Cycling: NZers excel on the track

Jesse Sergent. Herald file picture

New Zealand riders set a world record and claimed two medals on a day of unparalleled success at the world track cycling championships in Denmark today.

Feilding's Jesse Sergent qualified top then went on to secure a silver medal behind American defending champion Taylor Phinney in the 4000m individual pursuit at Copenhagen.

And the women's trio of Alison Shanks, Lauren Ellis and Rushlee Buchanan bounced back from a mixed qualifying ride to lower the world record in winning a bronze medal over the United States in the 3000m team pursuit.

Teenager Sam Webster, a triple world junior champion last year, also showed a glimpse of his potential to make the final and finish sixth in the men's keirin won by Olympic champion Chris Hoy, of Britain.

"It was a remarkable day for the team and the programme," BikeNZ high performance manager Mark Elliott said.

"They put the work in and showed real fortitude. Jesse still had memories of his disappointment from last year and it took real fortitude from Ali to climb back after missing a medal yesterday."

Shanks, who won the world individual pursuit gold in Poland last year, could manage only fourth in that event yesterday.

"It was difficult. Yesterday was disappointing for sure and they were two really hard rides," Shanks said.

"At the same time I knew I had done the training and I knew there were two teammates who were absolutely amping to do well."

Things did not quite gel in the qualifying ride, with the trio clocking a time of three minutes 24.405 seconds to be third fastest, 1.3sec behind surprise top qualifiers Australia.

"We sat down and planned the rideoff precisely right down to what lap each of us would take, at what speed and we went out and executed that plan to perfection. The world record was a consequence of focusing on that plan," she said after the New Zealanders posted a super slick 3min 21.552sec to beat the Americans for a medal .

"It was fantastic. Of course we would have loved to have been in the gold medal ride. But in the big picture we are walking away from here as the fastest team in the world.

"Women's team pursuit standards have risen quickly and are going to rise a lot more now this is an Olympic event. These championships were the start of that process to London (2012 Olympics) and so we can take a lot from them and know we are in a very good place."

Sergent topped qualifiers in his event when clocking 4min 15.988sec to become the first New Zealanders to go under 4min 16sec.

The 21-year-old was not able to back it up in the ride for the gold medal where Phinney retained his rainbow jersey in 4min 16.600sec with Sergent 2sec back.

The two finalists will head to the US after the championships where they are teammates on the professional Trek Livestrong under-23 development squad.

It was a huge performance from Sergent, who was keen to make amends for his fifth placing last year in Poland.

"The way I was tracking in training and the way our whole team was going, I knew that this sort of time was within reach," Sergent said.

"I had a good feeling in my legs this morning and all went to plan.

"It definitely took something out of my legs for the final but I was quite happy to back it up with a 4:18."

Aucklander Webster and Simon Van Velthooven, of Palmerston North, made their mark in the keirin competition with Webster qualifying for the final after finishing third in his semifinal behind Hoy. Van Velthooven was fourth in his semifinal and went on to finish ninth overall.

Webster could not position himself well in the final, finishing sixth in his first outing at this level.

"To be top six in his first world championships at just 19 is impressive and Simon was not far behind. Sam is just a boy really in terms of sprint development so it is quite exciting going forward," Elliott said.

Tom Scully finished seventh in the 15km scratch race. The Southlander was prominent throughout but missed a break made by world champion Alex Rasmussen in front of his home crowd as he led a three-strong break that lapped the field.

Scully pushed clear in a three-strong break but the other two riders faltered with the peleton only 60m in front, leaving Scully in no man's land.

Tomorrow sees New Zealand contesting the men's 4000m team pursuit, Eddie Dawkins and Ethan Mitchell in the kilo time trial and Rushlee Buchanan in the scratch race.

- NZPA