A hilltop finish promises to provide a challenging final lap for the 2025 Cycling New Zealand Road Cycling National Championships in Timaru.
The Cycling South Canterbury cub will host the championships for a sixth time, following on from the outstanding championships in Timaru this year.
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The championship road races will be staged on the same 25km loop in the rural district of Claremont, west of Timaru city, set for February 6-8, 2025.
The course, which starts at Claremont Hall, includes the challenging climb known by locals as Briggs Zigzag, which has a 14 percent gradient and rises 85m in elevation. While it is not a long climb, the sharp rise is expected to take its toll on the legs over multi laps.
The climb on each lap links back to Claremont Hall, although the change this year will see the final lap finish at the top of the Briggs Zigzag climb.
Organisers believe it will make for a challenging, exciting, and gut-busting final sprint for glory.
This year’s elite men’s winner Aaron Gate, who recently announced his move to UCI WorldTour team, Astana Qazaqstan from next year, is hopeful he can return to defend his title.
“Timaru is on the schedule. I have fond memories so it would be a shame not to go back there,” said Gate. “I have not had a chance to sit down to discuss my schedule in-depth yet, but I am hopeful that I will get underway at Tour Down Under which is a race I have yet to do and will be nice to do.”
If Gate competes in Adelaide, then he expects to ride in his national champion’s jersey and then hopes he is can defend the title in Timaru.
“If I race in Timaru, there will be some pressure from the new team to do well there, so I will be putting my best foot forward. To finish on the top of the climb will make things interesting.”
The programme comprises the Time Trial for all grades on Thursday 6 February, followed by the road races for Under-19 Women, Under-19 Men and combined Under-23 and Elite Women on Friday 7 February, leaving the Under-23 and Elite Men’s road race on Saturday 8 February.