Another full week for the southern cycling fraternity as Cycling Southland hosted the annual McLeay Jewellers Southland Track Champs. Close on one hundred riders from Southland and Central Otago, along with some travellers from points further north, made the ILT Velodrome their home over three days this week, looking to impress selectors and build up to the National Track Championships at the end of next month.
Naturally there were some stand-out performers from familiar names who are making their presence felt on the national stage; Piet Bulling, Matt Archibald, Steph McKenzie, Sophie Williamson, Michael Culling, Tom Beadle, Sequoia Cooper, Kylie Young, Lee Evans - all talented athletes with wonderful careers ahead of them.
There were also other names added to that list. Laura Heywood would have to go close to being the star turn of the week. Having only taken up the sport little more than 18 months ago, she is showing massive potential and is unquestionably one to watch.
Some of the best results (as usual) came from our Masters categories. I have written before about the growth of our sport amongst the age-group loosely described as middle-aged. If you wanted proof, the Southland Champs provided it. Michael White, Erin Criglinton, Jacq Dearlove, Neil Familton, Richard Eade, Simon Lusk and the ever-green Ray Robinson all had gold (or in many cases golds) draped around their necks. Our Masters cyclists are one of the major reasons the National Points Shield has been under lock and key at the ILT Velodrome for the last three years. Watching the action on the weekend, our “more mature” riders will again be Southland’s trump card in 2011.
And of course there were other great stories; Peter Grandiek, competing at 79 years of age and off to do the same at the Masters Games in Wanganui over coming weeks. And little Madeleine Gough was doing the same at the age of just 10. Any sport that features a 69 year span between its youngest and oldest competitor must be in great heart.
We were also blessed to host some of the country’s top Para-Cyclists, building up for their tilt at medals at the World Champs in Italy in March. Their efforts are truly inspiring but it is obvious they are not just content with their significant victory in simply making it to the start-line. They are focused on performance and on winning.
With such a wealth of talent, it is likely the selectors will this week name the largest ever squad to compete at the upcoming Nationals. The RaboDirect-sponsored Elite Champs, which will also include Southland’s national representatives Eddie Dawkins, Tom Scully, Natasha Hansen and Cameron Karwowski, run from February 25th to 27th. We then have a solitary day off before we get straight into the Age Group Champs from March 1st to 5th.
And to finish the week, a quick congratulations to Cam Karwowski and Hamish Tomlinson for their top 20 finishes at the Tour of Wellington - brilliant efforts in a tough event.
Nick Jeffrey is Chief Executive of Cycling Southland
Cycling Southland CEO's Blog from inside the Stadium Southland Velodrome
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Frenetic Start to New Cycling Year
The cycling year has begun and what a frenetic start it has been. Cycling Southland’s ILT New Year Cycling Series featured the country’s elite cyclists lining up alongside local Club and representative riders in road, track and criterium racing and BikeNZ’s High Performance programme hosted its largest ever track training camp – 31 riders in total were smashed by their coaches on a daily basis at the ILT Velodrome. Throw in Saturday’s headlines regarding SPARC’s proposal to site a National Cycling Centre somewhere in the country, this week’s upcoming Southland Track Champs, our hosting of the National Champs from late next month and the small matter of planning for the year ahead and Junior Worlds next year ... let’s just say we have found enough to keep us busy over the last couple of weeks.
Brilliant news came out of the Beijing World Cup over the weekend. Tom Scully’s international comeback is complete with his fourth place finish in the Omnium. There are no easy events at that level but the Omnium is one of the most demanding - six events contested over two days for which riders earn points which are totalled at the end to decide the winner. Our boy “Scud” was ultra-consistent with five top-10 finishes, including a win in the Elimination Race.
His faultless and focused return from what could (and possibly should) have been a crippling injury was unquestionably one of the sporting comebacks of 2010. From the moment Tom wrapped his leg around an Irish power pole in the middle of last year, he set his sights on getting back to competing on the international scene. To see all his hard work, determination and will pay off over the weekend was outstanding. It would also be remiss not to mention a top Northern Southland lad by the name of Mark Hollands, who is the unsung hero of the Scully comeback. His watchful eye and guidance during Tom’s rehabilitation played a massive part in its success. Their combined efforts mean one of the south’s true sporting champions is ready to rip in to his biggest year ever.
Off the bike, yesterday a Sunday newspaper reported that eight centres have expressed an interest in hosting a National Cycling Centre of Excellence. While the process, the politics and the possible outcomes could fill any number of columns, one thing has been made abundantly clear to me. The foresight of those involved in designing and building the ILT Velodrome last decade cannot be overstated. Southland would not be able to afford to build the quality facility we can now all enjoy, were the concept being floated for the first time today. No matter what decision SPARC makes, or how many velodromes are built around the countryside, thanks to that visionary group, Southlanders will always have something world class at our back door. Then it’s over to us to make sure that even if we don’t have the country’s only indoor velodrome, we continue to have the best one.
Brilliant news came out of the Beijing World Cup over the weekend. Tom Scully’s international comeback is complete with his fourth place finish in the Omnium. There are no easy events at that level but the Omnium is one of the most demanding - six events contested over two days for which riders earn points which are totalled at the end to decide the winner. Our boy “Scud” was ultra-consistent with five top-10 finishes, including a win in the Elimination Race.
His faultless and focused return from what could (and possibly should) have been a crippling injury was unquestionably one of the sporting comebacks of 2010. From the moment Tom wrapped his leg around an Irish power pole in the middle of last year, he set his sights on getting back to competing on the international scene. To see all his hard work, determination and will pay off over the weekend was outstanding. It would also be remiss not to mention a top Northern Southland lad by the name of Mark Hollands, who is the unsung hero of the Scully comeback. His watchful eye and guidance during Tom’s rehabilitation played a massive part in its success. Their combined efforts mean one of the south’s true sporting champions is ready to rip in to his biggest year ever.
Off the bike, yesterday a Sunday newspaper reported that eight centres have expressed an interest in hosting a National Cycling Centre of Excellence. While the process, the politics and the possible outcomes could fill any number of columns, one thing has been made abundantly clear to me. The foresight of those involved in designing and building the ILT Velodrome last decade cannot be overstated. Southland would not be able to afford to build the quality facility we can now all enjoy, were the concept being floated for the first time today. No matter what decision SPARC makes, or how many velodromes are built around the countryside, thanks to that visionary group, Southlanders will always have something world class at our back door. Then it’s over to us to make sure that even if we don’t have the country’s only indoor velodrome, we continue to have the best one.
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