New Zealand riders will contest respective world championships on the road and off-road on both sides of the Atlantic starting tonight (NZ time).
Three kiwi riders will contest the UCI MTB Marathon World Championships at the ski and mountain bike resort of Snowshoe in West Virginia, USA.
Samara Sheppard, sixth in last year’s marathon world championships in Glasgow, leads the New Zealand trio with Nelson’s Cameron Jones and Rotorua’s Caleb Bottcher.
Snowshoe Mountain will provide a stern test, situated at 1500m with the 104km race comprising 2000m of climbing and descents,
The event leads to the final part of the season with the UCI MTB World Cups for cross-country and downhill at Lake Placid, New York State and Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec.
Meanwhile 13 kiwi riders compete in the week-long UCI Road World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, starting with time trials on Sunday (Europe time), and completed next weekend with the elite men’s road race.
Junior riders Reef Roberts (South Canterbury), and the Black Magic pair of Kirsty Watts (Christchurch) and Alex Rawlinson (Tauranga), who have all enjoyed racing successes in Europe this year, will contest the junior time trial.
Road races begin next Thursday for junior women through to the elite men on 29 September and with Waikato’s two-time world champion Eltje Malzbender the sole kiwi rider in the para-cycling competition.
The New Zealand road team is:
The New Zealand team is (all road race unless noted):
Female, elite/U23: Henrietta Christie (Canterbury, Human Powered Health), Niamh Fisher-Black (Nelson, SD Worx), Ella Wyllie (Auckland, Liv-AlUla Jayco).
Junior: Ava Maddison (Auckland, Black Magic), Alex Rawlinson (Tauranga, Black Magic, plus time trial), Kirsty Watts (Christchurch, Black Magic, plus time trial), Elena Worrall (Counties Manukau, MitoQ-NZ Cycling Project).
Male, Elite: George Bennett (Nelson, Israel-Premier Tech), Finn Fisher-Black (Nelson, UAE Team Emirates, plus time trial); Reuben Thompson (Queenstown, Groupama-FDJ).
Under-23: Lewis Bower (Auckland, Groupama FDJ Continental).
Junior: Joshua Cavanagh (Hamilton), Reef Roberts (South Canterbury plus time trial). Reserves: Lachlan McNabb (Blenheim), Carter Guichard (Wanaka, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).