More than 200 riders have entered the two-day championships at Signal Hill. The championships consist of cross-country and downhill.
World No7 Cooper, who is among a several high-profile riders to contest the championships, is out to defend the title he won in Australia last year.
He will face compatriot Sam Gaze, the double under-23 world champion, and Australian star, Dan McConnell, who was ranked as high as No5 in the world.
This trio filled the podium at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and are destined to dominate the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast in April.
''This is an important race, for sure. For me this year I have two peaks, at the Commonwealth Games, if I am selected, and then the world championships later in the year,'' Cooper said.
''I am keeping a lid on things a bit and not doing too much intensity but I am happy where I am at right now,'' he said
Cooper beat McConnell in the recent Australian national series race on the Commonwealth Games course in Nerang.
''The Oceania champs carry some important points and on top of that, I would like to defend my title. The points will help with the start positions in the early World Cup and also for the Commonwealth Games.''
Cooper has been working in the gym as well as back on his bike since December, putting in place the basic building blocks needed for the year.
Gaze has been in sparkling form on the road over recent the summer, winning the Taupo Cycle Challenge in November, the national criterium championships in December and racing prominently in the national road championships in January.
He also has his sights set on the Commonwealth Games after winning silver behind Cooper in Glasgow.
The 22-year-old will head to South Africa after the weekend for a training camp and build up for the opening UCI World Cup in Stellenbosch next month.
National champion McConnell is on a similar pathway and will look to carry the Australian flag in Dunedin, after a strong finish to 2017 with a top-10 placing at the world championships in Cairns.
Australian-based Kiwi Samara Sheppard will defend her women's title from last year, and has started the year in outstanding form. She won the first four rounds of the Australian national series, including the test event on the Commonwealth Games course.
The challenge from across the Tasman will come from McConnell (nee Henderson), the Glasgow Commonwealth Games medallist, ranked 17th in the world, who was second behind Sheppard at Nerang.
Holly Harris was runner-up in the Australian national series and the national championships behind McConnell, stepping up from the under-23 division.
Also back to strong form is Glasgow Commonwealth Games rider Kate Fluker, a three-time New Zealand champion, who was second behind Sheppard at the Gold Coast recently.
