Huri Huri News
15 December 2016

Olympic and world champion rower Hamish Bond will step up his cycling career next month when he contests the New Zealand Cycle Classic, an international stage race held entirely in the Wairarapa.

Bond, one half of the indomitable New Zealand men's rowing pair with Eric Murray who won back-to-back Olympic golds in the men’s coxless pair and who’ve won eight world championship titles, will contest the 30th Anniversary of the Cycle Classic being held from January 22nd – 26th 2017. Bond will race alongside New Zealand professional cyclist Michael Torckler in the Blindz Direct team and says he is looking forward to testing himself against some of the world’s top international riders.

“I’ve done so little racing and am still finding out what I’m capable of in different situations,” he says. “You can only learn this about yourself when putting yourself under pressure, so I’m hugely motivated to give myself and the team the best possible chance to do well.”

Bond, who finished eighth on general classification in this year’s Tour of Southland while helping his Vantage Windows and Doors teammate Torckler to sixth place overall, says finishing the New Zealand Cycle Classic is one of his key goals for 2017. He will also contest the New Zealand Road Cycling Championships being held in Hawke’s Bay two weeks earlier and is confident his race fitness will carry on through between the two major events.

“I should be carrying good fitness into the Cycle Classic and depending how I go at the road championships will dictate what I can do doing forward … I will be pushing myself against some of the best in the country and against riders from overseas.”

Bond, who recently relocated to Wellington with his wife, has dropped 9kg since switching his focus from rowing to cycling. But he says there’s similarities between the two sports which hold him in good stead.

“There’s massive cross overs in being a high performance athlete. The biggest part probably is you learn how to suffer and push yourself harder. Rowing is demanding on your cardiovascular system and physiology and is endurance based, so all of that is directly transferrable to cycling.”

Blindz Direct team manager Stuart Thomason is thrilled to have Bond join Torckler in the team. He says the pair will line up alongside upcoming riders Joshua Aldridge, Jason Thomason and Cameron Wynniatt.

“The team is based around Michael, a former winner of the New Zealand Cycle Classic, and we are confident he will do well on GC. Hamish will be very useful as he is so strong on the bike. He has an amazing aerobic capacity and endurance and will be particularly useful in the cross winds,” says Thomason.

New Zealand Cycle Classic race director Jorge Sandoval is equally excited about having Bond line-up for the tour.

“Next year’s 30th celebration of the Cycle Classic is looking to be the best so far with a top line up of overseas teams coming to New Zealand with the aim of taking the tour title and scoring some early UCI points,” says Sandoval. “Having double Olympic rower Hamish Bond in the tour is a privilege for me and I expect he will show his aggressiveness. I hope he goes really well.”

“I observed him doing really well in last month’s tour of Southland and am keen to see him test himself against some of the best professional teams ever come to New Zealand. Team tactics will be crucial and what makes our event so hard is the speed and the number of challenging hill climbs, especially on stages one and two,” says Sandoval. “Having someone like Michael Torckler riding alongside Hamish is a great asset to the tour and will be terrific for spectators’ to watch too.”

Sandoval says he will announce the line-up of international teams coming to the Wairarapa in the New Year.
 
The New Zealand Cycle Classic is a five-stage, elite international men’s road cycling race staged entirely in the Wairarapa. It is the only Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) sanctioned race to be held in New Zealand in 2017.

It begins on Sunday, 22nd January 2017, with a 156km stage taking riders from the Wairarapa’s biggest town of Masterton to the spectacular coastal community of Castlepoint. The following day riders will complete a 147km hilly route that finishes atop of the steep Admiral Hill in Gladstone, while stage three sees riders travel from Masterton to the wine village of Martinborough and then complete eight laps of an 8km circuit. Stage four is new and will see riders head south down SH2 travelling through all five of the Wairarapa’s characterful townships before concluding with a fast and furious finish near the Martinborough Square. The fifth and final stage is based just west of Masterton and will see riders complete a fast and furious 12 lap, 10km circuit.

