The New Zealand cycling team believes months of preparation at home
and abroad will pave the way for success when then compete in the
UCI Junior Track World Championships on home turf in Invercargill
starting tomorrow.
The under-19 Kiwi team will compete amongst 154 cyclists from 24
countries at the Stadium Southland Velodrome this week, in the hope
of continuing the international success of the BikeNZ programme.
Auckland sprinter Paige Paterson is a solid medal prospect after a
bronze medal ride at last year’s Junior Track World
Championships in Moscow.
"I’d like to come away from the event with some personal best
times and if they’re good enough, then hopefully I can get
gold," she said.
"It’s a whole lot easier being at home in New Zealand this
year, especially with all my relatives coming down to the event for
support."
After a series of camps in Invercargill, Paterson began her final
preparation in Europe with the New Zealand Olympic squad in their
build up to London, before heading back to Australia to link up
with the rest of the junior sprint squad.
"The Olympic team gave me plenty of tactical advice which was
great, but the main thing was just to train hard. It’s the
little things that seem to make all the difference in sprinting,"
said the 18-year-old.
"Diet is something that has been very strict over the last three
months; just rice, couscous and meat really, so I can’t wait
until next week when I can lash out a bit."
Current national and Oceania team pursuit champion Tom Beadle is
excited race after his successful switch to the sprint ranks after
preparation the United States.
"I’d definitely like to win a medal, but you can’t
really focus on outcomes too much. You’ve just got to race
your bike and if you end up with a medal around your neck, well
that’s a bonus," said the Invercargill rider.
"Preparation has been good all round. We had a great build up over
in America and then again back here in Invercargill. The
track’s been warm, and for us to be in a home environment is
great."
The 16-strong New Zealand team had their final training session at
the track this afternoon to shake out some nerves and keep the legs
moving.
"I think everyone’s probably a bit nervous. But as long as
you can handle your nerves and use them to your advantage rather
than let them get to you, then I think being nervous is actually a
good thing," said Beadle.
The team scored a record 10 medals in last year’s breakout
junior world championships in Moscow, with their last gold medal
coming in 2009 when Olympian Sam Webster won three gold medals
including the team sprint with London rider Ethan Mitchell.
The championships begin tomorrow with qualifying for the
women’s and men’s team pursuit during the day, with the
medals to be decided in the evening session along with the
men’s and women’s team pursuit.
There has been strong support with some nights already close to a
full house with the championships running through to Sunday.
New Zealand has only hosted the event once before, 30 years ago in
Wanganui.
