Promising Southland cyclist Bradly Knipe overcame a mechanical problem in the time trial and a crash in the sprint to win four gold medals in front of a home crowd in the under-19 men's events at the 2016 Oceania Track Cycling Championships in Invercargill.
The 16-year-old won the one-kilometre time trial by over a second with a time of 1:05.156 to finish ahead of Australian riders Kye Bonser and Kai Chapman who finished second and third respectively.
Knipe has been riding for three years and was pleased to improve on his performance from last year's Oceania championships.
"I am really stoked, I got third last year at the Oceania champs in Adelaide and I am really happy, that was my goal, I really wanted to ride a 1:05 or better and I did, so I am happy with that," he said.
Knipe's coach Karl Watson was pleased with the winning ride.
"I am really happy, there are a couple of very small things to work on, but on a whole I am very, very happy," he said.
What made Knipe's performance more impressive was that he had to restart after struggling with a mechanical issue early in his ride.
"He punctured after he had already done a full lap, before he did his final effort so it just shows he has got the goods," Watson said.
On Saturday night, Knipe won the gold medal in the under-19 sprint after crashing early in the first semifinal against Charles Hofman from Australia.
That didn't stop the Southland rider from beating Hofman in the second semifinal and winning the final in two races against Kye Bonser.
Watson believes the Southland rider has a big future.
"We are learning every day, but we are definitely going in the right direction, which is fantastic," he said.
Knipe produced some outstanding performances during his eventful campaign at the under-19 Oceania championships at the SIT Velodrome in Invercargill.
He combined with Hamish Beadle and Jackson Ogle to win the gold medal in the team sprint with a time of 47.473 seconds over their Australian opponents, while on the final day of the Oceania championships he won his fourth gold medal, with victory in the under-19 keirin.
Article and photo courtesy Stuff