Olympic build up starts now for Southland cyclist Tom Sexton

Summer holiday festivities have been kept in check for New Zealand’s leading track cyclists, who take their first serious pedal-stroke towards the Paris Olympics when the Nations Cup series begins in two weeks.

A 14-strong team has been named for the opening all-important Nations Cup in Adelaide on 2-4 February, with the competition series the key qualifier for the World Championships and an important building block towards Paris.

The team is largely built on the successful 2023 world championship squad that brought home a record eight medals from Glasgow, led by rainbow jersey winners, Ellesse Andrews and Aaron Gate.

Andrews joins teammates Rebecca Petch and Shaane Fulton in the team sprint, after breaking the national record on the way to a respectable fifth place in Glasgow. The team sprint is on the opening day, with a morning heat and evening finals, as the kiwi trio look to secure qualification for the Paris Olympics.

The individual sprint and keirin, where Andrews will sport the world champion’s rainbow jersey, are on the final two days.

Sam Dakin, as he did in Glasgow, is the sole male sprinter, focussing on the keirin, where he was a quarterfinalist in Glasgow, and the individual sprint.

The team pursuit is also on the opening day, with the women’s squad, silver medallists in Glasgow, remaining intact, led by world championship individual medallist Bryony Botha. The squad also includes Ally Wollaston, Sami Donnelly, Emily Shearman and Michaela Drummond.

The men’s team pursuit, bronze medallists at the world championships, are led by Gate, WorldTour road rider Campbell Stewart and Tom Sexton, with Dan Bridgwater and Keegan Hornblow joining the squad in Adelaide.

Gate and Stewart, bronze medallists in the two-rider madison at the worlds, will likely join again in Adelaide with the remainder to compete in the elimination and omnium competitions, although final event lists will not be confirmed until the competition.

“There has not much time to put the feet up over Christmas and New year. The squads have worked very hard before Christmas, both in some testing work looking ahead to Paris, and then the start of preparations for Adelaide,” said Cycling New Zealand high performance director, Ryan Hollows.

“They are back in the velodrome with some riders also involved in road races which are an important development for endurance track events.”

Gate led a New Zealand National team to a general classification win in the NZ Cycle Classic, while Stewart is competing for his WorldTour team in the Santos Tour Down Under.

“We are looking for strong performances in Adelaide and the second round in Hong Kong later in March. If the riders can perform to their capabilities in the opening two competitions, it will secure most of what we need to then re-set our focus on the world championships and on to the Olympics.

“First thing first is Adelaide. We have the advantage of coming out of our conditions and basically our time zones and we need to make that work in our favour as well.”

The team for the UCI Nations Cup track competition in Adelaide on 2-4 February is:

Female sprint: Ellesse Andrews (Christchurch), Shaane Fulton (Nelson), Rebecca Petch (Te Awamutu).

Endurance: Bryony Botha (Auckland), Sami Donnelly (Christchurch), Michaela Drummond (Palmerston North), Emily Shearman (Palmerston North), Ally Wollaston (Cambridge).

Male sprint: Sam Dakin (Auckland).

Endurance: Dan Bridgwater (Cambridge), Aaron Gate (Auckland), Keegan Hornblow (Nelson), Tom Sexton (Invercargill), Campbell Stewart (Palmerston North).

Coaches: Adrian Hegyvary, Jon Andrews, Paul Manning.