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Christchurch teenager celebrates first Enduro MTB World Series win

Christchurch teenager Winni Goldsbury has scored an outstanding breakthrough win in the Enduro MTB World Series in Leogang, Austria today.The 19-year-old, in her first year fulltime in elite racing, dominated the 73km event, that incorporated six special stages and over 2000m in descending.The Specialized Racing rider established a 20 second lead after winning the opening two special stages, including coping with a flat tyre on stage two.Godfrey saw her lead reduced to 16 seconds on Great Britai...

Lily Greenough impresses at BMX Racing World Cup in Netherlands

Cambridge teenager Lily Greenough impressed with a runner-up performance at the latest round of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup in the Netherlands today.It marked a breakthrough ride for the 2025 Junior World Champion, bouncing back from injury to finish on the podium in the first full season in Under-23 competition for the 18-year-old kiwi.Greenough, in strong form in Saturday’s third round of the world series, finished seventh after a collision in the final.She bounced back to make her mark in ...

Young kiwi downhill rider scores third-straight UCI World Series MTB win

Palmerston North teenager Jonty Williamson bagged his third straight under-19 downhill victory at the UCI MTB World Series in Leogang, Austria today.The 18-year-old kiwi, who rides for the Yeti-Fox Factory team, produced a stunning performance in challenging conditions following a week of extremely wet weather that turned the famed course into a quagmire.Williamson becomes just the second person to win three under-19 downhill world series races in a row. In a sport often decided by fractions, th...

Heavy rain proves slippery challenge at MTB World Cup in Leogang

Heavy rain turned the downhill course into a muddy and slippery challenge in qualifying for the third round of the UCI MTB World Series in Saalfelden-Leogang in Austria.Rotorua’s MS Racing pro Tuhoto-Ariki Pene showed his prowess in the chaotic qualifying session, finishing a standout 10TH fastest in the first qualifying run and proved the only kiwi to make it through to tomorrow’s elite men’s final.Likewise, there were no kiwi elite women to qualify in the first run but Rotorua’s J...

Williamson, Earnest lead kiwi MTB UCI World Cup charge in Austria

The in-form kiwi mountain bike gravity gladiators will look to continue their hot start to the UCI World Series with the third round in the renowned Austrian region of Saalfelden Leogang.It is one of only two venues this year to hosts four UCI World Cup formats of – cross-country, short track, downhill and enduro.The young kiwi cartel has made a hot start to the season, led by the gravity riders with six currently in the top-10 in the overall rankings. It is led by Palmerston North rider Jonty...

Walker best of kiwis riders in UCI BMX Racing World Cup in France

Olympian Leila Walker led the kiwis on a challenging opening weekend in Sarrians, France to start the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Cup.The national champion was the only New Zealand rider to make the semifinals in the second round of the championship double-header but it was a case of déjà vu for Walker who was edged out in Saturday’s semifinal also.The Cambridge rider qualified third and was third in her quarterfinal but missed the snap out of the gate from the difficult middle lane in her sem...

Tough competition for Kiwi contingent in UCI BMX Racing World Cup opener

Junior world champion Lily Greenough led the New Zealand contingent in a super-charged opening round of the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Sarrians, France.The Cambridge teenager was the fastest across qualifying motos in the under-23 women on a blistering hot day in south-east France, winning her semifinal. While competing for the lead in the final, Greenough crashed in a battle with a Dutch rider on the last corner and did not finish.Greenough was the only New Zealand rider to progress to th...

European victory adds to Oliver’s remarkable array of cycling honours

Remarkable New Zealand cyclist Ben Oliver has clinched the first major UCI Tour victory for his new Modern Adventure Cycling team after claiming overall honours in the five-stage Tour de Wallonie in Belgium.Oliver muscled his way in a powerful sprint to claim the final stage dash to secure the overall general classification title in his first season on the UCI Tour.The North Canterbury rider, better known for his exploits as a mountain biker and criterium racer, out-muscled a group of five on th...

Ten kiwi riders line up for UCI BMX Racing World Cup opener in France

Ten New Zealand riders will line-up for the opening double rounds of the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Sarrians, France at the weekend.The UCI has announced this week that the 2026 season will comprise five double rounds, adding two double rounds in China to the schedule, with the World Cup also offering Olympic qualifying points.Sarrians, perched in the south of France between Monaco and Andorra, was the opening venue for last year’s championship series, with Paris Olympians and current na...

