Talented young Tasman Wheelers rider Shaane Fulton will be taking a break from training this Saturday when she will be helping run a tour around Hope as a fund-raiser for her trip to Italy with the New Zealand team for the UCI junior world track cycling championships.
Shaane was named in the 13-rider team to contest the championships in Montichiari from August 23-27. The 16-year-old Waimea College student will contest the sprint races at the worlds after winning gold in the under-19 sprint at the national champs in Invercargill earlier this year.
But first she needs to raise some funds to pay for her travel and so has been organising the Mini Tour of Hope to help get her to Italy. Saturday’s two-stage tour will feature a race for A to D grade riders around the Hope circuit followed by a time trial up the Aniseed Valley hill.
Shaane says she is fortunate to have support from the Tasman Wheelers and a number of sponsors including FreshChoice Richmond, Pomeroy’s, Sprig & Fern and Rapaura Springs. The Wheelers volunteers, including president and Shaane’s grandmother Christine van Hoppe, will help run the tour while the sponsors have provided performance and spot prizes.
“It’s really good that everyone is helping me,” Shaane says. “I really appreciate their support.”
Shaane says she is training hard for the worlds and is presently in the middle of a “power-strength block” that involves two gym sessions, an erg session, two road rides and two track sessions a week. She will also spend four weeks training at the National Cycling Centre of Excellence in Cambridge and race in the International Track Race Series and Tasman Cup in Australia from July 25-29 before flying to Italy on August 13.
“It’s a big training load at the moment but everything is going well,” Shaane says. “I’m really enjoying it and can’t wait to get up to Cambridge.”
Registration for the Mini Tour of Hope opens at 12pm. Entry is $10 for students and $20 for adults.
