CYCLISTS from New Zealand

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary New Zealander Cyclists of all time. This list of famous New Zealander Cyclists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of New Zealander Cyclists.

1. Greg Henderson (1976 - )

With an HPI of 32.98, Greg Henderson is the most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Gregory Henderson (born 10 September 1976) is a New Zealand former professional track and road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2017. His career includes winning the 15-kilometre (9.3-mile) scratch race at the 2004 world championships and, in road cycling, winning the points competition at the Tour de Georgia in 2005 and 2008. Henderson rode in five Olympic Games and completed 11 Grand Tours. He also competed in four Commonwealth Games and was a four-time medallist, including winning gold in the points race in 2002. During an important part of his career, he served as André Greipel's main lead-out man, and they were colleagues at both T-Mobile Team and later Lotto–Soudal. In addition to 17 New Zealand track and road titles and eight World Cup track golds, Henderson has been New Zealand Track Cyclist of the Year (2001, 2002, 2003) and Athlete of the Year, Otago, New Zealand (2001, 2002, 2003).

2. Jack Bauer (1985 - )

With an HPI of 30.35, Jack Bauer is the 2nd most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Hans Jacob Bauer (born 7 April 1985) is a New Zealand former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2010 to 2023.

3. George Bennett (1990 - )

With an HPI of 29.26, George Bennett is the 3rd most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

George Bennett (born 7 April 1990) is a New Zealand professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Israel–Premier Tech. He represented New Zealand at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He was the winner of the 2017 Tour of California, the 2020 Gran Piemonte and the 2021 New Zealand road cycling championships. He came second in the 2020 Il Lombardia.

4. Julian Dean (1975 - )

With an HPI of 27.77, Julian Dean is the 4th most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Julian Dean (born 28 January 1975) is a former professional road racing cyclist from New Zealand who competed as a professional between 1999 and 2013. He last rode for UCI World Tour team Orica–GreenEDGE, where he now works as an assistant sporting director and mentor. His main achievements include winning the 2007 and 2008 New Zealand National Road Race Championships, finishing 9th in the 2005 World Road Championships in Madrid, and 10th place in the 2002 World Road Championships in Zolder. At the peak of his career he was considered the best lead out rider in the world, and was highly regarded by his teammate and friend Thor Hushovd.

5. Hayden Roulston (1981 - )

With an HPI of 21.22, Hayden Roulston is the 5th most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Hayden Roulston (born 10 January 1981, in Ashburton) is a former New Zealand professional racing cyclist. He won the silver medal in the men's 4000 m individual pursuit and a bronze medal in the men's 4000 m team pursuit at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He won the New Zealand road cycling championships on four occasions (2006, 2011, 2013, 2014), the Tour of Southland on three occasions (2006, 2007, 2008) and came tenth in the 2010 edition of Paris - Roubaix.

6. Aaron Gate (1990 - )

With an HPI of 20.18, Aaron Gate is the 6th most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Aaron Gate (born 26 November 1990) is a New Zealand road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Burgos BH. He represented his country in track cycling at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Gate is the first New Zealand athlete to win four gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games.

7. Eddie Dawkins (1989 - )

With an HPI of 20.08, Eddie Dawkins is the 7th most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Edward James Dawkins (born 11 July 1989) is a New Zealand track cyclist. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games he won the silver medal in the men's sprint and the bronze medal in the men's 1 kilometre time trial. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he won the bronze medal in the men's sprint, and was part of the New Zealand time that won the gold medal in the team sprint, with Ethan Mitchell and Sam Webster. The team sprint team set two Commonwealth Games records along the way. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won alongside Sam Webster and Ethan Mitchell a silver medal in the team sprint, but did not go beyond the round 1 repechage in the individual sprint. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Dawkins won gold in the team sprint event alongside Ethan Mitchell and Sam Webster. He had previously competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Dawkins retired from professional cycling in 2020, and took up the sport of powerlifting. In 2022, he was selected to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in Auckland.

8. Jesse Sergent (1988 - )

With an HPI of 19.96, Jesse Sergent is the 8th most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Jesse Sergent (born 8 July 1988) is a retired New Zealand racing cyclist who rode professionally between 2011 and 2016 for Team RadioShack, Trek Factory Racing and AG2R La Mondiale.

9. Sam Bewley (1987 - )

With an HPI of 18.99, Sam Bewley is the 9th most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Samuel Ryan Bewley (born 22 July 1987) is an amateur podcast host and former professional racing cyclist from New Zealand who last rode for UCI WorldTeam Team BikeExchange–Jayco. He also competed for UCI ProTeam Team RadioShack and BikeNZ PureBlack Racing. He competed in nine Grand Tours, including five starts at the Vuelta a España and three starts at the Giro d'Italia. Bewley made his sole Tour de France appearance in the 2020 edition, before retiring from professional cycling at the end of 2022.

10. Sarah Ulmer (1976 - )

With an HPI of 17.87, Sarah Ulmer is the 10th most famous New Zealander Cyclist.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Sarah Elizabeth Ulmer (born 14 March 1976) is a former Olympic cyclist. She is the first New Zealander to win an Olympic cycling gold medal, which she won in the 3km individual pursuit at the 2004 Athens Olympics setting a world record. After the 2004 Olympics, she held the Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship Pursuit titles, and the records for those events.