Cycling: Kiwi team claim two medals

By Terry Maddaford

What goes around came around for Anthony Peden at the world cycling championships in Germany yesterday.

A year after being stripped of the bronze medal in the 2000m kierin at the 1998 championships in Bordeaux, Peden, an Australian now living in Wanganui and based in Germany in the build-up to the Berlin championships, took silver in the same event.

But it was a rocky road to the dais for Peden, who joined Sarah Ulmer as New Zealand's medal-winners on the last day of the championships.

Peden was forced to a repechage after officials ruled he had ridden outside his sprint lane in the early rounds of the motor-paced event.

"That was a pathetic decision," said New Zealand coach Ron Cheatley. "We lodged a protest but they rejected it and he had to ride again to make the semifinals."

The final was another rough-house, but Peden, who crossed the finish line in third place, was the beneficiary this time when American Marty Nothstein was relegated to sixth and last for trying to force the eventual winner, German Jens Fiedler, off his line in the last 200m.

So Peden collected silver and the guarantee of an Olympic spot.

Ulmer powered home in the women's 25km points race to snatch bronze in the same event in which she won silver at last year's Commonwealth Games.

Her storming finish won the double-points final sprint to move into second equal place with German Judith Arndt on 18 points. Ulmer lost silver on a countback, two points behind gold medallist Marion Clignet (France).

Under the old rules, Ulmer would have won silver as the best-placed rider in the final sprint but these days the cyclist winning the most intermediate sprints gets the nod.

It was a bold effort by Ulmer, who had earlier finished a disappointing sixth in her specialist event, the individual pursuit.

She was struggling with 20 laps to ride but had improved to fifth 10 laps later before launching herself into the final sprint, which she knew she had to win to grab a medal.

"Sarah was pretty elated to get a medal after what had been a disappointing championships," her father, Gary, said last night. "There has been a lot going on over there and there were some pretty dejected people.

"We talked things over before the points race and she decided not to contest the first couple of sprints but try and cover any move made by Marion."

Ulmer was not surprised his daughter appeared to be in trouble with 20 laps to race.

"That's not unusual. She hyperventilates, which makes it appear she is gasping for breath," said Ulmer.

Ulmer and Rawea Greenwood have both qualified for the Olympics. Only one can ride in Sydney and it might now come down to a showdown at next year's track national championships in Inver-cargill.

Cheatley was well satisfied with the New Zealand effort, which catapulted the team into sixth place among the 34 nations at the championships.

New Zealand have now qualified cyclists in the men's team and individual pursuits and kierin and the women's pursuit and points race for the Sydney Olympics. They will attempt to qualify in four other events at December's Oceania championships in Sydney.

A mid-race crash cost Tim Carswell and Greg Henderson any chance in the 60km madison after they had been in sixth place. Carswell fell heavily and rode on with slight concussion after losing several laps to finish 15th.