Taylor, Botcher make squad
Palmerston North duo Max Taylor and Caleb Botcher have been named in the 2018 intake for the second year of the Mountain Bike National Performance Hub in Rotorua.
Taylor and Botcher were two of 12 cross-country riders named for next year along with nine downhill riders.
The Mountain Bike National Performance Hub, which is based at the campus of major sponsor Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology in Rotorua, enjoyed its first podium and four top-20 placings at the UCI World Championships.
Downhiller Shania Rawson (Tauranga) won the silver medal in the junior women while North Canterbury’s Ben Oliver was ninth in the under-23 men’s cross-country to lead the Hub riders at the world championships.
The squad undertook a number of training camps in Rotorua and received high performance training, preparation and racing tips.
‘‘The results for a first year were above our expectations,’’ said Cycling New Zealand’s hub coach Sam Thompson. ‘‘The results across the board in major competition speak for themselves.
‘‘But more important was the development of the young riders in their understanding of what it takes to be a high performance athlete and their progress both on and off the bike was significant.
‘‘They also had the benefit of some major international competition in Europe which is a major component of their development.
‘‘Several of our riders have now
progressed on to the elite ranks, some are back for a second year, while there is a new wave of young riders to come into the Hub for 2018 which is very exciting.’’