Webster’s glittering road to Rio mapped out
SAM WEBSTER is in demand, and rightly so. A 10-minute phone chat on the track cycling team’s media day is exactly that; and at 9min 55sec he politely excuses himself. ‘‘Sorry, I have to go and warm up now.’’
Fair enough. Most aspects of his life will be strictly regimented nearly every day till the Olympics in Rio next August as Webster chases a repeat of his Glasgow glory a year ago, gold in the team and individual sprints. The campaign starts now; every day, every hour mapped out. Even the prospect of Christmas with his parents in Auckland, after the World Cup round at home base in Cambridge, generates a pause.
‘‘To be 100 per cent honest we’ll pretty much be spending every day together between now and then [Rio]. That’s not something we’re at all disappointed about. We’ve all got a common goal and we all want to put the work in. We can’t all be on the start line but our goal is to produce the best team possible for New Zealand,’’ he said.
The five sprinters: Webster, Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell, London bronze medallist Simon van Velthooven and Matt Archibald, have lived in each other’s pockets for five years. A few siblings wouldn’t have spent that much time together.
They’ve stood on the podium at the world’s biggest events. The sprint team were world champions in 2014 then were relegated from the gold medal position in Paris in February after an infringement during a sizzling ride. Dawkins won silver in the keirin in Paris.
They’re tight-knit and competitive, a major strength.
‘‘At the gym you’re always trying to be the one lifting a heavier weight, jumping higher and doing something better than someone else. It’s quite an exciting environment to be in.
‘‘When you get to the track, that’s our bread and butter. Everyone’s all about execution of perfect technique and really putting their best into the bike.’’
It has to be competitive because one of them will likely miss their Rio dream next year. Team balance and entry restrictions means five New Zealanders will likely be clipped to four to attack the team sprint along with two individual spots apiece in the sprint and keirin.
The game face is on already as they reassembled after 11 weeks overseas in Europe and the United States. Now the countdown begins, taking in the World Cup series in Cali, Colombia in November, Cambridge in December and Hong Kong in January, then the world championships in London in March.
Webster speaks well but in measured tones. The 24-year-old was reserve for the sprint team in London 2012 so despite all he’s done including gold-gold-silver in Glasgow, Webster awaits his first Olympic ride at the next level.
The team sprint is the main goal. On form the past two years, Webster, Dawkins and Mitchell are a serious gold medal chance. In the individual sprint, where he beat reigning Olympic champion Jason Kenny for gold in a stirring ride in Glasgow, Webster then toppled Dawkins for the national title in January and the following month in Paris was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Russian Denis Dmitriev, the eventual silver medallist.
Webster raced in Poland, Germany, Spain (Mallorca) and the Amish stronghold of Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, where horsedrawn carts on the road remain a novel hazard, during the sprint team’s winter away. He won the Golden Wheel handicap race on their last night in ‘‘T-town’’, and in his main target, the German grand prix meeting, he finished second in the sprint in what he termed the biggest race outside the World Cup season.
Tactics are paramount in the individual sprint and Webster honed his racing nous during the trip, outside the long hours in the gym and on the track.
‘‘I’m happy with where I’m at. I’ve been hitting my targets in the last couple of months and it’s all about putting in the hard work and making sure you do everything you possibly can to bring the puzzle pieces together. It’s exciting to be a part of.
‘‘It [Glasgow] was hugely exciting for me and really proud that I achieved the goals that I set.
‘‘It gave me confidence and belief. It’s hard when you don’t know and you’re going down a long path.’’
That long path starts now, the blinkers go on and that podium looms in the distance.