Cycling New Zealand has announced riders for the 2020-2021 BMX National Performance Hub team based in Cambridge.
Cycling New Zealand Hub coach and former BMX national champion, Matt Cameron is thrilled with the development in year two since inception. Cameron, who has a wealth of experience from his time as an international rider, understands the importance not only of physical and tactical skills but also mental skills and good preparation.
The BMX Performance Hub riders have surpassed expectations in their second year, picking up national and Oceania titles and consistently featuring on the podium at key events. One of the performance highlights from 2019 was Jessie Smith winning the UCI BMX junior women’s title.
“It’s been another full-on year and the squad have been pushed hard to get results and we are seeing measurable improvement and consistency in performances. To get a world Championship is outstanding,´ said Cameron.
“BMX is a tough sport and there’s a fine line between pushing the limits and taking it too far. What has been noticeable is that at the big events is that the Hub riders consistently deliver.”
The BMX Hub has specific training sessions each week for the Hub riders and an open session where any BMX rider can attend and gain valuable insight. A number of elite riders often attend these sessions and rub shoulders with the Hub riders, providing a challenging but safe learning environment. The sessions are valuable to the sport and are showing significant lift in performance across the board.
The BMX Performance Hub is part of the national cycling performance programme that includes the Grassroots Trust Waikato-Bay of Plenty, Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Hub and SIT Southland-Otago Hub, Upper-South Hub based in Christchurch and National Mountain Bike Hub in Rotorua.
The six Performance Hubs have been established to nurture future success of high performance cycling in New Zealand by increasing both the quality and quantity of young riders feeding into the elite tier of the sport.
“Investing in development and performance pathways is a key to securing top talent and continuing to grow New Zealand’s performance outcomes on the world stage,” said Cycling New Zealand CEO, Jacques Landry.
The BMX National Performance Hub has been realised with the support from Schick Civil Construction, who have a long history in supporting sporting endeavours in New Zealand.
“We are excited to support BMX talent and we are once again very proud to see the progression of the Hub athletes. Our business is about delivering excellence and we look forward to watching these young people as they also strive to achieve excellence and potentially secure spots at future Olympic Games,” said Pat Peoples, Managing Director, Schick Civil Construction.
The Schick Civil BMX National Performance Hub for 2020 is:
Luey Cotton (Kapiti), Jessie Smith (Hamilton), Rico D’Anvers (Cambridge), Nic Daniels (North Canterbury), Bennett Greenough (Cambridge), Rico Bearman (North Harbour), Megan Williams (Rotorua), Baylee Luttrell (Hamilton), Leila Walker (Cambridge), Blake Day (North Canterbury), Jack Greenough (Cambridge), Caitlin Flavell – (Rotorua).
