There is strong Southland presence in a talented New Zealand under-19 team announced today to contest the Oceania Track Cycling Championships at Invercargill later in the year.
A 17-strong team includes seven riders from Southland to compete on home turf at the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome in Invercargill on 8-11 October.
The Southland riders are led by outstanding young local rider Emma Cumming, who showed her versatility to win national junior titles in the sprint and scratch races and was runner-up in the 500m time trial.
It will be a busy time for Cumming who heads to Australia later this month for the inaugural trans-Tasman clash which is part of their Tier 1 Olympic qualifying meet at Adelaide and in August travels to the Junior World Track Championships in Kazakhstan.
Other Southland hopes include sprinters Hamish Beadle and Bradly Knipe, Tom Sexton, