More gold and silver for Kiwi riders in Chile
The New Zealand team bagged two more victories and a silver medal for sprinter Natasha Hansen on the final day of the UCI track cycling World Cup in Chile.
The men’s team pursuit – with an average age of 19 – not only won the 4000m final in dominant fashion but produced two personal bests, including a stunning 3:54.618 gold medal effort on the slick Penalolen Velodrome on Santiago yesterday.
Racquel Sheath and Michaela Drummond controlled the women’s two-person madison for the gold medal, to follow their third placing in Canada last week.
There has been plenty of change in the men’s endurance squad with Matt Shallcrass stepping into the head coach role, and none of the team that won the silver medal at this year’s world championship in the current competition squad.
The men’s team also brought in 18-year-old Harry Waine, from the Auckland performance hub, for two rides, which allowed Tom Sexton to focus on the demanding four-event omnium competition.
The team recorded their third straight competition personal best with a 3:55.776 effort in the first round which was more than three seconds faster than Japan, who qualified second fastest for the gold medal ride against the Kiwis.
Coach Shallcrass changed things up to put Waine in the starting role to use his speed over opening 1000m.
He took them through in 1:03 before dropping out at the 1500m mark, allowing the trio of Nick Kergozou, Jared Gray and Campbell Stewart to complete the next three kilometres in splits of 56, 56 and 57 seconds.
Their 3:54.618 was another best for the team and only a second off the national record set in the silver medal winning team at the world championships in Hong Kong.
Kergozou said the planning had been on-point with their good technique allowing the maximum benefit from the slick track.
‘‘We came in with a clear idea and executed both rides pretty much exactly as we wanted. This track was good for us as a team. If you stuck to the plan then it was a track that was fast and rewarding.’’
The long trek home from South America and a couple of day’s rest will be all the Christmas break for the squads as they set for a big three months at the beginning of next year.
Sheath and Drummond combined perfectly to dominate the women’s 20km madison, the two-rider event with one always in play, swapping out with a unique hand-sling motion.
The Kiwi pair won points in all eight sprints, awarded every 10 laps. They won two of the first three sprints to open a lead at the top of the table and then covered the field to ensure no-one managed a break, with 20 points available if a team put a lap on the field.
The pairing of Hansen and Emma Cumming finished fifth in the women’s team sprint with an improving 33.981 effort, just missing out on the evening ride for the bronze medal.
Hansen doubled up to impress in the women’s keirin, winning her semifinal ride impressively before the long wait until the final race on the programme for the final.
She was baulked in her first push forward and was forced to go three-wide on the final bend from last place to claim second, just a wheel from winner Madalyn Godby (USA) who led throughout.
She is now ranked sixth in the keirin and 10th in sprint on the World Cup standings after competing in just two of the four meets.
Sexton finished 12th overall in the men’s omnium, placing 13th in the scratch race, 12th in the Tempo, sixth in the elimination and 10th in the points.
Although many of the European powers and Australian bypassed the Americas dual World Cups in the main, it still proved an excellent return for New Zealand who won the leading team award at both Canada and Chile.