Champs end quietly for Kiwi cyclists
New Zealand’s disappointing campaign at the track cycling world championships has ended on a modest note in the Netherlands.
Three late bids for medals all fell well short, leaving New Zealand to reflect on a meet in which they failed to meet expectations, securing a solitary bronze to Rushlee Buchanan in the women’s omnium.
They didn’t go close to adding to it on the fifth and final day yesterday.
Dylan Kennett and Bradly Knipe were 13th and 20th fastest respectively in the men’s 1000m time trial.
Kennett’s time of 1m 01.474s was three-quarters of a second outside the top-eight berth required to advance.
Kiwi madison hopefuls Regan Gough and Tom Sexton were among three combinations who failed to finish the race.
Natasha Hansen and Emma Cumming were eliminated in the keirin repechages, with Hansen going closest to advancing after placing second in her four-woman race.
Hansen and Cumming provided one of the Kiwi highlights earlier in the meet when they placed fifth in the women’s team sprint.
Teen Campbell Stewart also impressed with his fifth in the omnium.
A major disappointment was a sixth-placing for the men’s sprint team of Sam Webster, Ethan Mitchell and Eddie Dawkins, who have dominated the event in recent years and were chasing a third successive gold.
Cycling NZ high performance director Martin Barras tried to paint the Kiwi effort in a positive light, describing results as a “mixed bag”.
“Our highlights were the performances in both the men’s and women’s omnium and the women’s team sprint where we exceeded expectations,” Barras said.
“We were also able to expose some of our new talent to the highest level of competition available.
“As well as these performances we also had a reality check in our mainstay events of the team pursuit and men’s team sprint.”
Barras says better will be demanded at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast next month as the Kiwi cyclists build towards the 2020 Olympics. — NZN GOLF