Finn Fisher-Black in action

A record 15 New Zealand riders from UCI World Tour teams will line up in the 2026 Elite Road Cycling National Championships in Te Awamutu next week.

Finn Fisher-Black of Team Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe is photographed during Training ride in Turin before the start of the La Vuelta Espana Photo: Red Bull Content Pool 

Added to the 10 men and five women from New Zealand on the World Tour there are several Kiwis on the start line who will ride for UCI Pro Teams this year, including defending champion Paul Wright, who joins fellow New Zealand rider Ben Oliver in the new Modern Adventure Pro Cycling team run by American legend George Hincapie.

The championships run from February 5 to 8.

Leading the men’s way is the powerful World Tour team NSN Cycling, which comprises 2021 national champion George Bennett, Corbin Strong and Dion Smith.

The team is led by former Olympian and World Tour rider Sam Bewley who has attracted 10-year World Tour pro Dion Smith from Auckland to the team, while former Black Spoke rider Kiaan Watts is from NZN Cycling’s development team.

The women’s field has a glittering array of UCI World tour riders, headed by Olympic medallist Ally Wollaston.

Cycling New Zealand High Performance Director Ryan Hollows said the depth of talent is arguably the strongest in the sport’s history.

“This is a rare opportunity to see our world class road riders in action, and also support out our Para-cycling world championship medallists in Nicole Murray, Devon Briggs and the tandem with Emma Foy and Jesse Hodges competing.”

The time trial courses on February 5 will start and finish at Roto-o-Rangi School over distances from 18km to 44.2km. Para-cycling hand cycling and trikes will race over an 18km course.

The road races on Saturday and Sunday utilise loops of Ruahue and Norwegian roads for the under-23 and elite men over 20 laps, while women race 13 laps of the 9.4km Norwegian Road circuit.

Both U19 men and women will also use the Puahue loop before finishing on the Norwegian Road circuit.

 

Finn Fisher-Black in action