MitoQ-NZ Cycling Project excited about United States campaign

For more than a decade Southlander James Canny has been quietly building a cycling legacy - a sustainable pathway for young riders to make it onto the world stage.

The latest iteration of that, Canny’s MitoQ-NZ Cycling Project, will see a six-strong team led by Southlander Josh Burnett and George Jackson take on an intense three-month racing programme in the United States.

The team, which also includes Luke McDermott, Sam Ritchie, Theo Gilbertson and Kees Duyvesteyn (all riders who will be familiar to those who follow the SBS Bank Tour of Southland closely) leaves next week before basing themselves in Ashville, North Carolina.

Their first race is arguably the United States’ largest tour, the UCI-ranked Joe Martin stage race starting on May 19 - an extremely challenging tour in Arkansas.

Following that is an exhaustive programme chasing the United States’ biggest races on the road, track and gravel. It’s a trip of a lifetime with the added goal of getting riders noticed by big international professional teams.

Caption: Southland businesses are a big part of the Mito-Q NZ Cycling Project story. SBS Bank’s Sue Downing, left, Stabicraft’s Paul Adams and Riki Shuttleworth caught up with Josh Burnett before the team headed overseas.

But let’s step back for a second.

Back in 2009 Canny launched his passion project, surrounding himself with foundation riders Eddie Dawkins, Simon van Velthooven and Aaron Gate.

“Those guys all went on to storied professional careers. I continued to race but I was also acutely aware of my physical limitations and so I increased my focus on developing and growing our team in a sustainable manner - we are by a significant margin the longest running elite cycling team in New Zealand,” Canny, who by day is the new ventures manager with Meridian Energy and dad to a young and growing family, says.

“Alongside providing international racing opportunities we encourage and support all of our riders to further themselves off the bike, for example Josh Burnett is nearing the end of his law degree at the University of Otago.”

These days MitoQ-NZ Cycling Project is a UCI-registered Continental team, on the same level as the Bolton Equities Black Spoke team, albeit on a leaner budget.

We’ll get to the financial aspect in a moment, but along with the riders heading to the United States, the project also supports Ben Oliver who is racing the UCI World Cup XC Mountain Bike series. Oliver has already completed the first round in Brazil before heading to Europe for the next six months.

Caption: Southland’s Josh Burnett claims a stage win during last year’s SBS Bank Tour of Southland. Photo: Tour of Southland

There’s a bit of excitement surrounding Josh Burnett, the former national age group mountainbike champion who announced himself in a big way when he won two stages on debut on last year’s Tour of Southland.

Despite the fact he’ll have to sit law exams and start new courses online while he’s overseas, Burnett is really excited about what the next few months hold.

You can’t blame him, especially considering his last trip to the United States two years ago lasted just six days before he had to rush home to avoid being caught outside New Zealand’s closing borders.

“I’m looking forward to doing as many races as I can, and the harder the races the better,” he says.

“It will be cool just to spend a few months in a different country and spend some time hanging out with my mates, get some good results for myself and for the other guys in the team. I’ve raced a lot with these guys and we’ll have a lot of fun on and off the bike.”

One race Burnett is particularly looking forward to is the Belgian Waffle Ride, something referred to as an unroad road race - with good reason considering it includes 217km of dirt, gravel, single track, creek crossings and headwinds.

Burnett is immensely grateful for the platform which Canny has created for him and other young riders.

“The team has been around way longer than I have been in cycling and I’m really fortunate to be in this team. It definitely wouldn’t be possible without the Southland businesses and the work that James puts in. A lot of people probably don’t realise how tough it is running a cycling team. He does a lot and it’s pretty cool to see someone that passionate about cycling giving back in the way that he does.”

We said we’d come back to the finances, and it’s only fair because it’s a vital aspect of any professional sports story.

While most are aware of the impact the team has annually in Southland - they’ve won every Tour of Southland category except the silver jersey over the years, some multiple times - but Canny relies on ongoing and committed investment to keep his team running throughout the year.

“A core part of our team's success has been the support we have received from the community of Southland, businesses in Southland, and ultimately competing in the SBS Bank Tour of Southland each year,” Canny says.

“We are able to do this due to the investment, support and passion of the team at MitoQ - our primary backer. MitoQ is a breakthrough cell health molecule that enhances your energy and vitality at a deep foundational level, so you can get more out of life. Sitting alongside MitoQ's title sponsorship we have continued and rock solid support from Southland businesses.”

Canny is rightfully proud that 14 years after starting the team, he’s sending a squad abroad led by one of Southland’s most talented riders and supported by loyal Southland businesses.

“Creation Signs and Riki Shuttleworth have been sponsoring our team for going on 12 years,” Canny says.

“Similarly SBS Bank has backed the team for the past five years and for 2022 we have been lucky enough to have Paul Adams and David Glen at Stabicraft Marine join as sponsors of our worldwide programme. We also have accomodation support from Geoff and Yvonne Shepherd at 295 On Tay every year for the Tour of Southland.”

After the United States, Canny hopes to send his team to Japan, China and Australia before coming home to once again do battle in Southland in November. It goes without saying he’d love to see Burnett become the first Southlander to win his home race since 1994.

“Ultimately our aim is to give these guys the opportunity to crack the big time.”