Catherine Cheatley (néeSell;[1] born 6 April 1983 inWhanganui) is a retired New Zealand professional road and track cyclist.[2] She won two New Zealand championship titles in both road race and individual track pursuit, and later represented her nation New Zealand at the2008 Summer Olympics. Before her official retirement in June 2012 because of sustained bike crash-related injuries, Cheatley moved to the United States to race for the Cheerwine andColavita–Sutter Home pro cycling teams in the women's elite professional events on theUCI Women's World Cup, andUCI World Championships, where she earned the bronze medal for the women's points race in 2007.
Cheatley made her world championship debut at the2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships inPalma de Mallorca, Spain on 1 April, where she took home the bronze medal in thewomen's points race,[3] adding to the individual pursuit gold she had won at the New Zealand track championships two weeks previously. Strong and impressive results landed her a spot on the United States' Cheerwine Cycling Team, which signified a start of her professional sporting career.[4] While competing for Cheerwine under an exclusive two-year contract, Cheatley managed her team to "defend their jersey" and dominate theFitchburg Longsjo Classic circuit title in 2008.[5]
Cheatley qualified for the New Zealand squad in two cycling events at the2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving one of the nation's two available berths from theUCI World Cup and by finishing third in the points race from theUCI World Championships.[6][7] In thewomen's road race, held on the second day of the Games, Cheatley posted a time of 3:41:08 to successfully complete a gruelling race with a fifty-third-place finish, trailing behind US rider and two-time OlympianChristine Thorburn by a small amount of velocity.[8][9] The following week, in thewomen's points race, Cheatley failed to collect a single point from the 10 scoring laps in a 25-km sprint race, finishing well down the field in seventeenth place.[10][11][12]
When the Cheerwine folded the 2008 season, Cheatley transferred toColavita–Sutter Home for two seasons, and then helped her women's cycling team grab an early lead on the first stage of theCascade Cycling Classic before mounting a second place overall at the final circuit.[13][14]
In 2011, Cheatley won her third road race title at thenational championships inChristchurch.[15] Shortly after, Cheatley was seriously injured in the round-the-mountain road crash aroundMount Taranaki, suffering multiple fractures of her hip that required full surgery and rehabilitation.[16][17] In June 2012, Cheatley had officially retired from competitive cycling, and instead, worked on a full-time role as one of BikeNZ's regional development coordinators.[18][19]
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New Zealand National Road Race Championships
UCI Track Cycling World Championships, (Points race),Palma de Mallorca (ESP)
