New Zealand squad revealed for Road Worlds

“I’m loving the new challenge that cycling has brought. I’m very excited to be selected for my first Para-Cycling World Champs.”

Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) announced on Wednesday (15 May) their team for the UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup and Road World Championships, to be held in Canada from 23 – 25 August and 29 August – 1 September, respectively.

The 10-strong team is a mix of highly experienced cyclists joined by several young and developing athletes.

The team is headlined by Paralympic stars Phillipa Gray and Laura Fairweather (pilot), and Fiona Southorn. Gray and Fairweatehr took the trifecta at the London 2012 Paralympic Games with outstanding performances that included a world record, while Southorn won bronze in the 3km pursuit and was New Zealand’s first medallist in London.

Former Paralympic track star and silver medallist (2008) Kate Horan has recently moved into cycling and is very excited about her selection for these two great events.

“I’m loving the new challenge that cycling has brought,” she said. “I’m very excited to be selected for my first Para-Cycling World Champs.”

The team includes a number of talented hand cyclists such as Tiffiney Perry, Jonathan Nelson and Brendon Stratton who qualified after strong performances at the recent Australian Para-Cycling Road Nationals. Tim Williams concludes this strong group after outstanding performances at the BikeNZ Club Road National Champs.

Emma Foy and Gabrielle Vurmunt (pilot) are the newest members of the team. Foy was introduced to the tandem programme in February and is already showing outstanding potential.

The full team includes (classification):

Phillipa Gray – B

Laura Fairweather (pilot)

Fiona Southorn – C5

Tiffiney Perry – H2

Brendon Stratton – H3

Tim Williams – H1

Kate Horan – C4

Jonothan Nelson – H3

Emma Foy – B

Gabrielle Vermunt (pilot)