Samara Sheppard (born 1990) is a

mountain bike racing Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned ...

and

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and ...

cyclist from New Zealand. She competed for New Zealand at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, finishing ninth out of twelve competitors in the women's cross-country competition.

Life

Sheppard was born in Clyde in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand. She suffered a series of injuries as a runner which led her to move into cycling as an alternative sport. She relocated to Australia in 2016 and won a New Zealand title in 2017 and Oceania titles in 2017 and 2018. She also won an Australian title, the elite women's section of the Australian Mountain Bike National Series, in 2018.

Major results

Road

;2020 : 2nd

Gravel and Tar The Gravel and Tar Classic is a one-day cycling race, held annually in the Manawatu region of New Zealand, since 2016, finishing in Palmerston North. It is rated 1.2 and has been part of UCI Oceania Tour since 2018. The race is primarily on seal ...

: 9th Overall

Women's Herald Sun Tour The Women's Herald Sun Tour is an annual professional road bicycle racing event for women in Australia. It is held in conjunction with the Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and ...

References

Living people 1990 births People from Clyde, New Zealand Cyclists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games New Zealand mountain bikers Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand women {{NewZealand-cycling-bio-stub