May the force be with them as cyclists push for national titles
They may only be a small club but G-Force Cycling are hoping to raise a few eyebrows at the Track National Championships starting today.
A 15-strong team is heading to Cambridge to compete in the five-day event and will be confident of returning with a few medals.
Teenage cyclist Caitlin Kelly is their strongest medal hope and heads to the championships in impressive form.
She was the only New Zealand cyclist to medal at the Junior World Championships in 2023 and will no doubt be looking to bring a swagger of medals back with her on the plane south.
Liam Ramsey, Daniel Bell, Zadie Scott, Malachi McLaren and Finn Edwards all performed strongly at Oceanias and will be looking to do something similar at the national event.
“We’ve got a good talented bunch of riders going to Cambridge to compete. Some may argue why we’re sending so many, but we think the ones going will improve from the experience and it will bring out the best in many of them,” G-Force committee member Aaron Ramsey said. The riders were loving the opportunities being presented to them like Oceanias and now nationals, he said.
“Nationals is only open from under-15 to elite and we are quite proud of the group we are sending to Cambridge,” Ramsay said.
“We’ve got a couple of age-group national title holders amongst the touring squad. We probably have 20-25 eligible. So it’s a fair chunk of our team going. It’s quite exciting and a good number to be taking away.”
Cycling NZ held a development camp recently and selected sprint and endurance teams to ride at Oceanias. G Force was lucky to have McLaren, Ramsey selected alongside Cambridge rider Alex Schuler to ride in the Men’s NZ development A team, while Kelly and Scott were selected to ride in the women’s equivalent.
Coach Sid Cumming said all the riders evolved different.
“There is always plenty of talent there. It’s about having fun and learning new skills. The ones that want to train harder will and don’t be surprised if they shine at nationals, because they’ve put the hard work in. There’s others here who could certainly surprise. Kids that enjoy themselves tend to do well and go fast.”
Masters world champion Ruth Whelan is unable to attend nationals, but is looking forward to the National Masters in Invercargill later this month.
Cycling Southland are also sending a strong team to the nationals and expect a large number of medals to be won by cyclists from both Southland clubs, who continue to put the region’s top riders on the map.