New Zealand team announced for UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships

Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) has announced its team selection for the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships to be held in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands from 26 –29 March.

The team is headlined by world champion tandem pairing of Emma Foy and Laura Fairweather (pilot), and Paralympian Kate Horan. Emma and Laura set a world record while taking out the women’s B 3km Pursuit world title at last year’s Track World Championships in Mexico, and have since broken the New Zealand record during the recent NZ Elite Track Championships in February. They are looking forward to defending their title this year against some very strong competition from other Nations who are gearing up towards the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

They are joined by Paralympian Kate Horan who is well known as a former Paralympic athletics track star. Her best known performance includes winning a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Most recently on the bike Horan broke the Flying 200m world record at the NZ Track National Championships in Cambridge taking a staggering two seconds of the previous record. Horan was thrilled with her new world record saying it is achievements such as this that make all the training worthwhile.

Brendon Cameron (PNZ Para-Cycling Head Performance Coach) said: “We have high expectations of the team as all the athletes are tracking strongly towards a medal in Rio next year. We also have the Southern Hemisphere advantage of enjoying a full summer of preparation meaning more daylight hours to train or fit in multiple sessions in one day.

“There will certainly be plenty of support at home in New Zealand, as Para-Cyclists in our large development squads will be watching their role models take to the track in the Netherlands.”