Roulston struggles to get back on track

Hayden Roulston is far from a certainty to make the New Zealand team for the world track cycling championships today.

The 35-year-old double Olympic medallist produced a mixed bag at the national championships in Cambridge, winning a gold and a silver, but struggled for form and position in the process.

Since returning to the New Zealand track setup last year, Roulston has been working to adapt to a new position on the bike, which is vital for success in the team pursuit.

He’s finding that position tough to adjust to, and it showed at the national championships.

In the individual pursuit, Roulston pulled out at the 2km mark because of problems with his position on the bike, but after making alterations he claimed a silver medal in the men’s scratch race.

Winning gold in the team pursuit, Roulston again struggled with about a kilometre to go as world champion team-mates Dylan Kennett and Marc Ryan rode away from him briefly.

‘‘I think it was the racing, it just caught up on me a little bit,’’ Roulston said of his fading in the team pursuit.

‘‘I had a couple of seconds of mental lapse, but then I came good again. It’s just that, when you’ve got four days racing in your legs, points race late last night and you’re getting to bed at midnight, it’s not easy to keep trying to recover, but it ended up pretty well.’’

World champion team pursuiters Kennett, Pieter Bulling, Alex Frame and Regan Gough should make the squad, alongside Aaron Gate, likely leaving one place in the endurance team.

Roulston will be battling Ryan, Cam Karwowski and others for that final place.

‘‘A couple of months ago I thought I’d be a 100 per cent shooin, but there’s been a few issues with my position and I haven’t been feeling super good on the bike,’’ Roulston said.

‘‘I hope I go through, and I know from here I’m not going to be going down in form, I’ll only be going up.’’

The make-up of the women’s sprint team will also be of interest.

Natasha Hansen is a lock, but if New Zealand are to enter a team sprint her partner will be of interest.

Neither Katie Schofield or Steph McKenzie elevated their status, making the choice between the two difficult. Youngster Olivia Podmore looks one for the future, but may be too fresh at this stage.