BikeNZ sprint team edge Olympic champions Great Britain

The burgeoning BikeNZ sprint cycling team finished their two month training stint in Europe on a high note when they beat Olympic champions Great Britain in the team sprint in Germany.

The squad edged the British combination led by triple Beijing gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy in their qualifying heat and ultimately finished fourth in the meet at Cottbus that attracted most of Europe’s best riders.

The group has a further week of training in Germany before returning home, with BikeNZ national sprint coach Justin Grace delighted with the learnings from the campaign.

“While it is very early in the season here, this is a big meet and it was great for the guys to get one over Great Britain,” Grace said. “We are not getting carried away but at the same time it was very good for us to put one on the chin of the Great Britain team and to say that we are not to be taken lightly.”

Auckland’s Sam Webster, 19, qualified seventh in the sprint while Simon van Velthooven (Palmerston North qualified for the keirin final in against a world class field in his return to racing after injury. Van Velthooven tried to take a march on the field in the final, leading by 30m with 550m remaining but his bold move was caught 100m from the finish.

Matt Archibald, who joined the squad last month, was brought into the team sprint combination after fellow Southlander Eddie Dawkins returned home following a crash. The combination with Webster and Auckland’s Ethan Mitchell, 20, worked well, managing 1:02.80 in the final for fourth place in cold, windy and wet conditions on the partially covered track.

“As far as a training campaign it’s probably been the most successful and the most brutal at the same time,” said Grace after the squad lost Van Velthooven to a crash in the first week and then Dawkins, who has been cleared of any serious injury and will resume light training in Invercargill.

“We came here to learn, to work on different tactical strategies against the best in the world, develop the technical aspects as well as work with our sports science people based on the data in training and racing.

“In terms of ticking the boxes we have exceeded my expectations.”

Grace is delighted with the development of Archibald who will now pose real competition for a spot in the team sprint.

After a recovery phase, the sprint squad will work towards the track season with emphasis on the UCI World Cup events and the Oceania Championships where individual winners will gain direct entry to next year’s world championships, which in turn will provide the springboard on to the London Olympics.