Cycling: Spinters on high after win

Justin Grace. Photo / Dean Purcell

The New Zealand sprint cycling team have finished their two-month training stint in Europe on a high note by beating Olympic champions Great Britain in the team sprint in Germany.

The squad edged the British combination led by triple Beijing gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy in their qualifying heat and ultimately finished fourth yesterday in a meet at Cottbus that attracted most of Europe's best riders.

The New Zealanders have another week of training in Germany before returning home, with BikeNZ national sprint coach Justin Grace delighted with their development during the stay in Europe.

"While it is very early in the season here, this is a big meet and it was great for the guys to get one over Great Britain," Grace said.

"We are not getting carried away but at the same time it was very good for us to put one on the chin of the Great Britain team and to say that we are not to be taken lightly."

Auckland's Sam Webster, 19, qualified seventh in the sprint while Simon van Velthooven, of Palmerston North, qualified for the keirin final against a world-class field in his return to top-flight racing after an injury break.

Undaunted by the strong field, Van Velthooven tried to take a march on the field in the final, leading by 30m with 550m remaining, but his bold move was caught 100m from the finish.

Matt Archibald, who joined the squad last month, was brought into the team sprint combination after fellow Southlander Eddie Dawkins returned home following a crash.

The combination with Webster and Auckland's Ethan Mitchell worked well, as they posted a time of 1 minute 2.80 seconds in the final for fourth place in cold, windy and wet conditions on a partially covered track.

"As far as a training campaign it's probably been the most successful and the most brutal at the same time," Grace said after the squad lost Van Velthooven to a crash in the first week and then Dawkins, who has been cleared of any serious injury and will resume light training in Invercargill.

"We came here to learn, to work on different tactical strategies against the best in the world, develop the technical aspects as well as work with our sports science people based on the data in training and racing.

"In terms of ticking the boxes we have exceeded my expectations," Grace said.

- NZPA