Some of the country's most promising cyclists will be speeding around the outskirts of Alexandra for the next four days.
The town is hosting the club road national championships. The women's elite field is stacked with top riders, but otherwise the event is very much about the next generation of cyclists.
The men's under-19 25km time trial shapes as a tight contest, with talented Manawatu riders Campbell Stewart and Robert Stannard and Manukau's James Fouche going head to head.
Fouche won the junior road race at the Oceania Continental Championships in Bendigo last month, while Stannard claimed second place and Stewart is a double junior world champion on the track. Cycling Otago's Kees Duyvesteyn is another rider to watch in the race.
There are a couple of standout local riders in the women's under-19 time trial. Wanaka's Mikayla Harvey and Alexandra's Nicole Shields are expected to do well, but Manukau's Madeleine Park is the No1 ranked rider in the event and will be hard to beat.
In the girl's under-17 time trial, Cycling Otago's Madeleine Cooper-Forster will ride last and shapes as one of the favourites.
The senior women's field includes the New Zealand women's pursuit team of Georgia Williams, Rushlee Buchanan, Jaime Nielsen and Lauren Ellis, while Southland's Kirstie James is in career-best form.
The championships get under way this morning.