Powerful cycling contingent aiming for continued success in Glasgow

The New Zealand Team will have a 19-strong cycling contingent to contest track cycling events at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.The Scottish sporting city and aptly named Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome has been a happy hunting ground for Kiwi track cyclists who earned 11 medals at the 2014 edition of the Commonwealth Games.It was also home to New Zealand’s most successful UCI Track World Championships three years ago when kiwi track riders amassed a record eight medals.NZ Team cyclists selected ...

Two from two for Williamson, Waite flies in UCI MTB Downhill World Series

Palmerston North mountain biker Jonty Williamson made it two from two with victory in the junior elite downhill at the UCI MTB World Series in Loudenvielle, France today.After winning the opening round of downhill in South Korea, Williamson produced a stunning performance in the second round in the French Pyrenees today, with the Yeti-Fox top seed descending 540m down the 2.4km track to victory.Fellow kiwi rider, Hawkes Bay 19-year-old Tyler Waite, finished an outstanding fifth place in his seco...

Young kiwi pair excite, Goldsbury edged for podium at UCI MTB World Series

Hawkes Bay rider Tyler Waite and Auckland’s Sacha Earnest led the New Zealand charge in elite downhill qualifying for round two of the UCI MTB World Series at Loudenvielle-Peyragudes in the French Pyrenees today.Earnest, 20, riding for the Trek Unbroken pro team, was fifth fastest qualifier in the elite women’s downhill to push through to the finals tomorrow.She was joined by Tauranga’s Eliana Hulsebosch (Santa Cruz Syndicate) who was eighth fastest in the first qualifying run, with the to...

Kiwi gravity riders throng to UCI MTB World Series European opener

There are 34 kiwi mountain bikers lining up for the opening European leg of UCI World Series downhill and enduro at the popular venue of Loudenvielle-Peyragudes in the French Pyrenees this weekend.Organisers expect over 60,000 to attend over the four-day event for the third round of downhill and the opening round for enduro competition.The kiwi riders are there in force – the highest number of qualified riders per head of population from some margin, as testament to their ability to box well a...

New Zealand cross-country riders finish mid-pack in UCI World Series

New Zealand riders Anton Cooper and Sam Gaze finished mid-pack in the second round of the UCI MTB World Series Cross-country at Nové Mesto Na Morave in the Czech Republic today.Cooper (Lapierre PXR Racing) was pushed back after starting on the fourth row but put in some strong laps late in the race to make up some places to 33rd.“It was a battle royal out there, said Cooper. "It felt great on the first lap, but it turned out everyone else clearly felt a little better on the next couple. I fel...

Southland winner claims Tour win

Southland professional Josh Burnett has bagged a brilliant GC victory in the UCI 2.1 level Baku-Khankendi Azerbaijan stage race.Racing in his second year for Burgos Burpellet BH – the team that Aaron Gate and George Jackson also rode for – Burnett won the fifth and final stage to claim the GC honours in the five-day race.Gate, riding for his XDS Astana World Tour team in the same race, was also in contention going into the final mountains stage.Burnett won the stage, prevailing after a late ...

Mead looks ahead positively after UCI Para cycling World Cup efforts

New Zealand Para cyclist Rory Mead is excited about his world championship prospects and a longer view towards the Los Angeles Paralympic Games after strong performances in two UCI World Cup competitions in Europe.The 39-year-old hand-cyclist, who sustained a spinal cord injury while racing professional motocross 12 years ago, has completed his best UCI World Cup campaign.Mead enjoyed two podiums in the time trial and road race in Belgium last week, along with a time trial podium and fifth in a ...

Third straight podium for Mead at UCI Para cycling World Cup in Italy

New Zealand Para cyclist Rory Mead earned his third straight podium at the UCI World Cup in Italy today.The US-based Mead finished third in the 17.2km individual time trial, staged at the tourist region of Montesilvano, in the Abruzzo region alongside the picturesque Adriatic Sea.This follows bronze medals in the time trial and road race at the world cup in Belgium two weeks ago.The two-lap course along the coastline was super-fast on a slick surface, with the Wellington athlete trying to hold o...

