As the very last baby born in New Zealand in the 20th century, Olympic cycling star Ellesse Andrews has hit her milestone of 25 years at great speed. Now she’s started the next era of her life at a new pace.
After a whirlwind 2024, where Ellesse won an astounding two gold medals and a silver on the cycling track at the Olympic Games in Paris, she’s been taking time out to reset, recharge and “pay myself some attention”, she tells.
That’s meant spending more time with family and friends, especially her partner Josh Toa, and doing things she’d usually be discouraged from doing while training towards a pinnacle sporting event.
She’s been skiing in the South Island, learning to scuba dive in the North and walking the trails around Wānaka, where she spent a good chunk of her childhood. Having celebrated her 25th there on New Year’s Eve, the world’s fastest woman on two wheels reflects on how quickly a quarter of a century has passed.
“I feel like the past few years have really flown by,” muses Ellesse. She’s up against Dame Lisa Carrington and Dame Lydia Ko for Sportswoman of the Year at next month’s Halberg Awards. “There’s been a major cycling event for me every year since 2021. So, it doesn’t really feel like I’m 25 because there hasn’t been a lot of time to stop and breathe.”
Ellesse was born in Christchurch Women’s Hospital at 11.45pm on 31 December 1999. She was the final baby delivered in Aotearoa before the calendar clicked over to a new millennium.

Although her parents Jon and Angela were both cycling champions, they couldn’t have imagined they were cradling a future star who’d go on to become the most successful New Zealand cyclist in Olympic history, with four medals.
She grins, “When I look back at the magazine article that was written about me when I was born, I think, ‘Here’s little baby me. Now I’m turning 25… Wow! It’s crazy.’”
Ellesse spent New Year’s Eve with friends and family in Wānaka. She shared the birthday celebrations with her grandmother Jennifer Mote, who turned 73 on the 31st.
“It’s so special to share my birthday with her,” says Ellesse of the woman she calls Jemma. “I was a pretty good birthday present for her when I first came along!”
Back at home in Cambridge, preparing for another year at the peak of the cycling world, Ellesse sees herself whizzing into a thrilling new phase.

“It’s an exciting time in my career now I’m a little older and a little wiser. But also in my personal life with my partner and my family as well,” she says. “There are a lot of cool things to come this year.”
She aims to be faster and stronger on her bike in 2025. But, Ellesse also wants to pursue more interests away from riding – hiking, diving and singing in a choir.
A talented musician, Ellesse co-wrote and sang Ain’t Just Dreaming, with kayaker Max Brown and Wellington band TOI. It was the uplifting theme song for the New Zealand Olympic Team in Paris.
“I love singing with Max – we have a lot of fun,” she smiles. “I’m very lucky to have musical friends and I really love connecting with my creative side. It’s important for me to maintain balance in my life through my passions.”

She desperately needed to rediscover that balance after her “jam-packed” schedule at the Velodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in Paris.
“I was racing six out of seven days at the Olympics, so it was full gas,” laughs Ellesse. “It’s been really nice to relax a little here and there.
“Most often, I have to avoid activities where I could accidentally hurt myself, temporarily putting me out of cycling. So, I went skiing, which I hadn’t done since after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Then I headed up north to get my Padi licence in Tutukaka. It’s been really cool to unlock a new hobby.”
Josh, a teacher and rowing coach at Cambridge High School, has also recently completed diving qualifications. The couple see it as an adventure they can now do together – “going on holiday and exploring the underwater world”, explains Ellesse.

The couple were introduced by mutual friends and Josh was in Paris – along with Ellesse’s closest family and friends – to watch her step onto the medal dais three times. “He’s very connected to my journey,” she says.
Ellesse chose not to ride at the Track World Champs in Denmark in October. It was a decision she’d made earlier in the year. She explains, “Then I knew I could fully focus on the Olympics and not have to stress too much about what’s next. It was the right decision, and that time to relax and recharge was what I really needed.”
Nevertheless, Ellesse was back on her bike before Christmas, riding in the UCI Track Champions League – a global racing competition redefining track cycling, with the world’s top riders competing in a series of events across Europe and the UK.
“It was a fun series and I really wanted to do it because it’s different from the normal racing we do,” she says. “I only had a few good weeks of training before the Champions League, so there wasn’t a lot of pressure on me. After racing in the Northern Hemisphere winter, I was definitely ready for summer at home!”
This year will be an interesting sporting one for Ellesse. Next month, she’s racing in the Oceania Track Championships in Brisbane, followed by our national champs in Invercargill. Needing to accumulate points to line up in the World Championships in Chile in October, she may have to make a trip to Turkey in March to ride in the Nation’s Cup.

“After that, we’ll have another reset and recharge because it’s a long stint through to the worlds,” says Ellesse. She adds that she’s already set herself goals for this year’s world champs – particularly in a new sprint event.
“The women’s 500m time trial has been changed to a one-kilometre distance. That’s so cool because it’s now equal to the distance the men race. For the first time, every women’s event is equal with the men. They have the same distances and the number of competitors. It’s very exciting for cycling.
“It’s a goal of mine to qualify and be selected for the kilo. Because it’s a timed event, you’re racing against yourself and your own ability. I’m not sure what the rest of my competition schedule will look like – with the team sprint, the sprint and the keirin. I’ll have to see whether doing four events will be possible. We’ll have to go with the flow on that one.”
Ellesse’s dad Jon will feel especially delighted to see her race over the 1000m time trial distance. He won a bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland in that same event, finishing seventh at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
He’s now the lead sprint coach for the New Zealand cycling team, which means training his daughter.

“He’s really looking forward to coaching me and some of my teammates over that distance,” tells Ellesse.
As motivated as she is, Ellesse is also very conscious that world records may not be on the cards for her this year.
“We definitely want to keep pushing and keep going faster. But we’re also aware that it’s a post-Olympic year. We throw everything at the Olympics, so going faster isn’t always possible all of the time,” she says. “I might go years before I get a PB [personal best]. For three years, my best time over 200m, which I set in Tokyo, didn’t change.
“We’re pushing absolutely all the time, but there are little factors that come into play at an Olympics Games. In Paris, the track was higher than any I’ve ever raced on. With that extra height, you get more speed, so it was the perfect place to set a really fast time.”
In fact, Ellesse set a world record of 10.108 seconds in the 200m flying lap, during the sprint qualifying round in Paris. She went on to win the gold medal, beating German rider Lea Friedrich in the final. The Kiwi then became the first woman to win Olympic gold medals in both the sprint and the keirin at the same Games.

Ellesse says, “In terms of goals, I have to move away a little from wanting a faster 200m sprint to being a stronger athlete. So 2025 is all about getting faster and stronger, looking at my areas of weakness and working on those to make sure I’m the best well-rounded athlete possible. Now’s the time to step back and look at things through a different lens.”
It’s also the year Ellesse intends to put more effort into her studies – which she describes as “very part-time”. She’s working towards a degree in communications, specialising in public relations. And another thing she hopes to do more of this year is singing.
“I love singing in a group, harmonising with others,” enthuses Ellesse, who can also play guitar, trumpet and piano. “There are a few choirs in Hamilton, so hopefully an opportunity will pop up.
“I’d love to get back into singing lessons. It’s another awesome way to grow your confidence and your abilities, when you have someone to push you in different ways.”