Southlanders claim track cycling titles in Cambridge

New Zealand’s leading cyclists produced excellent performances in their return to the track both at the Aon Cambridge 3-Day carnival and in Australia over the weekend.

Medallists from the Commonwealth Games and world championships showed early form despite coming off an extensive road seasons for their various professional teams.

It began a significant build-up for the track riders targeting the Nations Cup events in Jakarta in February and Cairo in March to determine qualification for the world championships in August and spots for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Caption: Campbell Stewart sling-shots Tom Sexton on their way to winning the Madison National title. Photo: Aaron Gillions Photo

Across the Tasman, sprinters Ellesse Andrews, Rebecca Petch and Sam Dakin picked up valuable points in the UCI Carnival in Melbourne.

Andrews, the Commonwealth Games triple gold medallist, won both the sprint and keirin competitions, with Petch runner-up in the keirin and third in the sprint, while Dakin also scored helpful points.

Much of the action at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome in Cambridge centred on the endurance riders with the omnium national titles going to European-based professional road riders Ally Wollaston and Corbin Strong.

Strong and fellow former world champion and World Tour rider Campbell Stewart could not be separated going into the points race decider. Strong was third in the scratch race, fifth in tempo and won the elimination, after a fantastic battle with Stewart in the final sprint.

Stewart, fourth in the scratch, third in the tempo and second in the elimination, also set up well for the deciding points race.

Wellington’s George Jackson made the early push after putting a lap on the field but by halfway Strong had snuck in front overall with the challenge coming from Stewart and Sexton. Eventually Strong had too much gas in the sprints to win on 156 points, 10 clear of Stewart with Sexton a further five points back in third.

Wollaston, recently returned from a strong European season on the road for her professional team AG NXTG, quickly showed her track form is sharp, winning all four disciplines of the omnium competition.

The Waikato rider won the scratch race from double Commonwealth Games gold medallist Bryony Botha and Tokyo Olympian Jessie Hodges, making her return from long-term injury.

Wollaston followed up with wins in the tempo race, the elimination where the last rider is eliminated and the final points race as the only rider to put a lap on the field. She finished on 174 points from Botha and Auckland’s Ella Wyllie.

The women’s madison was a battle with the CottontSox pairing of Botha and Michaela Drummond and their fellow Cycling New Zealand high performance squad riders Wollaston and Jessie Hodges, in Waikato colours.

Halfway through the race the Waikato pair held a two-point advantage over Botha and Drummond, and with 20 laps to go it was level on 24 points each, with sprint points available every 10 laps.

With 10 laps to go the Waikato pair had edged to a two-point lead going into the final double-points sprint. Drummond and Botha got their tactics perfect to squeeze home for the winning sprint to claim the title.

They won on 37 points to 33 for Waikato, with the Park Hotel pairing of Sami Donnelly and Ella Wyllie third on 16.

The men formed into an early showdown between WorldTour riders and track world champions. The Southern Spars combo of Stewart and Sexton made a massive move to put a lap on the field midrace, with the 20 bonus points opening a 17-point lead on Strong and Jackson.

Stewart and Sexton did not take their foot off the throat from that point, extending to a 39 point lead with 30 laps remaining, while Strong and Jackson faced a battle from the Castelli Black pairing of teenagers Edward Pawson and Matt Davis for second.

The points for second were tied with 20 laps to go as Castelli Black had clung to the back of the leaders, but they were pipped by Strong in the final sprint to finish one point back in third after a memorable performance.

The men featured in a scratch race, won by Stewart, who showed his power to go solo with four laps remaining, from George Jackson and Keegan Hornblow while another WorldTour road star, Corbin Strong won the elimination race with Jackson again second.

Botha displayed her remarkable pursuiting strength to good purpose, going early to hold off teammate Wollaston and Wylie to win the elite scratch race.

After a short break over Christmas, the endurance riders will mix some road competition before joining the sprinters in preparations for the Nations Cup.