2026 isn\u2019t going to be quite the victory lap Samara Maxwell and Decathlon Ford were looking forward to. After clinching the 2025 World Cup overall title, the New Zealand racer is, instead, taking a step back from the sport. Maxwell\u2019s team made the announcement Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Decathlon Ford is calling the move a \u201csabbatical pause,\u201d and saying it is in service of Maxwell\u2019s long term goals. Specifically, the athlete and team are focused on her performance in L.A. at the Olympic Games in 2028. Both consider that more important than results this year and the team states it is in full support of the decision.<\/p>\n
A full sabbatical<\/p>\n
Maxwell isn\u2019t just stepping back from racing. The announcement says the Kiwi will \u201cDedicate 2026 to a period of rest and personal reconnection.\u201d During that time, the 23-year-old will \u201cstep away from racing, media activities, social platforms and public engagements.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team explains that this choice is to help her \u201cRestore physical energy, regain mental balance, and spend meaningful time with the people and places that matter most to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the right moment for me to pause, breathe, and return to my roots. I want to spend time with my family, recharge, and prepare myself for the challenges ahead,\u201d Maxwell is quoted in the team\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
A healthy step forward?<\/p>\n
While Decathlon Ford\u2019s statement is vague on details, Maxwell did tell Radio New Zealand in October that the run-in to her World Cup overall title win, which came at Mont-Sainte-Anne in October, had resurfaced mental health issues from the N.Z. athlete\u2019s past. In. that interview, though, Maxwell says both her result and how she dealt with those issues resurfacing showed signs of progress, not regression.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really proud that I\u2019m in a place where I can say I\u2019m struggling and could call my coach and call my psychologist,\u201d Maxwell told RNZ<\/a>. \u201cFor me, the weeks where I\u2019m able to say I\u2019m struggling is when I\u2019m doing well because it means I\u2019m not ignoring those problems. If I hadn\u2019t acknowledged my struggles at the start of the week I would not be where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n Maxwell has been open about her struggles with eating disorders throughout her career. While it\u2019s not stated in Decathlon Ford\u2019s announcement whether her current hiatus is related to that interview in October, it is good to see a young athlete prioritising their mental health over short term results or sponsor obligations.<\/p>\n Opposition versus support<\/p>\n Maxwell\u2019s openness did result in issues in the past. New Zealand\u2019s sporting body tried to block Maxwell from competing at the Paris Olympic Games for, it claimed, her own health. Maxwell successfully appealed that decision and represented N.Z. in Paris in 2024. She finished eighth at that Games<\/a>. It\u2019s great to see Decathlon Ford supporting this move to take a sabbatical.<\/p>\n With her Paris Olympic experience and 2025 success, it is not surprising that Maxwell is focusing on her goals in L.A. over defending her World Cup crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026 isn\u2019t going to be quite the victory lap Samara Maxwell and Decathlon Ford were looking forward to.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,166910,166911,62722,87167,166912,166913,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-394288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-decathlon-ford","12":"tag-l-a-2028-olympic-games","13":"tag-mtb-news","14":"tag-sabbatical","15":"tag-samara-maxwell","16":"tag-sammy-maxwell","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}