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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...

Wollaston sprints her way to emotional New Zealand road race title

World Tour professional Ally Wollaston continued her red-hot start to the international road cycling season claiming her first New Zealand elite women’s road race title near Cambridge today.Wollaston (FDJ United-Suez), who has won the under-23 national road race title on two occasions, managed to out-kick her fellow rivals, including several UCI World Tour riders, to snatch the elite victory at the championships supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa.A select group of seven riders, comprising all...

UCI World Tour riders claim time trial titles at NZ Road Cycling Championships

The New Zealand jersey will be seen prominently on the UCI World Tour this year after professionals Ella Wyllie and Finn Fisher-Black took out their respective elite time trial honours on the first day of the NZ Road Cycling Nationals, supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, near Cambridge today.Wylie, 23, rides for Liv-AlUla-Jayco while Fisher-Black, 24, competes for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, and accordingly both will wear the national jersey in all UCI World Tour individual time trials this year.I...

WorldTour riders challenged for jersey at Elite Road National Championships

The cycling stronghold of Te Awamutu will host the Cycling New Zealand elite road nationals this week for the third time.It is the first occasion the club has staged the event since Gordon McCauley won his record fifth elite men’s title in 2009, while it will be the 14th time that the championships have been staged in the wider Waikato region.The championship, supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, begin on Thursday with time trials based from Roto-o-Rangi School near Cambridge.There will b...

Time Trials ignite star-studded line-ups for Elite Road National Championships

Several New Zealand World Tour stars, medal-winning Para-cyclists and a host of talented kiwi riders will be chasing honours in the 2026 Elite Road National Championships in Cambridge this week.The championships, supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa and hosted by Te Awamutu Cycling Club, begin on Thursday with time trials from Roto-o-Rangi School near Cambridge.New Zealand’s Para-cycling Track World Championship medallists will be competing in the time trials, including track world champion Dev...

World Tour riders return to spice up fields for Elite Road Cycling Nationals

There is a record 15 New Zealand riders from UCI World Tour teams to line up in the 2026 Elite Road Cycling National Championships in Te Awamutu on 5-7 February.Added to the 10 men and five women from New Zealand on the World Tour, there are several Kiwis on the start line who will ride for UCI Pro Teams this year, including defending champion Paul Wright, who joins fellow New Zealand rider Ben Oliver in the new Modern Adventure Pro Cycling team run by American legend George Hincapie.Leading the...

Double-double success for Henderson and Cooper in Oceania MTB

The opening two rounds of the UCI Oceania Continental MTB Series for cross-country proved a double-double success for outstanding professionals, Australian Rebecca Henderson and kiwi star Anton Cooper in Christchurch today.Cooper, readying himself for his 15th year on the professional world circuit, again took full advantage of the home track at Crocodile Park in Halswell, where he first learned the sport at age 11 years.Twenty years on, Cooper went from the start, opening a narrow early le...

Veteran pair dominate opening cross-country Oceania MTB in Christchurch

The two dominant cross-country mountain bikers in Oceania competition, Australian Rebecca Henderson and kiwi Anton Cooper, claimed the opening round honours in the UCI Continental Series in Christchurch today.Four-time Olympian Henderson grabbed an emphatic win in Christchurch today to start the series on the strongest note.The two-time world championship medallist was untroubled in winning the elite women’s honours, clearing out from the field from the start to set fastest time on each of the...

Burnett wins third SBS Bank Tour of Southland title

Josh Burnett has become just the sixth rider to win three or more SBS Bank Tour of Southland titles after surviving a frenetic final day today.Burnett (PowerNet) started the day with a 19sec lead over Cambridge’s Matthew Wilson (Advanced Personnel Cycling Team), but an outstanding individual time trial by Wilson in the morning saw him take the stage victory and cut the lead to just 10sec heading into the final 77km stage from Winton to Invercargill.The fast and furious stage was lashed by wind...

Clark leads way in opening downhill at Mt Hutt

Kiwi mountain bike fans were given a chance to see some of the rising international downhill stars in action when the UCI Oceania Continental Series got underway at Mt Hutt, Canterbury today.The international kiwi elite cream rose to the top in the men’s finals.Fastest qualifier Oli Clark from Kaikoura prevailed in the final, clocking 3:50.31 for his run to finish just over a second ahead of Rotorua international Joe Millington.Clark, 18, enjoyed a brilliant 2025 international season, finishin...

World-class field confirmed for ILT NZ Criterium Championships in Invercargill

Cycling Southland is set to deliver a spectacular afternoon of high-speed racing when the ILT New Zealand Criterium Championships take place on Saturday 17 January, with a world-class field of riders confirmed across all championship categories.Building on the success of last year’s event, the championships will be staged on the new fast, flowing 2.1km circuit incorporating Bainfield Road and Queens Drive.Featuring wide roads and excellent sightlines for spectators, the course is perfectly sui...

2025 — Sublime Season of Success

Cycling New Zealand riders have this year enjoyed arguably their most successful return ever across all genre of pedal power.Kiwi riders have proudly podiumed at UCI World Championships, World Series and World Tour races on Mountain Bike (Cross-country, Downhill and Enduro), Road, BMX, Track and Esport. Additionally in 2025, there are outstanding performances from Para cycling riders on road and track, now fully integrated under the Cycling New Zealand umbrella for the first time.The collective ...

Kiwi riders prosper amid strong international test on the track

New Zealand’s leading track cyclists faced some international competition led by a strong squad from Japan, at the Omnium and Madison National Championships in Cambridge.The two-day event sponsored by Caniwi Capital carried UCI global ranking points as the riders got to blow off the cobwebs from a long road season as they prepare for their international track programme starting in February.Scratch race world champion Kazushige Kuboki led the way with some impressive riding to claim the four-di...

Cycling Southland to host NZ Criterium Champs

Cycling Southland is proud to once again host the ILT New Zealand Criterium Championships on Saturday 17 January 2026, where national jerseys will be contested across all categories from Under 15 through to Elite Men and Women.Following the success of this year’s event, organisers have confirmed a brand-new course for 2026, utilising Bainfield Road and Queens Drive. Riders will complete laps of a fast and flowing 2.1km circuit, turning on Queens Drive at the Gimblett Street intersection. With ...

Kiwi cyclist Kate McCarthy claims second UCI Esports World Championship

Hamilton rider Kate McCarthy dominated racing to claim back-to-back titles at the UCI Esports World Championship at the grand finals in Abu Dhabi today.McCarthy set the stage with a dominant performance on the first stage hill climb and from that point was never seriously threatened over the remaining two stages to beat off the other 21 finalists.The kiwi rider finished on 597 points from Brazil’s Gabriella Guerra 525 points and Italy’s Francesca Tommasi rounded out the podium with 478 point...