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Sam Gaze

New Zealand mountain bike racer

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Samuel William Gaze (born 12 December 1995) is a New Zealand cross-country and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Alpecin-Premier Tech. He won the under-23 Cross-Country at the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships and the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. He also competes on occasion in road racing events, winning the National Criterium Championships in 2017 and 2018.

01Career

At the Men's cross-country event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Gaze won the silver medal behind fellow New Zealand rider Anton Cooper. Gaze was selected ahead of Cooper, who had medical conditions during 2016, to represent New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He had two punctures in the Olympic race and his gears failed, and he pulled out when he got lapped.

In March 2018, Gaze became the first New Zealander to win an elite UCI Mountain Bike World Cup title, when he claimed the cross country event in the first round of the season in Stellenbosch, South Africa. In April 2018, Gaze won the gold medal in the cross country event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Despite his win, Gaze came under significant media attention for his perceived unsportsmanlike behaviour towards his compatriot and silver place winner Cooper. Gaze was fined CHF200 by the International Cycling Union for showing Cooper the finger during the race.

In August 2019, Gaze joined UCI WorldTeam Deceuninck-Quick-Step as a stagiaire for the second half of the season. For 2020, Gaze joined the Alpecin-Fenix team to contest road and mountain biking events.

02Personal life

Of Māori descent, Gaze affiliates to the Te Āti Awa iwi.

03Major results

Mountain bike

2014
2nd Cross-country, Commonwealth Games
2015
2nd Eliminator, UCI Urban World Championships
2016
1st Cross-country, National Championships
1st Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships
UCI Under-23 XCO World Cup
1st Cairns
1st Albstadt
3rd La Bresse
3rd Lenzerheide
2017
1st Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships
2018
1st Cross-country, Commonwealth Games
UCI XCO World Cup
1st Stellenbosch
UCI XCC World Cup
1st Nové Město
1st Mont-Sainte-Anne
2nd Albstadt
Copa Catalana Internacional
1st Girona
2nd Cross-country, Oceania Championships
2021
Swiss Bike Cup
1st Basel
Copa Catalana Internacional
1st Girona
1st Sittard
2022
UCI World Championships
1st Marathon
1st Short track
1st Cross-country, Commonwealth Games
UCI XCC World Cup
1st Albstadt
1st Wijster
Copa Catalana Internacional
2nd Vallnord
2023
UCI World Championships
1st Short track
2nd Cross-country
XCO French Cup
1st Guéret
2nd Marseille-Luminy
Shimano Super Cup
1st La Nucia
XCC French Cup
1st Guéret
UCI XCC World Cup
2nd Nové Město
2024
UCI XCC World Cup
1st Mairiporã
1st Val di Sole
3rd Les Gets

Road

2017
1st National Criterium Championships
4th Time trial, National Under-23 Championships
2018
1st National Criterium Championships
10th Road race, Commonwealth Games

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Watch videos about Sam GazeExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Sam Gaze, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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