Being held simultaneously is Huri Huri: Wairarapa’s Bike Festival which celebrates the Wairarapa’s bike-friendly roads, tracks and trails; the people that ride on them and the bikes they ride.  The 2017 Festival (www.hurihuri.co.nz) has a variety of events and activities held across the region, catering to all levels of involvement in biking and to all ages.
 
For more information please visit www.cycletournz.com.

Huri Huri News
8 December 2016
A professional cycling team made up of riders who all have Type 1 diabetes will make its first appearance in January’s New Zealand Cycle Classic, a UCI 2.2 five-stage race held entirely in the Wairarapa.
 
Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, will contest the 30th Anniversary of the Cycle Classic being held from January 22nd – 26th 2017. Race director Jorge Sandoval said he’s delighted to secure Team Novo Nordisk’s development team which is being led by Kiwi Scott Ambrose.
 
“Team Novo Nordisk is the first overseas team confirmed for January’s tour and they will be making their New Zealand debut,” says Jorge. “It’s pretty exciting for me with this being the 30th year of organising and promoting the New Zealand Cycle Classic. It’s also terrific news for Kiwis with a couple of New Zealanders in the team including former Wellingtonian Scott Ambrose.”
 
In 2011, Ambrose won the Junior Tour of Canberra, Australia’s Premier Junior Tour but two years later on the back of a period of heavy training his performance began to deteriorate. After seeking medical advice he was told he showed all of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes and after having his blood glucose checked was rushed to the hospital.
 
“I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 18 years old. Lying in the hospital bed crying I called my coach and told him I couldn't train the next day as this was my main worry at the time. He told me not to worry and to look at Team Novo Nordish online. He said that my dream of becoming a professional cyclist was not over, and that we would work together to get into that team,” recalls Ambrose.
 
As Ambrose began to manage his diabetes and return to racing, he started a blog, which was read by Team Novo Nordisk athlete Justin Morris. Morris put Ambrose in contact with Team Novo Nordisk CEO and Co-founder Phil Southerland who invited the young Kiwi to race with the team’s Development squad. Ambrose quickly proved himself and, in the summer of 2014, was invited to join the men’s professional team.
 
Now this summer he will return “home” and lead his team made up of riders from New Zealand, Australia, America and Uzbekistan.
 
“Team Novo Nordisk inspired me to never stop chasing my dreams. That Diabetes is not a barrier but only a challenge in life. I hope that I am now able to inspire the younger generation who are living and yet to be diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes the way Novo Nordisk inspired me. That you can still chase your dreams and live a successful and fulfilling life!” said Ambrose, who won a stage in the Tour de Filipinas last year.
 
Ambrose will be joined by a diverse squad composed of experienced and young athletes. It includes Australians David Nickels and Samuel Munday; New Zealanders Caleb Aoake, who was diagnosed with diabetes at age 12, and Hamish Beadle; American Justin McQuerry and Ulugbeck Saidov from Uzbekistan.
 
Team manager Justin Morris is looking forward to the event
 
“Team Novo Nordisk’s development team is eager to compete at its first New Zealand Cycle Classic in January. As the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, we race to inspire, educate and empower everyone affected by diabetes. This will be the team’s New Zealand debut, and we aim to display our Changing Diabetes jersey proudly,” said Morris. “We are all excited to experience New Zealand's fast and aggressive style of racing.”
 
The 30th New Zealand Cycle Classic runs from January 22nd – 26th 2017 and features new stage routes for riders and an exciting line-up of community events that are part of Huri Huri: Wairarapa’s Festival of Cycling. The three new routes include the opening 156km stage which takes riders from Masterton to the spectacular coastal community of Castlepoint; “The Five Towns” which will see riders cycle through all of the Wairarapa’s characterful townships and a fast and furious 12 lap, 10km circuit just west of Masterton.
 
Being held simultaneously is Huri Huri: Wairarapa’s Bike Festival which celebrates the Wairarapa’s bike-friendly roads, tracks and trails; the people that ride on them and the bikes they ride.  The 2017 Festival (www.hurihuri.co.nz) has a variety of events and activities held across the region, catering to all levels of involvement in biking and to all ages.
 
Sandoval said he will announce more international teams later this month.
 
For more information please visit www.cycletournz.com.