The 16-year-old Mount Aspiring College pupil is one of 13 young mountain bikers who will train at the new Mountain Bike National Performance
Hub in Rotorua. Run by Cycling New Zealand, the performance hub aims to increase the quantity and quality of riders in the national high-performance programme.
Training camps will be held in Rotorua on a regular basis and the athletes will also take part in other programmes, including those related to sports science and nutrition.
"They’re trying to get us to the next level," Phoebe said.
Because of the small number of riders in New Zealand it was difficult to know what the level of competition would be at international events, she said.
"Going over to Europe and stuff there’s a huge number of people racing. ... so you can only judge it when you go over for a race."
She had already competed internationally in the past year and had her sights set on qualifying for the 2017 world championships in Cairns.
For now her focus would be on finishing her NCEA exams, trying to balance study with her training.
"It’s actually quite nice you can go out for a ride and get a break from studying."
The first training camp at the high-performance hub is in early December.
