Kim Cadzow and Logan Currie claimed the time trial victories at the New Zealand Road National Championships on Thursday in Timaru, with both 22-year-olds taking the wins as they made their elite category debut at the event.
Currie displaced two-time champion Aaron Gate (Burgos-BH) in the 37km elite men’s time trial, although it perhaps was not a particularly surprising turn of events given that the young rider Lotto-Dstny rider claimed the U23 title in 2023 with a time that was faster than that laid down by Gate to take the elite victory.
In the 24.1km women’s elite time trial EF Education-Cannondale’s new signing Cadzow delivered an emphatic victory to claim the jersey which the now retired Georgia Williams dominated for the past six years.
“The plan going in was not to be too conservative,” Cadzow said.
“I wanted to go as hard as possible and then just absolutely rip it as hard as I could up the final climb and go with whatever I had to the finish. It was quite a hot day and pretty brutal course out there, but everything went to plan so I was pretty stoked.”
Cadzow finished with a time of 34:17, more than two minutes ahead of nearest challenger Mikayla Harvey (UAE Team ADQ) while Kate McCarthy was a 3:20 back in third.
The margins were tighter In the elite men's category, with Currie’s time of 48:10 putting him 15 seconds ahead of Gate, while the 21-year-old Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race winner Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) was 1:03 back as he secured the final podium spot.
For Currie, who has twice won the U23 time trial title, it was a step up to the elite category in familiar territory as he was brought up riding the roads of the Timaru region, located on the coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
“I did a lot of training on the course. I’ve been down here four times to test the bike,” said Currie.
“It was good to put in a solid ride that I am happy with and managed to snag the national jersey with it, so I am absolutely stoked.”
Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla Jayco) snared the U23 women’s time trial with a time of 35:35, with the 21 year old delivering the closest time to that of elite winner Cadzow. Guy Yarrell (Oxford Edge) claimed the U23 men’s race against the clock, finishing seven seconds ahead of Lucas Murphy. In the U19 men it was Reef Roberts who was quickest across the 24.1km course, and in the U19 women, run over 14.8km, it was Kirsty Watts who claimed the title.
Competition at the New Zealand Championships continues on Friday with the U23 and elite women’s road race as well as the U19 men’s road race. Then on Saturday the U19 women will race before the U23 and elite men close out the competition.
