Junior Worlds dream becomes reality

When the 2012 UCI Juniors Track World Championships were awarded to Invercargill, Cycling Southland had a dream of what we wanted to achieve from the event. That dream (and then some) turned into reality last month as the world came to ride.

154 of the best under-19 men and women track cyclists from 24 countries descended on Stadium Southland Velodrome and, together, they put on a spectacular show.

19 world titles and an unprecedented five world record rides over five incredible days of racing. With the London Olympics fresh in everyone’s minds, our aim was to bring a world-class event to the cycling and sporting public of New Zealand.

Now, some weeks since the event, it is hugely satisfying to reflect on an experience that showcased the sport, our region and our facility around the globe in delivering what UCI has informed us were the best Junior Worlds ever.

It started on the opening evening, where world records fell on four separate occasions and New Zealand fought hard but had to be content with three appearances on the second step of the podium.

That proved to be a theme for the Championships with Australia leaving Invercargill atop the medal table with nine rainbow jerseys and the New Zealanders matching their haul from a year ago in Moscow, taking home 10 medals, including seven silvers. The only thing missing from the champs was God Defend New Zealand, as that elusive world title remained out of the grasp of the class of 2012.

After a start like that, our only concern was how the rest of the championship would live up to that standard. We need not have worried. The rest of the competition was filled with incredible story lines.

Russia’s Daria Shmeleva completely dominated the women’s sprint event to sweep all four golds and add a second world record in the Women’s Time Trial. Write her name down for Rio. Australia’s Tayla Jennings is another who seems destined for great things. She swept the Women’s Omnium with six wins from six events for the second consecutive year, all after she had already claimed gold in the Team Pursuit and Points races.
Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria fell twice on the opening night of the Men’s Omnium but patched himself together to claim gold and set the standard for post-race celebrations, riding the length of the front straight on the back wheel of his road bike with his Colombian flag as a cape.

He also featured in one of the most poignant moments of the championships when Fernando and Hayden McCormick helped Dylan Kennett on to the podium after the New Zealander had bravely fought to a bronze medal after an early fall in the Madison.

But for our organisation, whilst the action on the track was world class, it was the atmosphere inside Stadium Southland Velodrome that really sent shivers down our spines. I have never heard noise like the roar they gave Kennett during his silver-medal ride in the Men’s Kilo and the crowd didn’t let up for five sell-out days.

Huge thanks goes to our army of volunteers, all 130 of you who gave up five days to help put New Zealand on the track cycling map. Thanks too to main sponsor SIT, funding partners Invercargill Licensing Trust, ILT Foundation, Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council, Community Trust of Southland, Venture Southland, NZ Major Events, Sport New Zealand and, of course, our partners at BikeNZ and UCI.

The only question now is what’s next?

Relive all the action at www.juniorworlds2012.com where you’ll find video highlights from every final.