KEY POINTS:
BikeNZ's "Power to the Podium" programme has whittled down a list of about 130 applicants for its national women's pursuit squad to just five, three of whom had their first spin on a velodrome over the weekend.
The wider pool of New Zealand's female athletes has been tapped for talent with an eye to the 2012 Olympics in London and beyond.
About 25 were selected for testing and the five with "the best engines" moved on to the next stage.
They were:
- Katie Boyd, of Auckland, who competed in both the world mountain biking and road racing championships last year achieving a top 20 finish in the latter.
- Laura Thompson, of Christchurch, a former member of the Canterbury Wildcats basketball team.
- Serena Sheridan, of Hastings, who currently leads the national road riding series.
- Jamie Nielson, of Cambridge, a national level junior rower - Melanie Burke, of Auckland, a former national level rower.
The women will train alongside a group of junior pursuiters ahead of the national championhips in February after which a pursuit team and individual riders will be chosen to compete at the world championships in Poland a month later.
- NZPA
