Kim blasted up and down the 24.1-kilometer course in Timaru on the South Island to take her first national elite title and first pro victory.

“The plan going in was not to be too conservative,” Kim said as she waited for the podium celebrations to begin so she could pull on the New Zealand jersey. “I wanted to go as hard as possible and then just absolutely rip it as hard as I could up the final climb and go with whatever I had to the finish. It was quite a hot day and pretty brutal course out there, but everything went to plan so I was pretty stoked.”

By the end, Kim was over two minutes ahead of her nearest rival. She’d sent it down the first technical descent and then kept on the pedals, cutting through the air on her Cannondale SuperSlice as she maintained her flawless position. On the climb, nothing was going to slow her. She powered up the three-minute wall and on to the finish, crossing the line with a time of 34 minutes and 17 seconds. Kim could hardly believe what she had achieved. She has dreamt of racing in the Kiwi jersey in Europe for years.

“To wear this jersey is going to be amazing,” she says. “It is something that I have always dreamt of. I remember when I got the under-23 jersey a couple of years ago, I looked up to the elites and was like I am never ever going to be able to get there; they were still two minutes in front of me. Now, to be standing here with the jersey myself is amazing and to be able to take it to Europe is a cool feeling. I know I’m going to be doing some time trials this year so to be wearing the New Zealand fern is very exciting. It’s my first ever elite title and I am super happy just because my whole family is here; it’s my dad’s birthday and I have worked really hard towards getting this title and I am really excited to have achieved what we have worked all summer for.”

Congratulations, Kim. Rapha is going to design you a beautiful New Zealand champion’s speedsuit. And good luck in the road race tomorrow!