Sam was introduced to mountain biking at an early age, living in the Waikato region. He gained prominence in 2013 winning both the NZ Junior Cross-Country and the Oceania titles.
Sam also won his first UCI World Cup, taking the junior honours in Italy. The following year he won the NZ Elite title, Oceania Under-23 and Elite Eliminator at the World Cup in Cairns. Sam took out the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in a Kiwi 1-2 behind Anton Cooper.
In 2015 he was fourth at the World Championships in his first year at U23 level, and second in the Elite Eliminator final. The 2016 season has been his best to date with a second NZ Elite win over Cooper and two straight victories in the Under-23 World Cup to lead the standings.
Rio 2016 was Sam’s first Olympic Games - He placed 37 out of 49
