Teenage cycling star of the future Dylan Kennett grabbed his first elite title on the opening night of finals at the New Zealand track national championships in Cambridge last night.
Kennett, 19, claimed the 4000m individual pursuit, coming back from a big early deficit to clock 4:28.757 and beat Taupo's Patrick Bevin at the new Avantidrome. The Waimate rider was thrilled with his personal best in qualifying fastest and his strong back-up last night, after a challenging lead-up. He returned from a medal-winning performance in the team pursuit at the world championships to race in Australia in an 85km Madison before returning to New Zealand at the weekend.
"Given that build-up I am pretty happy. I had a big PB this morning. Tonight was tough. We were both dying at the end but I was dying a bit less than him," Kennett said. "It's been a big few weeks and it's great to get my first national title after the world championships."
Coach Terry Gyde believes his young charge has the potential to be one of the country's best riders. "Through his junior years he was ahead in performance of the likes of Julian Dean at a similar age," Gyde said. "After a tough first year out of juniors he has really matured this year and his class showed with a key ride in that medal effort in the team pursuit at Cali."
Bevin, 22, who returned to the track late last year following three successful years as a professional road rider in the US, produced a strong performance for second place. Former world omnium champion Aaron Gate won the bronze medal.
