NZ Para Cycling Team named to compete at 2019 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 2019 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships (Apeldoorn, Netherlands) from 14 – 17 March.

The team of 12 Para cyclists is headlined by five Paralympians including Rio 2016 Paralympic gold and bronze medallist Nikita Howarth (Te Awamutu), Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist Emma Foy (Marsden Wheelers – Whangarei), Beijing 2008 silver medallist Kate Horan (PNP – Wellington) and Rio 2016 debutants Amanda Cameron (Gisborne) and Hannah van Kampen (Ramblers – Hawkes Bay). They will be joined by Sarah Ellington (Auckland), Nicole Murray (Te Awamutu), Nick Blincoe (Auckland), Nina Wollaston (Counties Manukau) as sighted pilot to Amanda Cameron, Anna Taylor (Te Awamutu) and the new 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 size, 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 athlete slots for New Zealand at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.“ He continues, “We also have 3 Para cyclists who will be making their international debut in the Netherlands and looking to build their experience against world class competition.“

Malcolm Humm (PNZ High Performance Director) said, “This group is reflective of the huge amount of work that the team at Paralympics New Zealand has been putting in behind the scenes to ensure we have opportunities to bring talented Para cyclists through the sport and onto the international stage. Through the development of strong structures and pathways across both our talent identification and athlete development programmes we are bringing large numbers of Para athletes into Para sport that in the past may not have had this opportunity.“

Paralympian Nikita Howarth, who is well known for her speed and determination in the pool made a change to the sport of Para cycling in January 2017. The 2019 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships will see her compete at her second international competition. Most recently Howarth broke the Flying 200m world record at the Southland Track Cycling Championships taking 0.248 seconds off the previous record set by New Zealand Paralympian Kate Horan in February 2016.

Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist Emma Foy only returned to Para cycling in June after taking a one-year break to refresh and focus on her law degree at Waikato University. However, the draw of the sport meant she has returned with renewed vigour and with sighted pilot Hannah van Kampen will be aiming for top results in the Netherlands. Van Kampen will bring her 3 years of experience as a sighted pilot including having competed on the tandem with Amanda Cameron at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Three-time Paralympian Kate Horan and Para cyclist Nicole Murray will be looking to build on their outstanding silver medal winning performances at the 2018 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships. Both Horan and Murray have been continued to work on developing their speed and technique over the last 12 months.

Paralympian Amanda Cameron and her sighted pilot Nina Wollaston will go into the UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships as a new combination and they will look to continue to build on their consistency after competing at the Southland Track Cycling Championships in December this year.

Para cyclist Sarah Ellington will compete in her fourth World Championships after making her debut at the 2017 UCI Para Cycling Road World Championships. Ellington will bring this experience to the velodrome in Apeldoorn where she will compete in the Women’s 500m Time Trial and 3km Individual Pursuit.

Nick Blincoe will return to this event in 2019 following his debut this year 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.

Three Para cyclists will be making their international debut in Apeldoorn. In a first for the New Zealand Para Cycling Team for many years a men’s tandem will compete as Mitchell Wilson and his sighted pilot Jackson Ogle aim to gain valuable international experience. Wilson has been riding with various pilots for 2 years and achieved great results. Ogle has recently transferred to the PNZ Para Cycling Programme following a cycling career that has seen him win a Junior World Championships bronze medal in 2017.

Anna Taylor has a strong history in high performance, 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. The UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships will provide Wilson, Ogle and Taylor with the opportunity to see where they sit internationally as they take on the world’s best in Apeldoorn.

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Notes:
– The New Zealand Para Cycling Programme is run by Paralympics New Zealand.
– Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) is affiliated to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for New Zealand. PNZ is one of 179 NPC’s worldwide, responsible for supporting and growing Paralympic Sports in their countries. PNZ is a charity overseeing up to 22 Paralympic Sports disciplines and delivery of the High Performance Sports Programme within a number of disciplines. PNZ prepares, selects and leads New Zealand teams to international competitions and the Paralympic Games. PNZ works with athletes, members, partners and government agencies to inspire those disabled people in New Zealand society and increase awareness, understanding and acceptance of disability amongst the wider public. PNZ relies on donations, government and support from business.
– To support Paralympics New Zealand click here on this link
– The Spirit of Gold® Initiative is an award-winning long-term campaign to increase awareness and raise much-needed funding to firstly, support the Para athletes on the road to Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and beyond. Secondly, to help PNZ invest in developing Para sport across New Zealand.

For more details please contact:
Melissa Dawson, Brand and Communications Manager
Paralympics New Zealand
Mobile – +64 (0) 204 0044 799