Cycling: Kiwi prospects ready to ride at world champs

Oscar Elworthy, left, and Ben Hamilton. Photo / Dirk Van Hove / Team Skoda Racing Facebook

Two of New Zealand's premier road cycling prospects are preparing for a big climb in competition as they race at the world road cycling championships in Norway.

Ben Hamilton and Oscar Elworthy will be participating in the men's junior road race and time trial at the world champs, following noteworthy performances on the New Zealand age-group road cycling circuit.

Hamilton is New Zealand's under 19 road race champion, and finished second in the time trial, while Elworthy is the time trial champion. Throw in similarly strong results riding for Team Skoda on the NZ road circuit, and the duo stamped their mark as the leading young riders in the country.

Those performances got the pair selected to race in Canada's Tour de l'Abitibi in July, where Hamilton finished sixth overall, and Elworthy 18th.

The pair agree that the experience in Canada has been a massive boost in their preparation for the world champs.

"It was bigger in every way than anything we'd ever raced before - non-stop cycling for a week," says Elworthy.

"A bunch that big [140 riders] and that fast, I'd never really ridden in anything like that before. We were averaging close to 50kmh for almost the first hour of each stage."

That field size is something that can't be replicated in New Zealand, as was the length of the tour, with the pair completing seven stages in six days.

"A really compact field and riding in a bunch was a whole new experience," notes Hamilton.

"It was a pretty important skill we learned going into the world champs, some vital experience that we'll be able to use over there. It was full on racing, the hardest I've ever done before I get to the worlds."

Now, the world stage has arrived, with their first race - the individual time trial - taking place at 9.35pm tonight, before they also compete in the road race on Saturday.

Elworthy is targeting tonight's time trial as his best chance of success, though notes his lead-up has not been ideal due to illness.

"I'm not in the form that I'd like to be in, but if I got a top 10 I'd be more than happy."

While riders can control their fortunes in the time trial, the road race is more unpredictable, and Hamilton is expecting a dynamic race to come down a small group sprint at the end.

"Every lap we have a 1.5 kilometre climb, so the race will get split up quite a bit. Depending on how hard the racing is from the start - how hard we go up the climb - will determine how big the field is at finish.

"I feel it's going to be a course to suit me with the hill, I definitely wouldn't want a dead flat course, I like it to be aggressive and hard racing, so hopefully I can be there over the hill the last time and in the last 10 kilometres, anything can happen."