Otago Daily Times

Australian defects to New Zealand

- DANIEL GILHOOLY

NELSON: Disgruntle­d former track cycling world champion Jordan Kerby is switching allegiance from Australia to New Zealand in pursuit of Olympic selection.

Kerby (26) was told he was unlikely to be considered for Australian selection to the 2020 Games in Tokyo, despite having won individual pursuit gold at last year’s world championsh­ips in Hong Kong.

He was also part of the gold medalwinni­ng team pursuit at April’s Commonweal­th Games on the Gold Coast.

Three months ago, Kerby hit out after Cycling Australia ended his training scholarshi­p and informed him he was deemed unlikely to improve to the level required to race in Tokyo.

Because of his Kiwi mother’s heritage, he approached Cycling New Zealand about changing citizenshi­p to pursue his Olympic dream.

‘‘I completely understand that I am coming here under my own steam and with no promises,’’ Kerby said in a CNZ statement.

‘‘Cycling New Zealand’s high performanc­e setup is world class. The facilities in Cambridge are amazing and New Zealand is highly regarded around the world.’’

CNZ said Kerby’s switch came with the blessing of Cycling Australia and cycling’s ruling body the UCI.

High performanc­e director Martin Barras said Kerby would be added to the Kiwi endurance group and his performanc­es evaluated.

He said the former road racing profession­al had the ability to lift New Zealand’s standards to another level.

‘‘The reality is that we want the fastest possible team on the track in Tokyo,’’ Barras said.

‘‘If Jordan can do his talking on the track and can fit in with our team culture, then he will be a significan­t asset to the programme.’’ — AAP

 ??  ?? Jordan Kerby
Jordan Kerby

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from New Zealand