Strong Para-Cycling Team to Take on the World

The team for the 2011 UCI Para-Cycling World Track Championships has been confirmed for the March 11-13 event which will take place in Montichiari, Italy.

The 10-athlete team has experience in the form of Beijing Paralympians, Fiona Southorn, and medalist Jayne Parsons who is partnered by rowing Olympian, turned cyclist, Sonia Waddell as her pilot.

Tandem cycles are used by visually impaired athletes, meaning that the visually impaired athlete sits at the back of the bike and an able-bodied athlete sits in the front seat as the ‘pilot’ responsible for steering the bike.

Waddell, who is married to former Americas Cup yachtsman and Olympic champion rower, Rob Waddell, recently won the NZ Elite Cycling Time Trial championships, beating Alison Shanks, has been forming a strong partnership with Parsons since they paired up in time for the World Road Championships last year.

Another new partnership will form the second female tandem from New Zealand at the Championships with Phillipa Gray being joined by her pilot, Laura Thompson. Thompson is another talent transfer athlete from an elite sport having formally been a member of the Tall Ferns basketball team.

All of the male riders selected and Gray were initially identified and developed through PNZ’s “Xccelerate 2 Xcellence” Talent Identification programme in 2009 and have been fast tracked into the PNZ High Performance programme which is led by Brendon Cameron who is a former 1996/2000 Olympic track cyclist. He also coached 2004 Athens Olympic champion Sarah Ulmer and is the bike coach of nine-time NZ Ironman champion Cameron Brown.

The team has familiar sporting names with Steve Bayley and Nathan Smith. Bayley is a New Zealand winter Paralympian who won gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Paralympics in the Giant Slalom and has two bronzes to his name as well and Nathan Smith was eighth at the 2010 Road Para-cycling World Championships and is the brother of All Black Conrad Smith.

“We are taking the largest track team to ever represent the PNZ Cycling programme. Although the bulk of the team comprises mostly of new development squad members, we are still committed to achieving strong results. These riders have been in training for 18 months and have made some real progress in this time,” says Head Coach Brendon Cameron.

The team departs Auckland Friday 4th March for Italy.


Men:
Nathan Smith - Taranaki
Jamie Gemmell - Auckland
Chris Ross - Otago
Steve Bayley - Canterbury
Stephen Hills - Taranaki

Women:
Fiona Southern - Northland
Tandems:
Jayne Parsons / Sonia Waddell (Pilot) Kapati / Waikato
Phillipa Gray / Laura Thompson (Pilot) Southland / Southland


Staff:
Malcolm Humm Manager
Brendon Cameron Head Coach
Jono Hailstone Assistant Coach
Nick Harris Mechanic
Justin Ralph Physiotherapist