The focus switched to the track for junior cyclists last night and they will have been grateful to be indoors after experiencing challenging climatic conditions during the Yunca Junior Tour of Southland last weekend.
More than 140 riders, many of them backing up from the Yunca-sponsored three-day road tour which finished on Sunday, took to the Stadium Southland velodrome boards last night in the first of a two-night carnival.
New Zealand tasted double success in the trans-Tasman Italian pursuit contests.
The women's combination of Southland's Kate Dunlevey, Racquel Sheath, Cassie Cameron and Alysha Keith recorded a time of 1:11.87 for the 1000m to win by just under 5sec.
The men's team of Southland riders Tom Beadle and Jeremy Presbury, with Callum Saunders and Zac Williams, beat their Australian counterparts by 4.5sec with a time of 1:03.23.
Even though the junior world track championships finished only a couple of weeks ago in Invercargill, planning for the next edition in Glasgow has already started with a camp at the velodrome this week.
Sixteen riders are involved in the camp, with only three backing up from this year's world championships.
The next major event is the Oceania track championships in the Adelaide Super Drome from November 28 to December 2.
The New Zealand squad includes Southland riders Josh Haggerty, Michael Culling, Laura Heywood and Jeremy Presbury in the under-19 divisions.
The senior ranks include Southland Olympians Eddie Dawkins and Natasha Hansen, along with fellow sprinter Matt Archibald and endurance riders Sequoia Cooper, Pieter Bulling and Cameron Karwowski.
Article courtesy of The Southland Times