Shaane Fulton is one of fourteen, in a Kiwi riding team, who will be representing Cycling New Zealand in Switzerland in August.
The Junior World Track Cycling Championships will be held at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) headquarters in Aigle next month, and Shaane says she is “super excited” to be competing.
“It will be cool to be back competing in the champs again. I competed in Italy last year and it was so overwhelming! But now I know what to expect going into this year’s race, I can relax a little bit and enjoy it.”
Coming from an elite cycling background, her mother and father, Karen and Dean Fulton, and her grandmother, Christine van Hoppe, are all standout cyclists in their own right, she says it is in her blood, “I guess you could say it has passed down through the family!
“My nana was president of Tasman Wheelers for many, many years, she was president when I started racing, she has been a huge influence on me. Mum and Dad have been huge supporters right from the start. They gave me the nudge, they took me to Junior Trackies (Nelson Cycle Club) and they have always been there through everything. Mum’s cycling has always been an inspiration for me personally, and to be a high-performance athlete is my goal. Watching those athletes on the track, that is where I want to be.” Her family will be meeting Shaane over in Switzerland for the event, but in the meantime she is in Cambridge with the rest of the team, for a month-long training camp to finish her build-up before flying out to the event.
“Our families are meeting us over there, at the champs. It was amazing last year to have our own little Kiwi crowd waving the New Zealand flag and seeing familiar faces in the crowd. It was pretty special.”
This will be Shaane’s last year competing at Junior level as next year, she says, she will be playing with the big guns and is looking forward to stepping up to the challenge.
You can follow Shaane’s progress on her Facebook page: Shaane Fulton Junior Athlete