World Cup coming
Cycling New Zealand will host the Tissot UCI Track World Cup in 2019, bringing the best of international track cycling back to Cambridge.
The New Zealand event at the world-class Avantidrome will link with one in Hong Kong in January 2019, which will be the only Track World Cups in the southern hemisphere next year.
Arguably New Zealand’s biggest ever cycling event, the UCI Track World Cup was welcomed in 2015 by sell-out crowds and high praise from UCI and international teams. Building on that success, Cycling New Zealand CEO Andrew Matheson says the foundations and proven capability are in place for 2019 to be another successful event.
“The benchmark is set, and we’re excited to be giving track cycling and general sports fans across the country another opportunity to see our worldclass and world champion riders taking on their international rivals here at home.
“For our elite riders themselves, it’s a rare chance to take on their biggest rivals in front of a home crowd, which will no doubt drive some impressive performances and exciting racing as we saw in 2015.”
Hosting a World Cup also provides strategic benefit for the Vantage National Elite Team as coaches look towards Tokyo 2020.
High Performance director Martin Barras said racing a World Cup at home will mean there is opportunity for more Kiwi riders to get experience at this level.
“Firstly our team will be able to compete on the track they train on every day and with hometown support, which is a clear advantage,” he said.
“It also means we can focus on performance without the added pressures of travel and our riders can sleep in their own beds each night.
“We will also potentially have the opportunity to add a Trade Team to the competition which will mean we can give more riders not only experience at this level, but the chance for very important UCI ranking points towards the World Championships and the Olympics.”
The UCI Track World Cup is likely to attract up to 550 competitors, staff, officials and media from over 40 countries. The 2015 event generated significant economic returns for the Waipa and Waikato regions.