Corbin Strong headlining Southland track team for Oceania champs
Following a whirlwind year of racing around the world, international track and road cyclist Corbin Strong will be returning to his home town of Invercargill to headline a strong Southland representative team at the UCI 2020 Oceania Track Championships next month.
Held at the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 October, the Oceania Champs are expected to attract more than 200 riders for the four-day competition, where 40 titles will be awarded across elite and under 19 categories for men and women.
Strong’s inclusion in the 15-member Southland team is an “absolute coup” says SIT Southern Performance Hub head coach Sid Cumming.
“We have named a really strong team of elite and under 19 riders who will relish the opportunity to race at this international level with some of the best of the best in their fields, and the addition of Corbin after such an epic first year in the international elite ranks is an outright triumph for the Southland team.
“We also have our Junior Worlds young gun Emily Paterson back in the team after returning from her successful silver medal campaign in Germany last month and I know she and her team mates are all hungry for great results during the Oceas,” Cumming said.
Strong says he is excited to return to the Velodrome boards where he honed his track racing craft for so many years.
“Having spent so much of the year abroad, it is going to be nice to return and ride for Southland and catch up with Sid and some of my good mates who are still in the south and, of course, Mum and Dad are always eager to have me home for a bit.
“I’m looking forward to racing my absolute best and then it will be time to start thinking about my second SBS Bank Tour of Southland again – I’m really looking forward to being involved with that again this year too.”
Cycling Southland general manager Nicola Wills said the hype around the busy few weeks of events coming up in the south was building momentum and everyone was excited to see the exceptional standard of racing coming up on both the road and the track.
“From the Yunca Junior Tour of Southland, to the New Zealand Schools Track Champs, an ILT Junior Track Carnival, the Oceania Track Champs and topping it all off with the SBS Bank Tour of Southland, there is certainly some quality racing ahead for fans and riders alike.”
The Southland team to ride Oceanias is: Corbin Strong, Josh Haggerty, Louis Hodgkinson, Rhylee McMullen, Sophie Bloxham, Nicole Marshall, Emily Paterson, Tienkie Venter, Quinn Naylor, Jake Willis, Josh Miller, Hunter Gough, Morgan Borrie, Jenny Brown and Rhylee Akeroyd.
Meanwhile, Southland riders Tyla Green, Natalie Green, Jessica Spencer, Navarh Brotherston and Mitchel Fitzsimons have been named in the 20-strong Cycling Zealand under 19 team to compete at the Oceania Track Champs.
In a further announcement, riders from the past two men’s junior worlds endurance teams, including Southland’s Conor Shearing, will form a New Zealand development squad for the champs.
FAST FACTS
2020 Oceania Track Championships
16-19 October
SIT Zero Fees Velodrome
Tickets through Ticket Direct or ILT Stadium Southland
https://oceania-track-championships.cyclingnewzealand.nz/
Yunca Junior Tour of Southland
4-6 October
https://www.cyclingsouth.org.nz/pages/2019-yunca-junior-tour-of-southland/
New Zealand & South Island Schools Track Champs
8-9 October
SIT Zero Fees Velodrome
https://schools.cyclingnewzealand.nz/events/national-track-championships
ILT Junior Track Carnival
8 October
SIT Zero Fees Velodrome
https://www.cyclingsouth.org.nz/pages/ilt-junior-carnival-combined-with-the-nz-school-track-championships/
