Stewart defies illness to claim world title
New Zealand track cyclist Campbell Stewart has overcome a stomach bug to become a world champion, again.
Stewart, 20, rode a tactically brilliant points race to claim the omnium gold medal at the UCI Track World Championships in Poland yesterday.
Stewart, who caught the attention of New Zealand’s sporting public with silver medals in the scratch and points races at last year’s Commonwealth Games, showed courage after he spent four days off his bike last week when he was one of several Kiwi riders struck down with illness.
He rode the first race of the team pursuit but withdrew from the rest of the campaign, barely able to get on his bike let alone be competitive at the elite level.
‘‘It was basically four days of sitting in a hotel and not being able to get much food down,’’ Stewart told Stuff.
For that reason, Stewart was not sure what to expect heading into the points race – the final leg of the Omnium.
‘‘I wasn’t quite sure where the legs were at,’’ he said.
But when he got to the halfway point, Stewart was feeling strong with plenty left in the tank.
‘‘So I started picking off a few sprints and slowly started getting into it,’’ he said.
Stewart was among the points early and rode bravely to drive in the dagger with 20 laps to go.
It was there he shot to the lead, being part of a three-rider break away, winning the sprint, then lapped the field to pick up a bonus 20 points to shoot clear at the top.
Akin to the decathlon in athletics, the omnium is made up of a scratch race, an elimination race, a tempo race with the points race the final event. The winner is the rider who gets the most points.
Stewart accumulated 137 points with Benjamin Thomas
(France) taking silver on 119, with Englishman Ethan Hayter scoring 118 in third.
‘‘To achieve that one and be able to stand on top of the podium was a dream that’s been going for a fair few years now and to be able to pick it off is unreal,’’ Stewart told Stuff.
He said a lot of work had gone on in the background to turn his world championship dream into reality.
Stewart was able to share the moment with his parents John and Joanne Stewart who were attending their first elite world championships. The freshly crowned world champion said there were a ‘‘few tears’’ when he was able to briefly speak to them.
‘‘They’ve been on the journey with me for quite a while now so we’ve put plenty of time and effort into it but eventually it’s paid off which is awesome.’’
New Zealand has endured a disappointing world championship with just two bronze medals before Stewart’s gold.
On Friday, Thomas Sexton won bronze in the men’s scratch race and the women’s pursuit team combination of Michaela Drummond, Bryony Botha, Holly Edmondston and Kirstie James also won bronze.
‘‘To . . . be able to stand on top of the podium was a dream that’s been going for a fair few years now.’’
Campbell Stewart