Source: Radio New Zealand
Samara Maxwell celebrates after her 2025 title victory. Craig Cox
New Zealand world mountain bike champion Samara Maxwell is taking a year-long break from competitive sport to safeguard her wellbeing and longevity.
It means she won’t be defending her mountain bike world series cross country title after a breakthrough 2025 season.
Maxwell became the first New Zealander to win a UCI World Series title in October, which saw her named a finalist in the Halberg Sportswoman of the Year awards.
Her Decathlon Ford Racing Team has announced that the 24-year-old will take a sabbatical from competitive sport.
“After an intense 2025 season, and several months spent in Europe far from home and family, Samara Maxwell has decided to take a sabbatical break from competitive sport,” the Decathlon Ford Racing team announced on social media.
“The New Zealand athlete will dedicate 2026 to a period of rest, recovery and personal reconnection. During this sabbatical pause, she will step away from racing, media activities, social platforms, and public engagements. This choice will allow her to restore physical energy, regain mental balance, and spend meaningful time with the people and places that matter most to her.”
“This is the right moment for me to pause, breathe, and return to my roots. I want to spend time with my family, recharge, and prepare myself for the challenges ahead,” Maxwell said in the post.
The Ford Decathlon Racing Team said Maxwell’s long-term vision remains unchanged.
“…to return to competition with renewed determination and continue her journey toward representing New Zealand at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”
The press release goes on to say that Maxwell’s decision has been fully supported by her Decathlon Ford team, personal coach, and the medical staff who have accompanied her throughout the season.
” ….As well as by Cycling New Zealand and High Performance Sport NZ, all of whom recognise this step as essential to safeguarding her well-being and long-term athletic longevity.”
Maxwell, who has openly battled with eating disorders since she was a teen, told RNZ last year that her mental health was tested when she clinched the mountain bike cross country title in Canada.
She admitted that the pressure she had been under in the weeks leading to the final round meant she didn’t manage her eating disorder very well.
“I’m really proud that I’m in a place where I can say I’m struggling and could call my coach and call my psychologist,” Maxwell told RNZ after winning the title.
The world title punctuated just how far Maxwell had come since she had to fight for selection to the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Cycling NZ declined to nominate Maxwell for Olympics for health, rather than performance reasons.
The national body determined she had not shown that she had no “physical or mental impairment” that would prevent her from performing to the highest possible standard at the Olympics.
The Sports Tribunal upheld Maxwell’s appeal over her non-nomination and took the rare step of nominating her directly to the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) for selection.
Maxwell went on to finish eighth in Paris – the best finish of her senior career.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
