KEY POINTS:
Expect BMX to receive a healthy boost of support in the wake of its debut at the Olympic Games.
Bike New Zealand has identified the newest of the four cycling disciplines as providing a pathway for athletes to progress towards, particularly, track cycling. Having two riders, Sarah Walker
and Marc Willers, among the world's top 10 helps but Bike NZ high-performance chief Mark Elliott believes the BMX buzz will have a positive spinoff across cycling.
"BMX is a really good fit, not only for the sport itself, but also in teaching a lot of kids bike skills," he said yesterday. [Top road rider] Julian Dean was a BMXer, why do you think [outstanding track racer] Greg Henderson was at the BMX? He used to ride it.
"A lot of those guys come from BMX; that's where they started riding bikes and that's where New Zealand has got huge strength."
Elliott said having BMX at the Games offered young New Zealanders a direct route to achieve their Olympic ambitions without having to branch off into another form of cycling.
"And we also have [through BMX] the ability to start capturing our future cyclists. Some may stay in the BMX; others may come across (to track or road) and they have amazing bike skills. That's why BMX is important to us," he added.
Bike NZ will go through a review process in October-November. That is where key decisions will be made with London 2012 in mind. All sports want more financial support, but the supply of money across the sporting board is limited. Therefore sports need to be smart in their planning.
Elliott hinted track and BMX would be well catered for; the road programme - which includes professional riders already financially supported by their teams - and mountain biking may suffer.
"We are looking at prioritising more into track and BMX. We know we've got the athletes now, and coming through, who can show some longevity in the sport." It's what are we going to do, what are we going to target, then decide what it's going to cost, then what are we going to prioritise."
Elliott wants to find backers to support the country's best track riders to keep them on the track and financially soundly rewarded.
"We want to contract those guys to win gold in London," he said.
"We've got 20-year-old Olympians who may want to go pro. We have to look at what we can invest in and what we get in return for that, and that it will have a positive impact."
And Elliott's reaction to New Zealand's performance on the track and at the BMX in Beijing tells a story.
"The satisfaction is that we know we can do better. I like to think we've taken the first step forward. We are heading in the right direction."
