Strong NZ cycling team for Glasgow 2026
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
A 19-strong cycling contingent to contest track cycling events at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games has been confirmed for New Zealand.
The Scottish sporting city and aptly named Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome has been a happy hunting ground for Kiwi track cyclists who earned 11 medals at the 2014 edition of the Commonwealth Games.
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It was also home to New Zealand’s most successful UCI Track World Championships three years ago when kiwi track riders amassed a record eight medals.
NZ Team cyclists selected for Glasgow 2026:
Sprint: Ellesse Andrews (Christchurch), Olivia King (Hamilton), Rebecca Petch (Te Awamutu), Sam Dakin (Auckland)
Endurance: Marshall Erwood (Invercargill), Keegan Hornblow (Nelson), George Jackson (Wellington), Nick Kergozou (Invercargill), Daniel Morton (Auckland), Tom Sexton (Invercargill), Bryony Botha (Auckland), Samantha Donnelly (Christchurch), Prudence Fowler (Auckland), Emily Shearman (Palmerston North), Ally Wollaston (Auckland)
Para-cycling: Devon Briggs (Cambridge), Nicole Murray (Hamilton), Emma Foy (Dargaville) with pilot Jessie Hodges (Hamilton)
Both Ellesse Andrews and Bryony Botha have been strong performers on the track in recent years and return to the New Zealand Team with fond memories of the Commonwealth Games, having amassed seven medals between them.
Glasgow 2026 also marks the first combined New Zealand track cycling team with three Para-cyclists in the Waikato trio of Nicole Murray, Devon Briggs and Emma Foy with pilot Jessie Hodges.
The trio earned nine medals between them at the UCI Track World Championships last year, led by a gold medal for Briggs in the 10,000m, while Murray and Briggs collectively won seven medals at the UCI World Championships in Glasgow in 2023, where Murray won gold in the Omnium.
The Commonwealth Games remains an important building block for the Cycling New Zealand programme, as a quality, standalone international competition.
“We’re grateful Commonwealth Sport has kept the Games alive and it remains a key event for us as we look towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Summer Games,” said Cycling New Zealand High Performance Manager, Ryan Hollows.
“We have a strong team of proven performers and emerging talent focussed on strong execution.
“Additionally, our track teams train alongside our Para-cyclists and it will be a special experience to compete with them in Glasgow,” he said.
The track sprint team comprises Olympic triple medallist Ellesse Andrews, alongside team starter Rebecca Petch, recently returned after the birth of her son, and Paris 2024 reserve, Olivia King.
Sam Dakin, who has announced he will retire after Games, is the sole male sprinter.
The women’s endurance squad is led by New Zealand National road champion Ally Wollaston and fellow Paris 2024 medallists Bryony Botha and Emily Shearman.
They are joined by exciting newcomers Samantha Donnelly and Prudence Fowler, who have been key contributors over the past two years.
The men’s endurance pack is a strong and experienced group with Olympians Keegan Hornblow, Nick Kergozou, George Jackson and Tom Sexton joined by exciting newcomers Marshall Erwood and Daniel Morton.
The team will complete their final preparations at a training camp in the UK ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games starting on July 23.