02 Nov Young U19 Hannah Looking To Take Her Cycling To the Next Level
U19 Hannah Batram has big plans for her cycling and is keen to join a team that will help her take it to the next level. With a 7th at the U19 Oceania Championships as a first year U19 and winning the South Islands Schools Tour Hannah’s results show she has what it takes to give cycling a shot as she moves through the Junior ranks into Elite riding over the next few years.
Hannah is loaded with passion for her sport and has an eagerness to learn and continually push her limits. Matched with this is Hannah’s fantastic off the bike attitude and communication skills. Often cyclists ignore this important aspect of what it takes to become a professional – being a team player, working well with sponsors and positively communicating the values and ideals of the team are just as important as hammering it on the bike. Team manager Patrick was very impressed in 2017 when a young U17 took the time out to talk to him after a Calder Stewart race “Hannah was super impressive. As a young rider she took the time to seek us out and talk about her desire to be a part of the MGHWCT. She was polite, driven and clearly had the desire to take her cycling to the next level and join our team. Unfortunately we didn’t have any spots available in 2019 but had a spot ‘reserved’ for Hannah if she was keen again in 2019 – which we are glad she is”.
Hannah’s positive attitude to racing and team first approach has always been obvious and with Hayden Roulston looking to fine tune her training and racing skills as she moves towards Elite racing she will go from strength to strength. “Hannah has a very positive approach to racing – not afraid to take risks and push her boundaries instead of racing conservatively. Hannah sees the big picture and realises racing as a junior is about learning and challenging yourself, not necessarily about results. This was evident at the Oceania Championships where Hannah kept working hard, attempting breaks and not happy to let the race winning break get away. This probably cost her some places at the finale but we loved the attitude!” says Harvey.
“Time and time again in the Calder Stewart series we see Hannah in a break or actively working to chase it down if her team mates are up the road. We love this attitude, Hannah looks at racing from a wholistic perspective and her long term goals are what interest us most.”
In 2018 we worked very hard to insure our riders had a chance for selection to the Junior Road world Championships, and once again in 2019 we will be working hard to give Hannah and fellow U19 team mate Stella the best chance for selection and to race well at Worlds. We have an unmatched program in NZ of domestic and overseas racing that prepares our riders will for international level competitions and we hope to include Hannah in these again in 2019.
To get a further insight into our riders we asked a few questions, here is what Hannah had to say:
Why do you love cycling?
“I love cycling because it gives me the chance to push myself both physically and mentally beyond my limits. I get a good sense of intrinsic motivation as I achieve my own goals even if it isn’t always success but slightly smaller such as hard work.”
What are your most memorable experiences so far in your cycling career?
“A memorable experience was the junior tours have given me the development figuring out what type of rider I want to develop into and how I was to race. The support of meeting all the people who have prepared me and helped me.”
Who is your cycling idol?
“Richie Porte or if has female Macey Stewart”
Who best represents the type of cyclist you would like most to be like?
“TT’er and climber”
What is the ultimate race you would like to experience?
“Firstly as a junior: bc super week, junior worlds eventually something like Amgen tour of California, tour down under, giro rosa, tour of Flanders etc”
What is your favourite Womens UCI team?
“Mitchelton Scott or Wiggle High5”
What is your favourite indulgent food?
“100% Peanut Butter”
What do you hope to accomplish with MGHWCT in 2019
“Hoping to brush up on my mistakes that I make during my races and take on heaps of new learning around racing smarter and developing as a rider along with getting the opportunities to experience different international/UCI races.”