More Southland medals at Oceania track champs

The New Zealand women’s cyclists made a strong challenge on the penultimate day of competition at the Oceania Championships in Brisbane.

The pairing of individual pursuit champion Bryony Botha and scratch race winner Ally Wollaston produced some outstanding tactics and teamwork to win the 30km madison race at the Anna Mears Velodrome at Chandler.

They won seven of the 10 sprints to finish on 45 points, well clear of both Australian teams on 20 and 19 respectively.

The victory not only added another title for the Cycling New Zealand team, and significant international ranking points, it also secures a start for New Zealand at this year’s world championships in a key Olympic event.

“It was an important race for us to do well in. I haven’t ridden in an international race with Bryony before so to put it together on the day is really, really cool,” said Wollaston.

“We meshed together really well, and played to the strengths of eachother. I was good at setting up the sprint and Ally was great in executing the sprint. We worked really well together and got a great result,” said Botha.

Earlier Botha and Wollaston were joined by development riders Prudence Fowler and Ella Wyllie to win the women’s 4000m team pursuit, clocking 4:17.302 to beat the Australians by over three seconds.

The two teams were locked together at the midway point after the home team made the stronger start, but the New Zealand quartet reeled off a series of strong laps to dominate the final 2000m.

Another kiwi female to shine was Rebecca Petch, who again gave an indication of her outstanding promise, when she went under the New Zealand record time for the standing 250m during the first lap of the 500m Time Trial final.

Petch, the Tokyo Olympic semifinalist in BMX, finished second in the 500m time trial in 34.077, a blink outside the national record, but clocked a stunning 18.963 for the opening lap.

In other competition the under-19 women’s team pursuit were second to Australia.

The men’s pairing of Aaron Gate and Tom Sexton, in their Black Spoke Pro Cycling colours, almost made it a perfect finish, leading the 160-lap madison until the final double-point sprint when the Australian team claimed the sprint to edge the kiwis by three points.

The kiwi pair won five sprints but the Australian’s top pairing bagged 20 points to Black Spoke’s nine over the final three sprints to come from third place to overall victory.

The New Zealand development team including Olympic reserves Nick Kergozou and Tom Sexton, were also second to Australia in the elite 4000m team pursuit, coming back strongly over the closing 1000m to finish in an impressive 3:52.782 to be 1.5 seconds behind the winners.

The Under-19 riders carried the flag for the kiwi men, with Auckland’s Luke Blackwood winning the junior 1000m time trial in 1:04.485, while the combination of Joel Douglas and Edward Pawson claimed the 25km madison with 40 points, seven clear of Australia’s leading pairing.

In the elite 1000m time trial, Kergozou clocked an excellent 1:00.085s, pipped by just 0.4s by top qualifier Thomas Cornish (AUS).

In Para-cycling action, Paralympian Nicole Murray won the 500m time trial for WC5 riders in 38.417 and fellow Tokyo teammate Sarah Ellington third in WC2 in 47.462s. The men’s 1000m time trial saw Devon Briggs win the MC4 class in 1:08.311 with Connor Douglas and Ben Westerberg third and fourth respectively in the MC5 class.

All cycling disciplines are competing in the Oceania Championships in Brisbane, with the mountain bike completed last week, and BMX and road racing to be staged this weekend.

The final day of action includes the elite and junior omnium and team sprint while Para-cyclists compete in the flying 200m, tandem sprint and individual pursuit.