An exciting day of racing opened the UCI Oceania Track Cycling Championships supported by GJ Gardner Homes Waipa, at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome, Cambridge today.
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Elite Women
4000m Team Pursuit
The New Zealand combination of Samantha Donnelly, Bryony Botha, Prudence Fowler and Ally Wollaston qualified fastest in 4:14.489 in their heat ahead of the Australian quartet of Keira Will, Sophie Edwards, Claudia Marcks and Nicole Duncan who where time at 4:16.799.
Both teams quickly overtook their rivals (NZL National and NZL Purple) in the first round to set up for a showdown in the final.
The final had its drama with New Zealand reeling in the early lead by the Australians before both teams dropped a rider, with the kiwi rider suffering from a puncture. The New Zealand trio edged ahead to cross the line first, but their rider was ruled to have impeded the Australians as she struggled to control her bike.
Australia was therefore awarded the win.
Team Sprint
The Australian combination of Kristina Clonan, Molly McGill and Alessia McCaig topped qualifying in the women’s elite team sprint, with a continental record of 47.095.
New Zealand’s Riley Faulkner, Olivia King and Ellesse Andrews were second fastest in 47.781 and Australia Yellow (Kristine Perkins, Liliya Tatarinoff and Deneaka Blinco) third in 48.462.
The Australian combination was impressive in the final, clocking 47.145s to win the final over New Zealand by 0.6s, which proved a boom for Olympian Clonan in her return to competition.
“I injured my back and this was my first real competition since Paris,” said Clonan. “I love it here in this velodrome and it was great to win and do it racing with my friends.”
Elite Men
Team Pursuit
The New Zealand team of Keegan Hornblow, Marshall Erwood, George Jackson and Nick Kergozou qualified fastest in the 4000m men’s team pursuit in 3:53.134, which was 2.6s faster than the Australia team of Rohan Haydon-Smith, Thomas Cornish, Joshua Duffy and Black Quick.
Australia had to work for their first-round win over New Zealand 2, clocking 3:54.348, winning by 3.5s, while New Zealand overtook New Zealand 3 just after the opening kilometre.
The final was the race of the night, with the Australian combination working hard to establish a 1.4s lead through the first half of the race.
The kiwis fought back with both teams reduced to three riders, and edged ahead going into the final kilometre. New Zealand held on to the advantage to win in 3:51.993s to finish 1.5s ahead of the Australians.
Team Sprint
Australia was to the fore in the men’s team sprint qualifying with the SASI trio of Maxwell Liebknecht, James Brister and Tayte Ryan topping qualifying in 43.687 from Australia Green (Xavier Bland, Daniel Barber and Ryan Elliott) second fastest in 43.774.
The New Zealand Development trio of Jaxson Russell, Luke Blackwood and Alex Schuler were third fastest in 44.276.
Australian Green edged the South Australian combination in the final, edging to the lead in the final lap to win in 43.714, by just 0.04s, with the New Zealand Development team third.
Junior
Men Sprint
It proved a Cambridge double in the under-19 sprint, with the men’s honours going to St Peters rider Cooper Nilsson, who topped qualifiers in 10.436s ahead of Australians Luca Pyatt (10.501) and Angus Withington (10.624).
Withington upset Pyatt in the semifinal to take on Nilsson in the best-of-three finals, with the New Zealand rider winning in two straight rides, both closely contested.
Individual Pursuit
It was an all-Australian shut-out on the podium in the junior men’s 3000m individual pursuit, with Oliver Ward beating compatriot Samuel Hilditch in the final, leading all the way to win in 3:11.041 with Hilditch 1.5s back in runner-up.
Women Sprint
New Zealand’s Lily Cameron topped qualifiers in the junior women’s qualifying in 11.655s closely followed by Australians Paige Squire and April Kat in 11.815s and 11.820s respectively, with New Zealand’s Minne Collins fourth.
In the final, Cameron, a local Cambridge athlete who excels at several sports, accounted for Squire in two straight rides for the title in impressive fashion.
Individual Pursuit
Auckland school rider Neve McKenzie, originally from Blenheim, continued her outstanding week. After winning the junior time trial honours at the national road cycling championships, and finishing runner-up in the road race, McKenzie went on to win the junior individual pursuit in 3:39.008 to set a new national record.
She edged Australian Megan Moore in a tightly fought final, separated by 0.4s in the 3000m final.
Para cycling
There was excitement with Australia’s world champion Mixed Para B Tandem team sprint final, with the combination of Jessica Gallagher and pilot Jacqui Mengler-Mohr with rider Kane Perris and pilot Luke Saccaria setting a new world record.
They combined for a team sprint final to clock 49.103s, which is to be ratified but is under the existing world record.
The Australian team (Erin Norloyle, Michael Shippey, Korey Boddington and Gordon Allan) clocking 49.684 to win the Mixed Para C1-C5 Team Sprint final over the New Zealand combination of Siobhan Terry, Nicole Murray and Devon Briggs, who were runners-up in 53.944s.
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The competition continues until Saturday.
