Samuel William Gaze (born 12 December 1995) is a New Zealand cross-country and road cyclist, who currently rides for

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

. He won the under-23 Cross-Country at the

2016 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships The 2016 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships was the 27th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships. Unlike in previous years, the world championships for the various disciplines were held at two different locations. ...

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.

Career

At the Men's cross-country event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Gaze won the silver medal behind fellow New Zealand rider

Anton Cooper Anton Cooper (born 11 August 1994) is a New Zealand cross-country cyclist who races for the Trek Factory Racing XC Team. He is the 2015 World Under 23 Cross-country Mountain bike champion and the 2012 World Junior Cross-country Mountain bike ...

. Gaze was selected ahead of Cooper, who suffered medical conditions during 2016, to represent New Zealand at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. 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 The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is a multi-round mountain bike racing series that is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The first World Cup series – which was composed of cross-country events – was held in 1989. The Downhill W ...

title, when he claimed the cross country event in the first round of the season in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. 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 The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

for showing Cooper

the finger In Western culture, "the finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent i ...

during the race. In August 2019, Gaze joined

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

as a stagiaire for the second half of the season. For 2020, Gaze joined the team to contest road and mountain biking events.

Personal life

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent, Gaze affiliates to the

Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and arou ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

Major results

Mountain bike

;2014 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Cross-country,

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

;2015 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Eliminator, UCI Urban World Championships ;2016 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

Cross-country, National Championships : 1st Jersey rainbow

Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships : UCI Under-23 XCO World Cup ::1st

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

::1st

Albstadt Albstadt () is the largest city in the district of Zollernalbkreis in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Swabian Jura mountains, about halfway between Stuttgart and Lake Constance. Geography Albstadt is spread across a variety of ...

::3rd

La Bresse La Bresse () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The area is known for its ski resorts and outdoor activities. La Bresse is located about 45 km west of Colmar and 55 km north west of Mulhouse in ...

::3rd

Lenzerheide Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein. The ...

;2017 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships ;2018 : 1st Gold medal blank

Cross-country,

: UCI XCO World Cup ::1st

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

: UCI XCC World Cup ::1st Nové Město ::1st

Mont-Sainte-Anne Mont-Sainte-Anne is a ski resort in Eastern Canada, eastern Canada, located in the town of Beaupré, Quebec, about northeast of Quebec City. The mountain is part of the Laurentian Mountains, Laurentian mountain chain and has a summit elevation o ...

::2nd

: Copa Catalana Internacional ::1st

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

: 2nd Cross-country, Oceania Championships ;2021 : Swiss Bike Cup ::1st

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

: Copa Catalana Internacional BTT ::1st

;2022 :

UCI World Championships The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

::1st

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

::1st

Short track : 1st Gold medal blank

Cross-country,

: UCI XCC World Cup ::1st

: Copa Catalana Internacional ::2nd

Vallnord Vallnord () is a ski/snowboard resort in the Pyrenees mountains in the country of Andorra, close to the border with Spain at Tor, Pallars. Overview It encompasses the linked sectors of Pal and Arinsal (the sectors were linked by a cable car ...

Road

;2017 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

National Criterium Championships ;2018 : 1st MaillotNuevaZelanda

National Criterium Championships

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaze, Samuel 1995 births Living people New Zealand male cyclists Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Sportspeople from Tokoroa Cross-country mountain bikers New Zealand mountain bikers Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of New Zealand Te Āti Awa people New Zealand Māori sportspeople Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games