Southland sprinter Eddie Dawkins has finished seventh in the keirin at the UCI World Cup in Mexico.
Dawkins yesterday had his chances of making the final thwarted when he was relegated in the second round for slowing down a competitor by pushing aggressively.
National sprint coach Justin Grace said he felt the decision was harsh and warranted little more than a warming but with World Cup racing all decisions are final with no appeal.
Dawkins returned to win the ride-off for seventh to 12th placings impressively.
"Eddie was riding very strongly and in my opinion he would have won the final tonight," Grace said. "He produced the best tactical riding that I have seen from him and impressed a lot of people."
