Double bronzes boost track team
New Zealand salvaged its disappointing world track cycling championships campaign by securing two bronze medals yesterday.
Thomas Sexton won the country’s first medal in Poland with an impressive third placing in the men’s scratch race before the women’s pursuit team combination of Michaela Drummond, Bryony Botha, Holly Edmondston and Kirstie James stormed home to beat Canada in the bronze medal ride, despite struggling with illness during the leadup to the event.
After leading for two thirds of the race, they clocked a time of 4min 16.479sec and beat Canada by more than three seconds.
‘‘We have come a long way since last year,’’ Botha said. ‘‘We’ve probably been on the track a bit too long and have been a bit rundown for these world champs.
‘‘But we’ve come in feeling confident and confident about each other.’’
Twenty-year-old Sexton led the scratch race on the penultimate lap, but was unable to hold off the fast finishing Australian Sam Welsford, who claimed gold ahead of runner-up, Dutchman Roy Eefting, in the sprint towards towards the line.
‘‘There was a lot of passion out there. That was the main theme of the race – enjoy it and have a bit of fun. And I came off with a bronze medal,’’ Sexton said.
The two bronze-medal winning performances mean New Zealand has already bettered its 2018 campaign, when Rushlee Buchanan won the only medal by finishing third in the women’s omnium.
But it has still been a below par world championships for the heavily-funded New Zealand programme, with the highly touted men’s sprint team bombing out in the first round and the depleted men’s team pursuit combination also falling short of medal contention.
Eddie Dawkins, who was also struggling with illness earlier in the week, missed out on a place in the men’s keirin final, finishing ninth overall, while Natasha Hansen and Olivia Podmore failed to qualify for the women’s sprint quarterfinals.