Rio Olympics 2016: Kiwi omnium cyclist within reach of medal

New Zealand omnium cyclist Dylan Kennett took home a maximum 40 points from the 1000m time trial race this morning. Photo / AP

With just the final 40km points race remaining, Kiwi cyclist Dylan Kennett is within reach of a medal in the omnium at the Rio Olympics.

Kennett clocked a personal best 12.506 seconds in the flying lap to win the 250m sprint, the fifth event of six in the multi-discipline competition, to move up to fourth overall.

Eighth going into the flying lap, Kennett powered past his previous best of 12.772sec set last month in Poland to be on 150 points, two behind third-placed Dane Lasse Norman Hansen.

Italian Elia Viviani leads the competition on 178 points with Britain's Mark Cavendish second with 162. Earlier in the day, Kennett's one minute 00.923 second effort snared him maximum points in the time trial. He bettered his previous best of 1:01.187 and was almost two seconds ahead of the second-fastest rider, Australian Glenn O'Shea.

Kennett, 21, had been boosted by news his place in Sunday's opening scratch race had been revised up to fifth. Initially he thought he had pipped Cavendish for fifth, but the final result showed Kennett 10th and Cavendish sixth.

However, the commissaires' panel on Monday amended the results for the 60-lap, 15km race.

Kennett was elevated to fifth, boosting his total by 18 points. A statement from the panel said that during a post-race video review, it became obvious there was some confusion around the ringing of the last-lap bell.

"The placings have been amended to reflect the result after the completion of 60 laps."

Kennett had delivered a solid performance in the second event, the individual pursuit, to finish sixth but was the second rider dropped in the third event of the day, the elimination race.