Alison Shanks will ride off for the gold medal on the final night of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne.
The 2009 world champion rode a personal best 3:27.268 and will take on old adversary Wendy Houvenaghel from Great Britain in the final of the 3000m event.
Shanks was conservative through the first 1000m but produced a stunning 1m06s for the second kilometre and flew home in 1m09s to record the fastest time, 0.6s ahead of the Great Britain rider.
The pair have clashed several times before in major events. Shanks beat the Northern Irish rider to win her world title in 2009 but Houvenaghel beat the kiwi in the semifinal at the worlds the following year.
Shanks got the better the pair in the gold medal ride at the Commonwealth Games later in 2010.
Australians Amy Cure and Ashlee Ankudinoff will battle for the bronze medal.
Meanwhile Simon van Velthooven is the sole New Zealander through to the semifinals in the men’s keirin after winning his repechage in impressive fashion.