Kim is still new enough to cycling that she’s not sure yet what her strengths are but she knows what she’s passionate about.

“I love climbing. I love getting to ride uphill,” she says. “But I also love time trials. If it’s a hard, long effort, that’s probably my strong point. I’ve always loved the mountains. I live in a mountainous area of New Zealand. The reason I love climbing is because it’s just pushing hard on the pedals while going uphill. I think it’s not as complicated as cycling can be at times and I like the simplicity of just riding hard and getting to embrace that. Plus making it to the top of a mountain is super awesome. And with the time trial, I just really enjoy being alone on the road, being as aero as possible, and pushing myself to my limits.”

General manager Esra Trump values Kim’s innate ability to push herself to her limits and believes it will take her far in the sport.

“On the bike, she’s a monster,” Esra says. “She wants to get everything out of herself to help her team get a result. She doesn’t give up. You can see that she wants to dig really, really deep and that’s really cool. She only discovered cycling in the last few years and she has a big talent for climbing. What she brings to the team is a lot of power, especially to the races with mountains. Our plan is to develop her over the years to become one of the best climbers in the world. That is her dream and we will help her get there.”

Kim knows that she has the power, but she also knows that she has a lot of work ahead of her to become the athlete she wants to be, which is why signing with EF Education-Cannnondale was so appealing.    

“I’m really new to the sport so this is a wise step in my career. Joining a team with so many experienced riders, really great management, and a positive team environment is a good pathway for me to keep developing and learning,” Kim says.

As a teenager, Kim took up triathlon but in the span of just 18 months, she had so many running injuries that she spent most of her time riding. Bored of training for no particular reason, she decided to race her age group in the New Zealand cycling national championships. She enjoyed the experience and people she met, so she continued to sign up for more and more races, eventually coming to Europe and earning a professional contract.

Kim is the first person to acknowledge how far she’s come in cycling in such a short period.

“I still think it’s insane to look at myself as an elite athlete. It’s such a change in your life. You’re just going about your day to day life and then the next day you’re at the Tour of Scandinavia being flown by the race organization on a charter flight on a plane full of athletes. It just seems crazy to me at times but I’m definitely enjoying it.”

There’s a lot to enjoy in Kim’s life. In October, she’ll return to New Zealand to spend a few months with her family and friends, filling her days with hikes and mountain bike rides and walks with the family dog. She and her fiancé have a few last wedding preparations to finalize before they get married in January. Kim is halfway through her sports management degree but has put that on hold for the time being to allow her to focus on racing.

“I do like my studies but we’ll see where that goes. Actually, I want to be a midwife but I can’t study that online, it has to be done in person. Maybe that’s what I’ll do after I’ve finished my cycling career,” Kim pauses and adds with a laugh, “but I hope that won’t be for a long time yet!”

“I’m super, super excited for next year,” she says. “Knowing what this team is about makes me smile a lot, makes me really happy. I’m just excited to meet everybody and get going.”

There’s a lot to be excited for, Kim. Welcome to the team!