Something old, something new - 2012 Age Group Champs Preview

Waikato BoP's Hayden McCormick in the Open Madison

Another week, another major cycling event in Southland. This time it is the turn of those track cyclists at either end of the age spectrum to descend on Invercargill for the RaboDirect Age Group National Championships.

214 riders from 11 cycling centres will pedal their hearts out in 105 sprint and endurance events for both teams and individuals over four days, eight sessions and more than 25 hours of racing. 56 sets of medals will be handed out across 11 different age categories; Under 15 Boys and Girls, Under 17 Boys and Girls, Under 19 Boys and Girls, Masters Men (35-44, 45-54, 55+) and Masters Women (35-44, 45+.) Throw in more than 50 event volunteers and 75 team officials and you can get an idea of what a major sporting event the Age Group Champs is.

Competition should be intense, particularly in the Under 19 category with the spectre of the UCI Juniors World Track Championships in Invercargill later in the year looming large. These championships represent the final piece in the selection puzzle for the New Zealand squad. After last year’s record setting performance at the Worlds in Moscow and on the evidence of what we have seen from the class of 2012 at November’s Oceania Championships and the Under 19 Omnium earlier this month, the home country is gearing up for a strong challenge for some of the shiny stuff when the medals are handed out in August.

Southland’s Sophie Williamson and Dylan Kennett of Canterbury both return as two-time defending champions, titles they won last year in their first year as U19 riders last year. Likewise, Southland’s Michael Culling won three golds last year in this first appearance as an Under 17 and he is looking to time his return to the track after an injury-riddled 2011 with a strong showing this week alongside a near capacity and hugely talented bunch of boys. West Coast North Island’s Kate Stewart announced herself as the fastest Under 17 girl in the country 12 months ago at just 15 years of age and also returns as a two-time national champ.

The Under 15 Boys should is also likely to provide some great racing. West Coast North Island’s Campbell Stewart returns to Invercargill with looking to add to the two golds he picked up in 2011, but will face stiff opposition from Southland’s Josh Carpenter and Hamish Beadle among others.

Old riders don’t retire. They turn up every year and smash themselves (and others) at the Age Group Champs. Southland’s Erin Criglington and Jacq Dearlove have been unbeaten in the Masters Women events over the past two years and their times have been world class, up with the fastest recorded for their age groups in the world.

So if you want to get an idea of what this track cycling lark is all about before the world comes to ride in August, come join us from Wednesday to Saturday this week with sessions starting daily at 10am and 6pm at Stadium Southland Velodrome.

Excitement builds for year ahead

London's Olympic Velodrome

If we weren’t excited about Invercargill hosting the 2012 UCI Juniors Track World Championships in August, we are now.

This weekend has seen the first event held at the London Olympic Velodrome and much like our pride and joy in Southland, it has proved to be lightening fast right from the opening gun. World records have fallen and the action and atmosphere has been incredible and that’s what has got us fizzing at the prospect of the year ahead.

April’s World Elite Championships and July’s Olympics will whet our appetites and then the cycling world’s eyes will turn to the Stadium Southland Velodrome. Watching the TV coverage from London via the internet over the past few days has shown the huge lift the Great Britain team has received from a partisan home crowd. Riders like the legendary Sir Chris Hoy, Ben Swift and the GB Team Sprint and Team Pursuit combinations have all been lifted to wins by the packed London supporters. That’s the opportunity we have in August.

The Southlanders in action over the last few days have again distinguished themselves. Natasha Hansen has taken further steps towards the prize of Olympic qualification with new personal bests in the Women’s Sprint and Team Sprint with Otago’s Katie Schofield. Hansen qualified seventh in the Sprint, just 0.3 seconds behind the top qualifier and was desperately unlucky not to make the final eight, with a photo required to separate her and Australia’s Kaarle McCulloch.

That outstanding individual performance came on the back of an eighth place in the Team Sprint on Friday night. The southern pair took 0.3 seconds off their previous best and broke the 34 second barrier for the first time. Most importantly they were significantly ahead of key opponents Venezuela and Colombia who are also battling for Olympic qualification.

Eddie Dawkins continued his hot form from Nationals anchoring the Men’s Team Sprint combination to another new low time of 44.002 on the opening day of competition for fifth overall – just 0.15 seconds off the ride for the medals. Both Hansen and Dawkins were in action overnight in the Women’s Keirin and Men’s Sprint respectively.

Closer to home the final Southland team for the National Age Group Track Championships has been named ahead of the final track event of the domestic season. Whilst the Elite Championships feature the big names, the Age Groups this year take on greater importance with Junior Worlds now just six months away. The top Under 19 talent has one last opportunity to impress the selectors when action starts next Wednesday (29^th) as well as the best Under-17, Under-15 and Masters talents from around the country.

With over 250 riders from around the country it is the perfect dry-run for Junior Worlds – for us as an event organiser and you as a spectator. And as an unashamed bribe we will also be dishing out tickets to the World champs each night of Age Group competition.

So get along and get roaring for the locals. London has shown us the way.

Take Pride in Southlanders' Efforts

Eddie Dawkins (l) and Natasha Hansen

As a Southlander you can be mighty proud of what has been achieved by Cycling Southland riders over the last week.

Southland has one hand on the National Points Shield, the symbol of NZ track cycling supremacy, after its charges dominated all-comers to secure a 19-point lead at the conclusion of last week’s Elite National Championships. Southland leads the pack with 41 points, well ahead of Auckland on 22.

A dominant position like this is earned by a great team performance, which was certainly the case for Southland, but there were some stand-outs. We can confirm Eddie Dawkins is back. The big fella took out the prize for male rider with most points at this year’s champs and his victory over Sam Webster in the Men’s Sprint Final was a highlight. Natasha Hansen was her untouchable self, breaking a couple of National records and securing another four national golds. She has almost single-handedly taken the Women’s Sprint program from nowhere to within sight of a spot at the Olympics in the space of six months. With Southland-based BikeNZ coach Stu MacDonald now in charge of the Women Sprinters, performances will lift and times will drop. At just 23 Hansen, like Dawkins, has a decade of international elite competition ahead of them. Who knows what they could achieve? Both are in London, trying out the Olympic velodrome this week at the latest round of the UCI World Cups. More of their winning smiles would be great to see.

There were, of course, other great stories. Cycling Southland’s Coaching Facilitator Matt Archibald continues to improve at a rapid rate and is applying plenty of pressure to get in on the Men’s sprint combination. Cam Karwowski put a lid on a hugely-impressive year with gold in the Men’s Kilo Time Trial and Tom Scully was as sharp as ever in the Points and Madison races.

But it was a pair of youngsters, Dylan Kennett and Hayden McCormick who turned on one of the most impressive performances seen on the Velodrome in recent times with an incredible victory over a star-studded Elite field in the Men’s Madison. It was a special win and a pointer to how strong the New Zealand team will be at the UCI Juniors Track World Championships in Invercargill in August.

And if all of that wasn’t enough – our two Southlanders in the Para-cycling squad got to stand on the podium at the World Para Championships in Los Angeles on Friday. Phillipa Gray and Laura Thompson claimed a bronze medal in the Individual Pursuit and then backed up on Saturday to finish fifth in the 1000-metre Time Trial. It was a big step in their aim to qualify for the Paralympics in London in August.

There’s nothing quite like seeing locals achieving on the national and international scene like this. Without wanting to sound flippant, with the regularity of success our cyclists achieve it would be easy to gloss over these performances. Don’t. Enjoy their success, because we sure are.