New Zealand Sportsman of the Year, Aaron Gate will round-out his significant cycling achievements when he makes his first official start as a UCI WorldTour rider at the UCI Tour Down Under in Adelaide.
The 34-year-old has joined XDS Astana team on the back of an outstanding palmares on the track and road. On the track, Gate is an Olympic medallist, double world champion and triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist, while on the road he won the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold. He has also scored 13 wins on the road including GC titles in the Tour of Hainan last year and Tour of Hellas in 2022.
After his storied career on the bike, and his 13th straight year on professional road teams, Gate will get to line-up in his WorldTour debut in Adelaide.
“It's nice to finally be in a top-tier team and one that's pretty hungry to race and race well this year,” said Gate. “It is still a little bit surreal for the young-me that was just starting cycling which doesn't feel like more than 15 years ago now.
“I still love doing it which is the main thing. It's going to be an exciting year with new challenges. I'm definitely looking forward to that challenge of what is to come.”
To make things more special, Gate will line-up in his New Zealand Champion’s jersey in Adelaide, which is the last international race before he heads back to Timaru to defend his national title next month.
“It's a nice feeling every time I pull on that national champion’s jersey which brings a bit of extra pride out. I have also had a spin on my new custom bike so I am excited to get racing.”
Gate is both excited and intrigued with the coming year on the WorldTour.
“It is probably a nice balance of both, because there are some new races that I'm super excited to do. There are some familiar races too that would be nice to go back to with a stronger team and a better setup. Then I can put my best foot forward with some chances for myself and also support the world-class riders in our team.
“It's going to be an exciting year with new challenges and one that I'm definitely looking forward to.”
While not getting ahead of himself with the Tour Down Under looming, Gate is under no illusions about the battle that awaits at the national championships in Timaru next month.
“The field is even stronger this year with a couple of riders who were missing last year and several of the top guys having teammates that I'm going to be against.
“It's also a bit of a different course too. It’s the same lap, but the finish line has been moved to the top of the climb which was 6km to go last year. It changes the dynamic of the race. It will be a case of arriving at the bottom of that last climb in best shape possible and then an all-out fight to the finish line.
“I still not ruling myself out, but it's definitely an uphill battle, so to speak.”
The programme comprises the Time Trial for all grades on Thursday 6 February, followed by the road races for Under-19 Women, Under-19 Men and combined Under-23 and Elite Women on Friday 7 February, leaving the Under-23 and Elite Men’s road race on Saturday 8 February.