The Ramblers Cycling Club in Hawkes Bay will host New Zealand's 2008 Elite and Under 23 national road championships while the ILT Velodrome in Invercargill will host the 2008 national track cycling championships.
The road race will be undertaken on a challenging Apley Road circuit (near Napier) in January. The men will race approximately 180 km while the women will do just over 100 km.
For Hawkes Bay, it will mean the cream of New Zealand cycling will compete on its door step on January 11 and 13, 2008. Ramblers Chairman Ivan Aplin said, "We will see the who's who of cycling right here in Hawkes Bay. It will be a huge boost for Hawkes Bay cycling and provide a great opportunity to showcase the region."
2008 will mark the second year the event has been set up so as to attract the professional riders when home from overseas. Bike New Zealand's Ted Jones expects considerable interest in both the elite road and national championships given that 2008 is an Olympic year.
Upper Hutt hosted this year's Elite and U23 road championships, which were won by Julian Dean (road) and Glen Chadwick (time trial). Otago's Ali Shanks won both the women's time trial and road race.
The 2008 track cycling championships will be held in February or March.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
