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RaboPlus New Zealand Track Cycling Championships – Day 1 Heats

Cycling New Zealand

Thursday 11 February 2010, 1:26PM

By Cycling New Zealand

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INVERCARGILL

Christchurch sprinter Adam Stewart has grabbed the first title of the RaboPlus New Zealand Track Cycling Championships in Invercargill today.

Stewart took out the 250m time trial, held for the first time as a test event to kick off the three-day championships.

The Christchurch rider clocked 18.171 for the standing one lap on the boards at the ILT Velodrome to edge out Auckland teenager Ethan Mitchell by 3/100ths of a second.

Stewart’s victory has given him confidence he can earn the spot as the lead-off rider for the team sprint in the upcoming world championships.

“This was my major aim for the week really,” Stewart said. “I’ll be riding for a good time personally in the individual sprint and have a really good crack at the keirin.

“I got the lead-off role at the World Cup in Beijing and that’s the spot I want for the world championships.”

Mitchell, the lead-off rider for New Zealand’s junior world championship victory last year, was the top qualifier in 18.205, and held a slight edge at the midway point in the final before Stewart edged him on the line.

Beijing World Cup sprint winner Eddie Dawkins (Southland) recovered from a slip at the start of the ride-off for third and fourth with a brilliant second half to claim the bronze position.

National sprint record-holder Natasha Hansen (Canterbury) took out the women’s final in 20.800 to edge out Otago’s Katie Schofield by 3/100ths of a second.

Tonight features the women’s 500m time trial and men’s 1000m time trial.

Results:

Women’s 250m time trial, qualifying:  Natasha Hansen (Canterbury) 20.848, 1; Katie Schofield (Otago) 21.160, 2; Hannah Latta (Wellington) 21.498, 3; Tiffany Parry (Auckland) 23.066, 4.

Gold ride-off: Hansen 20.800, 1; Schofield 21.100, 2.

Bronze ride-off: Latta 21.494, 3; Parry 22.837, 4.

Qualifying: Ethan Mitchell (Auckland) 18.256, 1; Adam Stewart (Canterbury) 18.290, 2; Eddie Dawkins (Southland) 18.310, 3; Matthew Archbold (Otago) 18.812, 4.

Gold ride-off: Stewart  18.171, 1; Mitchell 18.025, 2.

Bronze ride-off: Dawkins 18.814, 3; Archbold 18.845, 4.