Durante revels in Nix revival
looming in the following weeks.
‘‘There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be confident but it could be a banana skin. If we go out there and think that if we just show up we’ll get the points then we won’t.’’
The Phoenix will be without suspended midfielders Mandi Sosa and Alex Rufer for today’s game, with Mitch Nichols expected to make a rare start alongside Michal Kopczynski in their absence. Nichols has seen only 185 minutes of action so far this season but this could be his chance to stake a claim for a regular spot in the starting XI.
New Zealand’s track cycling stars are hoping to put a turbulent 2018 behind them as they build towards next weekend’s World Cup meet in Cambridge.
Findings of an independent review into Cycling New Zealand were released last October after allegations against former sprint coach Anthony Peden became public following his resignation in May.
It concluded the sport’s high performance programme was dysfunctional for a two-year period, there were instances of bullying, a lack of accountability and leadership, and an ineffective and inadequate response to issues, while Peden was found to have had an inappropriate relationship with a female athlete.
Then, despite getting the backing of his board following the review, CNZ chief executive Andrew Matheson resigned in November. He left his post at Christmas, replaced by Jacques Landry on a six-month interim basis, while Peden’s position was filled by Rene Wolff last September.
Wolff, a former Olympic and world champion rider with Germany, had led a strong Netherlands sprint programme since 2010, and is now being credited with providing a fresh approach, which has proved particularly useful for the experienced men’s team sprint unit of Ethan Mitchell, Sam Webster and Eddie Dawkins, with the glittering trio looking to bounce back from medal-less outings in the season’s first two World Cup rounds.
‘‘That invigoration and that passion has really then helped us to find another level in certain aspects in training,’’ Webster said.
‘‘He has a good way of getting across what he means, he can actually communicate how it should feel as well, and sport is something that’s very feeloriented.’’
Dawkins said: ‘‘Rene is definitely the captain of the ship and he’s leading us in the right direction’’, but that he’s allowed riders to have plenty of input into how training will run.
‘‘Being a German, we were a bit unsure about his sense of humour, but he’s very very funny,’’ Dawkins said. ‘‘And he makes the training very light-hearted, even though