News and Results

Cycling Southland will face its sternest test in recent years to retain the National Points Shield when the National Age Group Championships start on Tuesday. The symbol of track cycling supremacy has spent the off-season at Stadium Southland Velodrome for the past five years but Southland will need to turn-around a five point deficit following the Elite and Under 19 Championships held in Invercargill three weeks ago.

Olympic medallist Simon Van Velthooven dug deep to win a silver medal on the opening night of finals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Belarus.

Southland's Eddie Dawkins and Olympic medallist Simon Van Velthooven will fly the kiwi flag in tomorrow’s opening event of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Belarus.

A mixed bag of a roll around, racing and team pursuit practice was theme for Tuesday Night Junior Racing as everyone put the finishing touches on their Nationals build-up, while a strong A Grade field was the feature of Senior Racing, with a great battle between young and old(er).

It's been a hectic start to 2013. So when a rare weekend off presented itself, I travelled to the old home patch of Gore to give Sport Southland a hand at their outstanding MTL Moonshine Trail on Saturday (yes, I too was questioning my sanity when the alarm went off at 6am!) writes CEO Nick Jeffrey.

Nine intrepid women with 22 children between them – that is the team of Southland Masters women competing at the National Age Group track cycling championships from February 26 2013 in Invercargill.

A youthful Southland contingent took on the NZ Cup on Wheels during the weekend claiming some good results during Otago's big Carnival weekend of racing.

Sunday dawned lovely and calm (as opposed to the gale force winds Saturday has offered!), so a perfect day for a blast around at the 1st of the Southport Criterium Series races on the new Bill Richardson Drive / Woolstore Circuit.

Race two of the season was one that really tested the riders' mental strength. Weather wise a nice wee cross/head wind to contend with for a good part of the race added to hurt that was about to be inflicted on them.

Josh Haggerty was the man to beat on Tuesday night, with a fast finishing Josh van den Arend close on his heels. Meanwhile, a new two hour race slot for Juniors on Fridays, meant the night comprised of a roll around as well as a bit of speed work with a Motorpaced Points Race for each junior grade. 

Last week's Elite and U19 Track nationals held at Invercargill's Stadium Southland Velodrome was another outstanding success. Great racing, great crowds and the great atmosphere which has become a hallmark of the velodrome over recent years, all added up to four great days of racing.

Hot and windy weather welcomed the 41 riders to the start of the new road season. A last minute change of location to the Te Tipua circuit wasn’t the easiest race to start the season off.

Cycling Southland's Liam Aitcheson and Georgia Vessey will quickly switch their attention to the road after today being named in BikeNZ's Under-19 team to contest next month’s Oceania Road Cycling Championships in Canberra.

Southlanders Cameron Karwowski and Pieter Bulling have been named among a six-strong young development team to join several Olympic incumbents in a five-month European based training and racing programme to develop a men’s endurance track team for the world championships and Commonwealth Games next year and on to the Rio Olympics.

New Zealand’s in-form sprinters will lead a BikeNZ team that will chase medals in next month’s UCI track cycling world championships in Belarus.

The sensational sprinters were again the big hit on the final morning of qualifying at the BikeNZ national track cycling championships in Invercargill today.

BikeNZ riders are sprinting their way to the top with seven national records this week at the track cycling championships in Invercargill.

Teenager Georgia Williams heads to her first European cycling experience buoyed in the knowledge her elevation to the elite ranks has met with considerable success over the summer.

Olympic medallist Simon Van Velthooven showed his class to dominate the heats of the keirin on the third day of qualifying at the BikeNZ national track cycling championships in Invercargill today.

The cyclist known as Rhino – Simon Van Velthooven - charged through a world class field to claim an exciting keirin final at the BikeNZ national track cycling championships in Invercargill tonight.