Cycling New Zealand has confirmed a 12-strong New Zealand Championship team will contest the 2024 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in USA next month.
The championships will be held for a second time at Rock Hill, South Carolina, from 12-18 May, incorporating Championship BMX Racing, which comprises elite, under-23 and under-19 categories, along with Challenge age classes.
Last year’s under-23 world championship medallists from Glasgow, Megan Williams (Rotorua) and Rico Bearman (North Harbour) will return, with both now competing in the elite category.
They are joined in elite racing by North Harbour’s Michael Bias, and Cambridge teenager Leila Walker.
Williams made the elite quarterfinals in all four rounds at the UCI BMX Racing World Cups in Rotorua and Brisbane while Walker, still eligible to compete in the under-23 class, made the elite semifinals in Brisbane and was runner-up at the Oceania Championships.
Bias, coming off an impressive sixth placing in round four of the UCI World Cup in Brisbane after making the semifinal on the previous day, is the only kiwi elite team rider who competed in the 2017 World Championships at Rock Hill.
Bearman, who has returned to his pro team in the American national BMX Racing competition, was a quarterfinalist in three of the four World Cup rounds in Rotorua and Brisbane.
The Greenough brothers, Bennett and Jack, will look to continue their strong start to the season in the men’s under-23 class, after both won finals over the two days in Rotorua with Bennett currently second and Jack fourth in the 2024 under-23 world rankings.
They will be joined by younger sister Lily Greenough who will compete in the junior women’s category.
The Challenge age group racing runs from 12 to 15 May with the Championship decided on 17-18 May with the first round and last chance races on day one along with the one-eighth finals male riders. The titles will be decided through quarterfinals, semis and finals on the second day.
The New Zealand elite team is:
Female, Junior: Lily Greenough (Cambridge), Hannah Mason (Tauranga).
Under-23: Brooke Penny (Te Awamutu).
Elite: Leila Walker (Cambridge), Megan Williams (Rotorua).
Male, Junior: Finn Cogan (East City, Auckland), Nick Cowie (Southland), Will Skipper (Rotorua). Non-Travelling Reserve: Cooper Richardson (North Harbour).
Under-23: Bennett Greenough (Cambridge), Jack Greenough (Cambridge). Note: Jack Keown (Christchurch) and Jesse Green (Christchurch) selected but withdrew.
Elite: Rico Bearman (North Harbour), Michael Bias (North Harbour).