Cycling: Alison Shanks new world champion

Alison Shanks celebrates after clocking three minutes 29.807 in the 3000m individual pursuit. Photo / AP

Dunedin's Alison Shanks has struck gold in the women's 3000m individual pursuit at the 2009 world track cycling championships in Poland this morning.

Shanks beat Britain's Beijing Olympics silver medalist Wendy Houvenaghel, who was the fastest qualifier for the final.

Shanks, fourth at last year's Olympics, clocked three minutes 29.807 to beat Houvenaghel convincingly.

The Briton clocked 3min 32.174sec in the final after setting a qualifying time of 3min 29.4sec.

It is New Zealand's second gold medal in successive years, after Christchurch's Hayden Godfrey won the five-event omnium at last year's championships.

Other world championship medals in recent times have come through Greg Henderson, a 2004 gold in the 15km scratch race and silver in the same event in 2005 and Sarah Ulmer in the 2004 women's individual pursuit.

Karen Holliday also won the Points Race at the World Championships in 1990.

Until Shanks' feat this morning, Ulmer and Holliday were the only New Zealand women to hold a world title.

- NZPA