The New Zealand team during its gold medal ride.(Image credit: Luis Barbosa)
The men's team pursuit combination (from left) Jesse Sergent, Marc Ryan, Sam Bewley and Aaron Gate.(Image credit: Envious Photography-BikeNZ)
There's plenty at stake for New Zealand's leading track cyclists at the RaboDirect New Zealand Track Cycling Championships in Invercargill this weekend.
The championships, starting at the Cycling Southland Velodrome on Saturday, form another important part of the season's programme ultimately leading through to the London Olympics.
The BikeNZ selectors face a daunting task and some tough decisions as they fine-tune teams initially for this month's World Cup in London, the world championships in Melbourne in April and finally the Olympics.
"There are some selections still to be made for the World Cup and of course long term we have to work around the IOC limitations on team numbers for London which is quite complex," said BikeNZ High Performance Director, Mark Elliott.
"In between that is an important world championship in Melbourne in April - doubly important because it is very rare to have this event in the southern hemisphere.
"It will be an important litmus test for our Olympic preparations. Importantly it has a full schedule of events including non-Olympic disciplines and is a gilt-edged opportunity for us to take a full squad of riders with an eye to the future.
"That's something we have been unable to contemplate when the championships are in Europe.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"It is a world championship in its own right and hopefully it can spark not only really important success for our riders but spark the sport, very much in the same way it did for rowing last year."
The key squad of sprinters will all be competing at the championships with a further chance for the women's pair of Natasha Hansen and Katie Schofield to impress for inclusion in the London World Cup as they keep alive their late bid for Olympic selection.
The men will resume their battles and hope to press their Olympic claims to include all four leading lights in Simon van Velthooven (Palmerston North), Eddie Dawkins (Invercargill) and Sam Webster and Ethan Mitchell (both Auckland).
Some of the BikeNZ endurance squad riders won't be racing with Jesse Sergent having joined his RadioShack Nissan Trek World Tour team while omnium rider Shane Archbold is competing in Europe as a lead-in to the London World Cup.
Sergent's spot for the London World Cup is up for grabs along with significant opportunities for riders to push claims for wider selection to April's World Championships and on to the Olympics. The depth in the endurance group is significant including Beijing Olympic medallist Westley Gough, fellow squad member Peter Latham and under-23 tyro Myron Simpson.
There will also be interest in the form of Southland's Tom Scully, recently resigned in Chipolte First Solar, the under-23 development team of World Tour team Garmin Barracuda. Scully has worked his way back from major career-threatening injuries after a crash during The RAS Tour of Ireland in 2010 which cost him a spot in the Delhi Commonwealth Games.
The favoured women's endurance trio of Alison Shanks, Lauren Ellis and Jaime Nielsen will be in camp but not competing, while three members of the men's team pursuit squad - Sam Bewley, Aaron Gate and Marc Ryan - will bypass the pursuit but will compete in a range of other events.
