Treasures of the Egyptians

development plan,’’ he said.

The Avantidrome could not be everything for everyone, and Cycling New Zealand relied heavily on centres like Southland to help develop top-level performers, Hunn said.

‘‘It probably took a while for Southland to figure out where they fit in once the [elite] programme left,’’ he said.

However, between the Southern Performance Hub and programmes like Academy Southland, Invercargill was leading the way when it came to developing young cyclists into elite competitors.

‘‘There is a lot more talent than we can support [in Cambridge] and Southland is doing a lot for the development of talent,’’ Hunn said.

Cumming was confident the hubs would help New Zealand continue producing world champions. ‘‘Over the next five to 10 years, Cycling New Zealand will continue being a force in world cycling because of the development that is going on through the whole country, not just in one area,’’ he said.

Part of the development drive to bring younger cyclists up to elite standard is the new Subway Track Series, which will have its opening round in Invercargill over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, before two further rounds in Cambridge later in the year.

‘‘You’ll get the best U17 to U23 riders in the country down here for three days of hard racing. I would think that, over a period of time, that will develop into something like the big six-day races they have overseas that are just huge,’’ Cumming said.