| Cycling New Zealand Maori: Eke Paihikara Aotearoa | |
| Abbrev: | CNZ |
| Logosize: | 200px |
| Sport: | Cycling |
| Jurisdiction: | New Zealand |
| Aff: | UCI |
| Region: | OCC |
| Headquarters: | Cambridge, New Zealand |
| Chairperson: | Phil Holden |
| Url: | www.cyclingnewzealand.nz |
| Countryflag: | New Zealand |
Cycling New Zealand (Maori: Eke Paihikara Aotearoa), originally known as BikeNZ, is the national governing body for cycling organisations in New Zealand, and represents the interests of BMX NZ, Cycling New Zealand Road & Track, Mountain Bike NZ, and Cycling New Zealand Schools (formerly NZ Schools Cycling Association).[1] Cycling New Zealand covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX, BMX freestyle, e-cycling sports, para-cycling, and recreational and commuter riding.
Cycling New Zealand was established in July 2003 and is a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Oceania Cycling Confederation (OCC). It is also recognised by the New Zealand Government, the New Zealand Olympic Committee, and the New Zealand Paralympic Committee.
Cycling New Zealand's mission is to ensure cyclists of every age and ability are given the opportunity to participate, develop, compete and perform at the level they aspire to.[1]
From November 2008 until December 2012, Rabobank New Zealand was the principal sponsor of BikeNZ.[2] [3] After the sponsorship arrangement expired, BikeNZ got close to becoming insolvent. Under its new chief executive officer, Andrew Matheson, BikeNZ was rebranded as Cycling New Zealand in December 2014.[4]
Cycling Action Network (CAN), formerly known as Cycling Advocates' Network, another New Zealand cycling organisation, was one of the founding members of BikeNZ and provided one board member from BikeNZ's inception in July 2003. CAN resigned from BikeNZ in October 2007 over disagreements in the focus of BikeNZ's work,[5] but has continued to work with BikeNZ on advocacy issues.[6]
In 2018, former New Zealand solicitor-general, Michael Heron headed an inquiry into Cycling New Zealand following allegations of bullying, intimidation, an inappropriate personal relationship, a dysfunctional culture, a drinking culture, and a lack of accountability. Heron's independent review found there was a dysfunctional culture within Cycling NZ's high performance programme from 2016 until early 2018. Heron found that there had been bullying, but the broad consensus was that it was concentrated around a coach, and there was no evidence of "a widespread, systemic culture of bullying". He was satisfied that a coach and an athlete had an inappropriate relationship. He found there had been a dysfunctional culture, but not a drinking culture, save for a few individuals, the coach being one of them. He found there had been a lack of accountability at Cycling NZ.[7]
Following the 2021 sudden death of Olivia Podmore, CNZ and High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) appointed Herron and Professor Sarah Leberman to co-chair an inquiry. Also sitting on the panel are Dr Lesley Nicol and rowing Olympic medalist, Genevieve Macky. The terms of reference of the inquiry included:[8] [9] [10]
An independent investigation into Cycling New Zealand's handling of athlete selection for the 2020 Olympics uncovered the breach of both Olympic and international cycling regulations. The investigation revealed that the process to replace an athlete during an event in Tokyo didn't respect IOC and UCI rules. High Performance Director Martin Barras resigned after confirmation of an "integrity breach" during the Tokyo Olympics. Jacques Landry, the Chief Executive Officer, also resigned.[11]