KEY POINTS:
SYDNEY - Greg Henderson shook off a bout of the flu sweeping the New Zealand track cycling team to claim a World Cup points race silver medal behind the reigning Olympic champion.
A late rally from Henderson at Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney on Saturday brought him closer to Mikhail Ignatiev.
But the Russian's big early lead was enough to win another gold medal with 31 points, 14 clear of the New Zealander.
Henderson, who finished fourth behind Ignatiev at the 2004 Athens Olympics, held off Belgian bronze medallist Vasili Kiryienka by two points.
"Greg had a great race." said national coach Terry Gyde. "We've all been sick since the Tour of Southland so we're stoked with that performance."
Gyde said this month's Tour of Southland, which was ridden in snow during one stage, had taken its toll and New Zealand's eight-strong team all felt the effects this week.
There was also satisfaction with Alison Shanks' fourth placing in the individual pursuit, in which Australian Katie Mactier - Henderson's partner - won gold.
Shanks finished 1.3s behind Lithuania's Vilija Sereikaite in the bronze medal ride, enough to qualify her for the world track championships in Spain in March.
But a month of woe continued for pursuiter Jason Allen, who will return home for scans on a hip injury and miss next week's Oceania track championships in Melbourne.
Allen finished well back in the individual pursuit and Gyde said he was riding "on one leg" after the hip injury, from a crash in the Tour of Southland, worsened.
The pursuit team of Hayden Godfrey, Marc Ryan, Peter Latham and Westley Gough performed below expectations in finishing sixth behind a first three of Russia, Denmark and Ukraine.
Gyde said the team were still working on their top pursuit combination for the world championships.
That search will continue at the next World Cup round in Moscow next month with a junior team of Gough, Ryan, Christchurch's Darren Shea, Rotorua's Sam Bewley and Feilding's Jesse Sergent.
- NZPA
