Walker on track for Games
Kiwi BMX star Sarah Walker is aiming for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
The Whakatane-born rider has been track cycling for two months as a means of preparing for her BMX season, with the added bonus of aiming for NZ selection for the Commonwealth Games.
‘‘A bit of fitness, strength, power, that really hard base training phase with something to work towards which is what I am enjoying,’’ she said.
‘‘I am really happy with the progress that I have seen. I am definitely way fitter, I feel stronger - probably one of the bonuses is the upper body strength as you wouldn’t really think it
‘‘The skinny bars and having to counter that leg strength. Just trying to keep the bike straight requires a lot of upper body strength, so I think that will help me give me some more bike control when I go back on to my BMX.’’
The 28-year-old has made significant progress after switching from the BMX track to compete at the 2017 Track National Championships in Invercargill this week.
She rode a personal best 36.583 seconds to make the final of the women’s 500m time trial yesterday, despite being a relative newcomer to the velodrome.
Her latest effort blitzed her 38 second effort from December’s Waikato Championships and placed her in the top-eight riders in the country.
‘‘This is kind of a real hitout to see if it is worth coming back or not and with the progress I am making I feel it is worth giving it a shot after the BMX World Champs,’’ she said.
‘‘Probably my one big work on was good timing out of the start and I went a little bit late, but besides that, I am really proud of myself.’’
Walker has had to make many adjustments. She says track cycling requires non-stop pedalling as opposed to short bursts, gearing is twice the size so it is hard to get moving, while she also has to lean over forward on the track, while BMX is more upright.
BMX fans don’t have to worry, with Walker returning to the sport next week and aiming for the World Cup in May in Europe, before she heads to the World Champs in USA.
She will then return to track cycling in August and work towards the Oceania Track Cycling Championships.