New Zealand Para Cycling Team named to compete at 2020 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships

Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) is pleased to announce the selection of the New Zealand Para Cycling Team to compete at the 2020 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships (Milton, Canada) from 30 January – 2 February.

The team of 9 Para cyclists is headlined by 3 Paralympians including Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist Emma Foy (Marsden Wheelers – Whangarei), Beijing 2008 silver medallist Kate Horan (PNP – Wellington) and Rio 2016 debutant Hannah van Kampen (Ramblers – Hawkes Bay) as sighted pilot to Emma Foy. They will be joined by Sarah Ellington (Auckland), Nicole Murray (Te Awamutu), Nick Blincoe (Auckland), Anna Taylor (Te Awamutu) and the tandem pairing of Mitchell Wilson (Te Awamutu) and Jackson Ogle (Te Awamutu).

Stu MacDonald (PNZ Para Cycling Head Performance Coach) said, “We are thrilled with the quality and experience of the Team we announced today. Many of the Team will be aiming for podium finishes and gaining valuable UCI points to secure further athlete slots for New Zealand at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.“ He continues, “The 2019 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships provides us an opportunity to keep working hard, refining our processes and to continue to progress towards our pinnacle event for 2020 – the Paralympic Games.“

Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist Emma Foy and her sighted pilot Paralympian Hannah van Kampen, have had an exceptional past year winning 2 rainbow jerseys – one on the track and the other on the road. Only 2 weeks ago the pair set a new world record in the Women’s B Individual Pursuit on home soil at the Avantidrome. They will be looking to retain their World Champion status in the Women’s B 3km Individual Pursuit in Canada.

Three-time Paralympian Kate Horan and Para cyclist Sarah Ellington will be looking to build on their outstanding bronze medal winning performances at the 2019 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships. Both Horan and Ellington have continued to work on developing their speed and technique over the last 12 months.

Para cyclist Nicole Murray will compete in her third Track World Championships after making her debut at the 2018 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships. Murray will bring this experience to the velodrome in Milton where she will compete in the Women’s 500m Time Trial and 3km Individual Pursuit.

Nick Blincoe will return to this event in 2020 following his debut in 2018 where he posted two personal best times in the Individual Pursuit and 1km Time Trial. Blincoe first started Para cycling in 2015 and after narrowly missing selection for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games he has his sights firmly set on making his Paralympic debut in Tokyo 2020.

Following their debut at the 2019 edition of this event the men’s tandem pairing of Mitchell Wilson and his sighted pilot Jackson Ogle aim to gain further valuable international experience. Wilson has been riding with various pilots for 3 years and achieved great results. Ogle transferred to the PNZ Para Cycling Programme in 2018 following a cycling career that has seen him win a Junior World Championships bronze medal in 2017. Wilson and Ogle recently recorded a personal best time in the Men’s B Individual Pursuit at the C1 Para Cycling Track Event in Cambridge and will be looking to build on this in Canada.

Para cyclist Anna Taylor made her international debut in Para cycling last year at the UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships in the Netherlands. However high performance sport is not new to her as she formerly competed in the sport of rowing. Taylor studied at Oregon State University on a sport scholarship and was selected to the exclusive All American Rowing Team. On her return to New Zealand Taylor had a severe disc prolapse that compressed her spinal cord. Taylor attended her first Para Cycling Camp in January 2018 and her progression through the sport has been such that she is has the potential to challenge the podium at this year’s event.