Euan Mason flourishing in competitive cycling environment

Promising young cyclist Euan Mason. Photo / David Haxton

A young newcomer to the world of competitive cycling is making himself known.

Euan Mason, 17, from Paraparaumu, has been making an imprint at national secondary schools road racing in the last few years.

And this month competed at his first velodrome meeting where he impressed.

He’s just competed in his first indoor track race, on his Avanti Pista, as part of the North Island and national school championships, held in Cambridge, at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome.

In the U19 scratch, he was 15th out of 25 riders, was fifth place in heat three in the keirin, came 18th in the tempo points, was sixth in the team pursuit, and seventh in the team composite sprint.

And a few days earlier, among 65 competitors, and on his Giant TCR, he came ninth in the road race and 15th in the criterium.

Euan Mason, pictured front in white kit and helmet, attacks during a scratch race.

The Paraparaumu College Year 13 student was rapt with his indoor and outdoor results.

“It was a great experience and I’m really quite happy.

“This is my last year of school racing. Next year I’ll be in the U23 category.

“But for top national level, especially being my first indoor velodrome race, I was pretty pleased with how I went.”

Euan got involved in the North Island school championships three years ago.

“It has been great going to all the schools’ racing and getting a foot in the door. It’s quite a big scene and you get to ride against a lot of competitors.”

Euan’s interest in cycling started about three and a half years ago when his uncle Andrew Lowe encouraged him to tackle the Karapoti Classic mountain bike race, over 50km, for a bit of fun.

“I got hooked from there.”

In the last year, Euan joined the Cycling Tom Devo team.

“That was a major progression step for me, and is when I really started to compete at the top national level, going to age group and elite nationals.”

He’s now part of the Fitlab team.

“I’m consistently sitting top 10 around most of the national road series races, which is a junior series of about four or five races a year in varying locations.”

He’s a member of the Kāpiti Cycling Club too.

Euan Mason leads a Kapiti Cycling Club summer series criterium A grade race which he won.

“They were the first people I started riding and training with when I was 15. They have been fundamental to my success.

“The club is currently holding their winter series in Te Horo and I’m winning the A grade.”

Euan does a lot of training with his current schedule notching up 20 to 24 hours a week, including cycling, running and gym work.

His training is monitored by his Wellington-based coach Steve Bale, from the Fitlab team.

Pausing to capture a tranquil seaside.

Euan said he wanted to “take the sport as far as I can and enjoy it as much as I can”.

“My goal for the short-term is to hopefully jump on a U23 team, either a New Zealand Elite or Pro Continental somewhere, to really keep pushing and progressing my cycling, and see what the next step is after that.”

But overall he’s simply glad he got into cycling.

“Everyone has something they’re into, and pursue, and I found cycling.

“It’s what I enjoy, it’s what I’m good at, and it’s what I want to keep trying to do.”