Rotorua teen wins Outward Bound scholarship

Greg Taipari | 15th July 2010

Rotorua road cyclist Jeffrey McDowell has been awarded a full scholarship to attend an Outward Bound self development course.

McDowell is one of six talented young riders from around the country who have been offered full or partial scholarships to attend the course which will be held in the Marlborough Sounds. McDowell will be attending the course in January next year.

The John Paul College Year 13 student said he was excited when he was told he would be going on an Outward Bound course.

 "I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure it will help me grow not just as a cyclist but as a person."

Full scholarships were awarded to promising road cyclists McDowell and Hawke's Bay's Ashleigh Neave, both riders having recently returned from racing the Tour of Canberra.

Partial scholarships have also been awarded to mountain bikers Locky McArthur (Auckland), Madeline Taylor (Hawke's Bay), Charlotte Clouston (Auckland) and Sam Baker (Auckland).

McDowell said he became interested in road cycling about six years ago. The 17-year-old has represented New Zealand in the Under 19 road cycling team and said it was his coach Ken Bewley who nominated him.

"It's [cycling] a great sport, no day is the same and it is always a challenge.

BikeNZ chief executive Kieran Turner said the course was a huge benefit to the cyclists.

"Becoming a good bike rider involves more than just being able to ride fast. To make it to the top you need to have a huge amount of passion and drive and be able to ... deal with adversity, especially when travelling overseas."