A young Timaru cyclist has pedalled his way to his first international race wins.
In his third year competing abroad in the United States and Canada as part of the NZ Cycling Project team, 23-year-old James Wilson has finally made it on to the top step of the podium after several second and third place finishes in the past.
Wilson said he arrived in the US in mid-May and started the trip with a third place finish in New Jersey’s Tour of Plainfield and then another third place at the Easton Criterium in Pennsylvania.
Illness then hampered his races at the Armed Forces Cycling Classic in Washington DC and after a two and a-halfweek break, he travelled with the team to Canada, where he served as a reserve rider and helper for a five-day stage race.
However, it all came together for him when they returned to the US for the Tour of America’s Dairyland, an 11-day series with races held every day in different towns around Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Wilson said his team dominated the event, winning eight of the 11 races.
‘‘The series started off with my team-mate and I lapping the field. He won and I was second, it was a really good way to start.
‘‘I picked up my first ever international win in Kenosha on day three and then another one in Hartland on day seven.
‘‘Overall my team-mate won five [days], I won two and my other team-mate won one. I finished up second overall in the series, so it was a super successful series for both the team and myself.’’
He said his two wins were very different in nature.
‘‘The one in Hartland was probably the coolest because I out-sprinted the current US National Criterium Champion and the 2025 US National Criterium Champion.
‘‘The win in Kenosha was pretty cool as well, it was solo. I really got to savour the moment and celebrate crossing the line by myself but beating some of America’s best crit riders in a pure sprint was amazing.
‘‘Until the last corner I was supporting my team-mate but he got pushed wide and it opened up a gap for me. In crit racing you’ve got to take every opportunity you can and I just put my head down.
‘‘When I crossed the line it was a photo finish and neither me or Lucas [Bourgoyne] who finished second knew who had won. It wasn’t until I did a full full warm down lap and got back to the start line that I heard the announcer say that I’d won.’’
Wilson said it was pretty special to get this first international race wins.
‘‘With the first one there was definitely a lot of emotions. It’s my third year here and I was super close last year with a couple of second places.
‘‘I took a risk not doing the Canada race just to fully focus on the crits and for that to pay off and finally lead to that win that I knew was possible was pretty special.
‘‘You could watch the race online with commentary so all my family back home were listening and watching, which was pretty cool as well.’’
He said he was excited to use his crit racing experience to tackle bigger road races.
‘‘I definitely don’t want to limit myself to crit racing. I think I’m in a really good place and it really suits my riding style but I’m pretty excited to use that experience and apply that to some bigger road races.
‘‘I think on certain road race courses I can definitely get some good results. The team might be going back to China again and if we go back I think I can definitely use the experience I’ve gained in not only knowing where to be and what to do but how to put everything together on and off the bike to complete the win.’’
He said the team would be in the US for another month with the next races coming up for him being Momentum Indy on Saturday and then the Chicago Grit series, that he finished second overall in last year, from July 17-26.
He wished to thank his sponsor, McDermid Auto Collective, for all the continued support.