Gaze produces brave effort in wild and wet UCI MTB World Cup

Only weeks after his impressive second placing in the Cape Epic eight-day race in South Africa, the Paris Olympian Sam Gaze produced a brave cross-country display in the season-opening UCI MTB World Cup in South Korea.The weather turned adversely overnight, with wild and wet conditions causing an extremely slippery race track that proved a significant challenge to riders.Starting back in 45th place on the grid, Gaze (Alpecin Fenix) rode through the field, in the challenging conditions, freq...

Kiwi teenager claims UCI MTB World Cup win in South Korea

Palmerston North 17-year-old Jonty Williamson produced a stunning finish to claim his first junior men’s UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in the opening round of the world series in South Korea today.Williamson, the Yeti Fox Factory rider, produced a stunning finish to claim the lead over fellow kiwi Malik Boatwright (Queenstown) by 0.2s.It looked like a kiwi shutout of the podium when Taranaki’s Camden Rutherfurd edged his way to third, only to be pushed back to fourth by Frenchman Sacha Brizin....

Ten kiwi gravity riders make finals in UCI World Series opener

Ten kiwi gravity riders have won through to the finals of the new UCI MTB World Cup season which has ventured to South Korea for the first time in 25 years.The new downhill qualifying system has seen elite men’s debutante Tyler Waite (Yeti-Fox Factory) as the only kiwi to work his way into the top-30 qualifiers on the new course at Mona YongPyong.Waite, third overall in the 2025 junior men’s season standings, missed out in the first round where the top 20 riders progressed, but was eighth in...

Second podium for Mead in UCI Para Cycling World Cup in Europe

May Day came with celebration for New Zealand para cyclist Rory Mead who earned his second podium at the UCI Para Cycling World Cup in Belgium.After a bronze medal in the time trial, the US-based out-sprinted American rival Cody Wills for third place in the 40km road race over four laps of the coastal course at Gistel on the North Sea.In perfect conditions, the Paris Paralympic gold medallist, Frenchman Florian Jouanny backed up his time trial victory with another win in the road race, staged ov...

Kiwi MTB troupe look to continue UCI World Series charge

After a watershed 2025 season on the UCI Mountain Bike World Series standings, kiwi riders will take their first pedal strokes of the new season with renewed confidence and new challenges.Fourteen kiwi riders were ranked in the top 10 on the 2025 global standings, with a number of them stepping up to the elite competition with a new wave of rising hopes looking to make their mark this year.The 2026 UCI MTB World Series begins this weekend in the new venue of South Korea before heading back to th...

Mead podiums in UCI Para Cycling World Cup time trial in Belgium

USA-based Kiwi Para cyclist Rory Mead has opened his 2026 international campaign with a podium in the UCI World Cup in Belgium today.Mead, who has been based back in his family home in Wellington over the summer, has finished third in the men’s handcycle time trial to open his European campaign in the coastal town of Middelkerke, Gistel.The 39-year-old produced a strong performance to podium behind the two Paris Paralympic gold medallists in Frenchman Florian Jouanny from France, the road race...

Kiwi Para cyclist set for opening UCI Road World Cup in Belgium

As ANZAC Day is commemorated in New Zealand, the world’s leading Para cyclists converge on the coastal community of Middelkerke in Belgium for the first UCI Para Cycling Road World Cup starting tomorrow.The area, besieged by Germany in WW2, will host the World Cup with the race courses running on the flat coastal roads of West Flanders beside the North Sea near Dunkirk, with the time trial and road race over the same 10.2km loop.Paralympic hand-cyclist Rory Mead is the sole New Zealander compe...

Two medals complete impressive haul for New Zealand track cyclists

New Zealand cyclists claimed two medals on the final night to complete a four-medal haul at the UCI Track World Cup in Malaysia.It completed an excellent haul of seven medals over two World Cup competitions in Hong Kong and Malaysia, with New Zealand pushing near the top of the UCI World Cup standings across their key events.There were a silver and bronze medals earned on the final night, with Samantha Donnelly claiming her first individual World Cup medal with third placing in the women’s fou...