26/02/2011 - Natasha Hansen (Southland) continued her success at the RaboDirect Elite Track Nationals by setting a blistering pace in the women’s sprint qualification.
Auckland’s Henrietta Mitchell set a new national record in the qualification round but was only able to hold it for three minutes before Hansen went one better to claim the record back in a time of 11.641.
Hansen is establishing her place in the BikeNZ high performance program after a hiatus from cycling, with her success over the last two days bolstering that effort. It will be an exciting duel in the sprint final rounds tonight as Hansen looks to add another national title to her collection.
The men’s individual pursuit saw Cameron Karwowski (Southland) qualify fastest. His time of 4.29.464 was over two seconds faster than Tasman’s Jason Allen, the second fastest of the day. Tom Scully, returning to racing after a crash put him out of action for much of 2010 will face Otago’s Brad Evans, the 2010 under 19 individual pursuit champion, in the battle for the bronze medal.
Gemma Dudley leads the women’s omnium after winning the flying lap from Southland’s Sequoia Cooper and fellow BikeNZ teammate Rushlee Buchanan.
Small fields in the men’s Kierin meant that the early rounds were bypassed with the competition kicking into action tonight. Along with the Kierin tonight will include the para-cycling individual pursuit finals, the men’s pursuit final, women’s sprint and the first of the mass start events.
RESULTS
Women's Sprint qualifying: Natasha Hansen (Southland) 11.641, 1 (NZ record; Henrietta Mitchell (Auckland) 11.672, 2; Vanessa Quinn (Auckland) 12.364, 3.
Women's Sprint quarter final: Scholfield bt Gibb; Quinn bt O’Donnell
Women's Sprint 5th-6th: O’Donnell bt Gibb.
Women's Para-cycling 3000m Individual Pursuit qualifying: Fiona Southorn (C5) (Northland) 4.04.823. Jayne Parsons & Annaliisa Farrell (Tandem) (Waikato Bay of Plenty) 3.50.745
Men's Para-cycling 3000m Individual Pursuit qualifying: Stephen Hills (C2) (WCNI) 4.20.386, Nathan Smith (C3) (WCNI) 3.54.223
Men's Para-Cycling 4000m Individual Pursuit qualifying: Jamie Kidd (C4) (Tasman) 5.28.550, Chris Ross (C5) (Otago) 5.13.396.
Men’s 4000m Individual Pursuit qualifying: Cameron Karwowski (Southland) 4.29.464, 1; Jason Allen (Tasman) 4.32.016, 2; Tom Scully (Southland) 4.35.303, 3; Brad Evans (Otago) 4.39.016, 4.
Women's Flying lap: Gemma Dudley (WNCI) 15.104, 1; Sequoia Cooper (Southland) 15.261, 2; Rushlee Buchanan (WBOP) 15.690, 3.