CAPTION: Georgia Williams in action last year, winning the Road Race and Time Trial in Cambridge.
Winners of 20 New Zealand road cycling titles are among the 142 entries for the Grassroots Trust Elite Road National Championships in Cambridge this weekend.
There is considerable quality including WorldTour riders, Olympians and Commonwealth Games medallists set to compete in the time trials and road races, which form part of the popular RIDE NZ Cycling Festival starting on Thursday.
The festival includes a Time Trial for general cycling fans this Thursday; the APL Championship Time Trial on Friday 11 February and the super-popular Gran Fondo public ride on Saturday with rides over 30km, 87km and 165kms. The championships, supported by Grassroots Trust, will be completed with the Elite Road National Championship Road Races on Sunday 13 February.
There are nine current or former national road and time trial champions competing, who have collectively won 20 titles between them. They are led by women’s World Tour rider Georgia Williams from Team Bike Exchange-Jayco, who has five national titles and will defend both the time trial and road race jerseys.
There is interest in the return of Canterbury’s Michael Vink, making his debut for Bolton Equities Black Spoke Pro Cycling, who will look to add to his four national titles, three of them as an Under-23 along with the elite time trial victory in 2015.
Other multiple winners racing this week include another Black Spoke rider, James Fouche, who has two road and one time trial honours as an under-23; the outstanding WorldTour teenager Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates), with three under-23 crowns, and the return of Hayden McCormick (MITOQ-NZ Cycling Project), who has won both the under-23 road race and time trial.
Both 2021 elite road race winners – Williams and Nelson’s George Bennett, who moves to high profile UAE Team Emirates team this year - will defend their titles.
Shane Archbold, the 2020 national champion, who has been racing on the road and track since returning from Europe, as he prepares for another season on the WorldTour, moving back to the German Bora Hansgrohe team.
There are two other WorldTour riders in the field, in 2020 national criterium champion Olivia Ray, and last year under-23 time trial winner, Henrietta Christie, who both join Human Powered Health, formerly Team Rally. Joining them is Michaela Drummond, who competed at the track world championships, but is equally adept on the road, for Italian professional team BePink.
A number of Tokyo Olympians are also racing, led by the 2019 road race national champion Holly Edmondson as well as Bryony Botha who is fresh off breaking the long-standing national individual pursuit record.
Another Olympian in the field is Trek professional mountain biker, Anton Cooper, recovered from a broken arm from an accident in training,
There will be interest in another former Commonwealth Games mountain biker in Australian-based Samara Sheppard.
Public can still enter in the RIDE Festival community rides Saturday’s Gran Fondo public ride, which offer a range of outstanding prizes, by visiting www.ride.nz with Gran Fondo entries closing midnight on the 9th.
Start lists for the championship events will be made on Thursday.
NOTE: Under the Red Light Covid Traffic level, there’s no spectators allowed but there is live timing for the Time Trial and last laps of the Road Race. Details will be available on our website later this week. www.eliteroadnationals.nz
MEDIA: Media wishing to cover the championships including photographers must accred. Please contact Ian Hepenstall.