2023 has been another exciting year for the OCC, with American Samoa becoming the ninth full member federation. Growing cycling in the Pacific continues to be a focus, with the second edition of Pacific Cup successfully held in Tahiti, which was again contested by six countries over the road race and time trial.

Other successful development projects completed include rolling out our first bike mechanics training course for the Pacific, hosted by our new sustainability partners Revolve Recycling. We followed up on last year’s coaching and officiating training and delivered some reconditioned bikes for Samoa’s School Development Program.

The big news though is confirmation that cycling is now part of the sport program for the 2027 Pacific Games in Tahiti.

Oceania riders continued to excel on the bike with world champions crowned and outstanding performances in international events. 67 World Championship medals were won in 2023, headlined by Ellesse Andrews (women’s keirin), Aaron Gate (men’s points race) and Sam Gaze (men’s cross-country short track) at the 2023 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.

At the top level of road cycling, riders from Oceania tasted success in the UCI World Tour for men and women. Across the Men’s and Women’s World Tours Oceania athletes secured ten podium finishes. Jai Hindley won stage five of the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey, while Kaden Groves claimed the green jersey at the Vuelta a Espana and won a total of four stages across the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta.

Saya Sakakibara of Australia was crowned the 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Champion after claiming wins in five of the nine rounds. In the Under 23 men’s category New Zealand’s Rico Bearman won six rounds to take out the overall title.

Early 2024 will see Australia and New Zealand host the best in the world across Track, BMX Racing and Para-cycling with four World Cup events in just over a month. Adelaide, Australia will host the first round of the UCI Para-Cycling Road World and UCI Track Nations Cup. BMX Racing has four World Cup rounds beginning in Rotorua, New Zealand before heading to Brisbane, Australia. In May, Cairns, Australia will welcome athletes from across the world for the UCI Mountain Bike Masters World Championships.

The international road cycling season begins its traditional season start in Australia and New Zealand. Both the men’s and women’s UCI World Tours open with the Santos Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. New Zealand will also host two UCI races with the New Zealand Cycle Classic and Gravel and Tar La Femme and Classic providing further top level racing in our region.

The quest for Oceania titles will see the best athletes from our region compete in Oceania Championships in four cities, across Track (including Para-cycling, BMX Racing, Mountain Bike, BMX Freestyle and Road (including Para-cycling). You can see the full details of the Championships calendar here.