Cyclist to brave chills of Italy

Come tomorrow, Waipu cyclist Fiona Southorn will be winging her way to the freezing temperatures in northern Italy's Montichiari to contest the UCI world para-cycling track championships.
Her trip to Italy, with the nine-strong Kiwi contingent, comes on the back of a silver medal in the C5 division at the elite track nationals in Invercargill in her key event, the 3000m pursuit, where she clocked 4m 03.713s - just one second off her personal best.
After much deliberation whether to contest the worlds or not, as it is a costly self-funded campaign, Southorn said she was excited about the trip.
"I have had quite a busy schedule as far as training goes, riding six days a week with usually core training on week mornings and indoor spin training three days a week, plus at least one or two trips a week to Manukau Velodrome - and again on the weekend," she said.
Southorn also recently attended a training camp which was held as part of the Southland Track Championships. She then placed third in the elite women's pursuit at the Auckland Track Championships - racing in the able-bodied division in order to fit more racing in, she said.
"To top off the hectic time I've had lately, my car broke down on the way back from Invercargill at the weekend after the elite track nationals," she lamented.
Southorn will go from training in humid Northland conditions to -2 degrees Celsius in Italy. She has goals in place for the trip and hopes the cold will not be a problem.
"I will be aiming to do at least a PB in my key event, the 3km pursuit. Once I get up to speed after the first lap, I'm usually sitting on between 44 and 47km/h. With no drafting, this is quite fast."
This year is busy, leading up to the 2012 London Paralympics, which Southorn is hopeful of attending.
"There are another two championship events that I will be attending in Australia in April and May - the Road Racing Oceanias and the World Cup road championships," she said.
After the world track event and the two road races in Australia, Southorn and the Paralympic team selectors will sit down to decide what discipline the 43-year-old is best to aim for at the London Paralympics.