Strong BikeNZ squad selected for world track championships

BikeNZ have selected an 18-strong squad to prepare for next month’s UCI World Track Cycling Championships in Copenhagen.

New Zealand will mount their biggest-ever campaign with 16 riders to compete in the championships from 24-28 March.

The competition or places has meant the selectors have chosen a wider training group that will be pruned to the final 16 riders to compete in Copenhagen to be named in mid-March.

The squad will go into camp in Invercargill at the end of February for three weeks before departing for Europe.

BikeNZ national coach Tim Carswell said the focus is for selected riders to challenge for medals in each of their targeted events.

“We are keen to build on the success from last year in Poland where we gained three medals, the most we have achieved at any elite world championships before,” Carswell said.

“This is a huge campaign and a massive effort to take 16 riders to Europe with support staff and we are grateful to the support from SPARC so we can continue to build towards the Commonwealth Games later this year and on to London 2012 and beyond.”

Carswell said the squad includes last year’s men’s medal winning team pursuit squad with Sam Bewley returning from competing with his new Team Radio Shack with Lance Armstrong and Jesse Sergent (Trek Livestrong) after competing in the Tour of Qatar.

The selectors have also named 2008 Omnium world champion Hayden Godfrey in the squad. The Christchurch rider was knocked off his bike while training and the injuries he received prevented him from competing in last week’s RaboPlus New Zealand Championships.

Godfrey will head to Australia next week along with Tom Scully, Myron Simpson, Shane Archbold and Marc Ryan to compete in several high profile track events in Melbourne and Bendigo next week.

The women’s endurance squad is headed by individual pursuit world champion Alison Shanks and includes national scratch race champion Rushlee Buchanan, points race champion Lauren Ellis and other members of the women’s medal winning pursuit squad Kaytee Boyd (Auckland) and Jaime Nielsen.

The newcomer is Levin’s Gemma Dudley after the teenager impressed at the national championships. The 19 year old won four medals at the junior world track championships two years ago.

There are five selected for the men’s sprint squad with four to travel to Copenhagen, led by the in-form Eddie Dawkins (Invercargill). The coaches will continue to work with combinations before naming their final four to contest sprints, kilo time trial, keirin and team sprint at the world championships.

The men’s endurance squad includes the world championship medal group from the team pursuit along with Godfrey and the Southland 20-year-old Scully, who has five medals from his two World Cup outings over the last three months.

“There’s tremendous competition within the squad as well which will give the coaches plenty to mull over as we select the riders best suited to specific events and roles for Copenhagen.”

Carswell said it is a challenging year to peak for the world championships and again for the Commonwealth Games in October and there will be a number of other athletes to come in to contention for New Delhi.

The squad is:

Women: Kaytee Boyd (Auckland), Rushlee Buchanan (Te Awamutu), Gemma Dudley (Kevin), Lauren Ellis (Hinds), Jaimie Nielsen (Hamilton), Alison Shanks (Dunedin).

Men: Sam Bewley (Rotorua), Eddie Dawkins (Invercargill), Hayden Godfrey (Christchurch), Wes Gough (Waipukurau), Peter Latham (Te Awamutu), Ethan Mitchell (Auckland), Marc Ryan (Timaru), Tom Scully (Invercargill), Jesse Sergent (Feilding), Adam Stewart (Christchurch), Simon van Velthooven (Palmerston North), Sam Webster (Auckland).