificent Maxwell scores remarkable UCI MTB World Series victory

In her first year as an elite, Kiwi mountain biker Samara Maxwell produced a performance of extraordinary proportions to grab victory in the latest round of the UCI MTB World Cup cross-country at Pal Arinsal, Andorra.Maxwell (Decathlon Ford) led early, came down twice on the treacherous rock decent, but fought back, only to lose further time with a rear wheel change from a puncture.The Paris Olympian had to close the gap for a third time, and found the last of her reserves to move her way back t...

Blewitt and Pene bag season bests at UCI MTB World Cup in Andorra

Three-time national champion Jess Blewitt and former World Championship junior medallist, Tuhoto-Ariki Pene bagged season-best performances in the elite downhill finals at the latest round of the UCI MTB World Cup Downhill at Pal Arinsal in Andorra.The earlier start and cancellation of the junior finals enabled organisers to avoid predicted electrical storms.Blewitt, the Cube Factory professional from Queenstown who turned 23 this week, moved into the top-10 on the elite women’s season-ranking...

Stevens-McNab leads charge as junior finals cancelled in UCI MTB World Cup

New Zealand downhillers continued to impress with 12 riders qualifying for finals in the sixth round of the UCI MTB World Series in Andorra.However after moving qualifying runs earlier in the day to avoid predicted wet weather, with updated worsening weather information, organisers have decided to cancel finals for junior riders and will proceed with elite only.Rotorua’s Lachlan Stevens-McNab (Trek Factory) was in outstanding form, rushing down the 2.1km course fo...

UCI MTB World Series on-the-up for New Zealand downhill riders

Kiwi mountain bikers will be go to new heights to build on their recent outstanding form in the latest round of the UCI MTB World Cup in Andorra this weekend.There are 10 New Zealand gravity riders in the top-12 on the current world rankings across elite and junior categories going into the sixth round of downhill. Meanwhile current world-ranked No 1 in women’s cross-country, Sammie Maxwell, will look to extend her advantage in her rookie year in the elite competition.Riders will battle at hig...

Five riders selected for UCI Road World Championships in Africa

Cycling New Zealand has confirmed the selection of five riders for the 2025 UCI Road World Championships to be staged in Rwanda in September.It is the first time the championships have been staged in Africa with several federations expected to have limited participation with associated high costs, logistical complexity and security considerations.There are three World Tour elite women named, in the Paris Olympic Games pair of Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) and Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Oatly), al...

Petch to combine motherhood with Olympic cycling dream

If the stars align, kiwi sprint cyclist Rebecca Petch will have a special new fan supporting her at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.Petch and husband Jarrod Browning, who were married two and a half years ago, are expecting their first child later this year.The Olympic silver medallist in the Team Sprint is planning a return to the track with her sights ultimately fixed on the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.It would make three Olympic Games for Petch, with the multi-national champion in BMX qua...

Kiwi downhill MTB riders again outstanding in Italian Alps

New Zealand’s downhill mountain bike riders produced another beacon performance across all finals at the latest round of the UCI Whoop MTB World Series in La Thuile, nestled in the Italian Alps.Promising Hawkes Bay rider Tyler Waite (Yeti-Fox Factory) was third in the junior men’s final, and moves to second overall midway through the 10-round season.He was joined by fourth placings for elite Lachie Stevens-McNab (Trek Factory), his second of the season, and emerging talent Kate Hastings (Piv...

Cadzow, Harvey to fly kiwi flag in women’s cycling pinnacle tour

Paris Olympian Kim Cadzow and the experienced Mikayla Harvey lead the New Zealand charge when the premier women’s road cycling tour gets underway in Italy.The Giro d’Italia Women, established in 1988, sets off overnight from Bergamo in northern Italy with 22 seven-rider teams to contest a testing eight-stage tour.It is the second Grand Tour on the women’s calendar with an exciting route featuring three summit finishes, two sprint stages and a key time trial.  The final stage will...

Murray a blink away from UCI World Cup mountain bike enduro victory

Christchurch mountain biker Charles Murray has finished a blink away from victory in the penultimate round of the UCI MTB Enduro World Cup in Italy today.Murray (Specialized Gravity) was pipped by 0.05s for the overall honours after an exciting final stage, staged at night under lights for the first time, at La Thuile in the Alps near the Italy-France border.Seeking his second World Cup enduro victory after a breakthrough win in Bielsko-Biala in Poland last season, Murray had an advantage of jus...

Young cyclist joins select group of kiwis to compete in Tour de France

Christchurch 22-year-old Laurence Pithie will become the 19th New Zealander to start in cycling’s iconic Tour de France which gets underway tomorrow in the northern city of Lille, in France.Pithie, who rides for the high profile Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team, is currently in his third year on the UCI World Tour.“It’s my first Tour de France and sure it is a little bit daunting but I am super-excited,” said Pithie.“I want take the opportunity with both hands. I have done all the pre...

Greenough trio named in 11-strong NZ team for UCI BMX Racing Worlds

An 11-strong team has been named by Cycling New Zealand to contest the 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Copenhagen.Organisers expect up to 7,000 to attend with the Championship Elite racing on 2-3 August, following the Challenge (age group) and Masters categories on 28-31 July, with more than 40 New Zealand riders taking part.It is the second time the world championships have been staged in Copenhagen with the track upgraded including new surfaces on straights and ramps, additional wor...

Pivotal race for Enduro, new test for Downhill as UCI MTB heads to the Alps

Forty Kiwi mountain bikers head to the Alps on the Italy-France border in the shadow of Mont Blanc for a pivotal round of the Whoop UCI MTB World Cup for Enduro and Downhill riders.The latest stop in the UCI MTB World Cup is the stunning mountain village of La Thuile in the Aosta Valley where Enduro riders compete in the penultimate round with results vital to overall aspirations.The downhill competition reaches the midway point with several New Zealanders threatening podium standings, with doub...

Pithie ticks the boxes for his maiden Tour de France assignment

Christchurch professional cyclist Laurence Pithie will become the 19th kiwi rider to contest the famed Tour de France starting next week.Pithie, 22, is the only New Zealand rider in the 112th edition of the iconic annual sporting contest, which begins in Lille, in northern France on Monday and finishes 3,339kms over 21 stages later, on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.He rides for the much-vaunted Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe team, with...