The cycling stronghold of South Canterbury has been confirmed as the hosts for the 2023 Age Group National Road Championships.

The championships, set for 14 to 16 April 2023 in Timaru, will be hosted by Cycling South Canterbury for the Road, Track and Cyclocross (RTX) Member Organisation wing of Cycling New Zealand, with support from the Cycling New Zealand Events team.

The event will again cater for able-bodied riders, male and female, for under-15, under-17, Senior and age groups from 35 years to 80 years and over and Paracycling events for T (Tricycle) 1 and 2, H (Handbike) 1-5 and B/Vi (Blind-Visually Impaired) – both female and male.

Brad Tilby, Road lead for the RTX Member Organisation says: “We are excited to head back to Timaru in 2023 and know the South Canterbury Club will put on a fantastic event. As our premiere masters, age group and Paracycling road event, we are keen to see competitive racing flourishing at the national level post the covid disruptions.”

There will also be qualifying places up for grabs for riders to qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, formerly known as the World Masters Road Championships. The 2023 world event will be staged from 4 to 7 August in Scotland, as part of the world body’s ambitious plans to host 13 individual world championships based in and around Glasgow.

The winners in both the time trial and road race in each of the able-bodied categories will be offered an automatic slot for the world championships with a further five female and five male wildcard spots available on application.

In recent years the organisation of the Age Group National Road Championships has been completely managed by Cycling New Zealand Events, but post covid, this division has been scaled back to meet the reduced operating budgets and staffing reductions.

This means the responsibility and management falls back on the RTX organisation with a slightly different look and feel, but still with support from Cycling New Zealand.

Details and entry: http://roadnationals.nz/