Cycling New Zealand has named a powerful 14-strong team to contest the UCI 2024 Road Cycling World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland.
The championships will be staged from 21-29 September, and includes Para-Cycling with the New Zealand team.
The New Zealand team is headed by experienced Olympian George Bennett with demanding courses in the Swiss alpine foothills expected to provide a stern test suited to climbers.
Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech) is joined in the men’s team by fellow WorldTour riders Reuben Thompson (Groupama-FDJ) and Finn Fisher-Black (UAE Team Emirates).
Bennett and Thompson are both noted climbers, as is Fisher-Black, whose sister will lead the elite women’s team.
Niamh Fisher-Black, who rides for SD Worx on the Women’s World Tour, will be joined by fellow Paris Olympian Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale) and two other strong climbers in Ella Wyllie (Liv-AlUla Jayco) and Henrietta Christie (Human Powered Health).
Cadzow is the national elite time trial champion and Wyllie the road race winner.
The sole men’s under-23 rider is Lewis Bower, 19, who rides for Groupama-FDJ Conti team in Europe where he has enjoyed a stage win earlier this month in France and two podiums in the Tour de Bretagne.
The junior women’s team is led by road race and time trial junior national champion, Kirsty Watts joined by fellow Black Magic women’s team riders Alex Rawlinson (Tauranga) and Ava Maddison (Auckland), along with Elena Worrall (Auckland).
The junior men will look to South Canterbury double junior national champion, Reef Roberts, currently competing in Europe, along with Hamilton’s Joshua Cavanagh, a podium placegetter in the Oceania Championship road race.
Paralympics NZ recently announced the selection of Waikato’s Eltje Malzbender, a two-time world champion, to compete in both time trial and road races in the para-cycling competition held as part of the UCI Road World Championships.
The time trial for elite and under-23 women and elite men is on 22 September, with junior and under-23 men on Monday 23 September and junior women the following day.
Road races begin for juniors on 26 September through to elite men on 29 September.
The New Zealand team is (all road race unless noted):
Female, elite/U23: Kim Cadzow (Wanaka, Ef Education-Cannondale, plus time trial); 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).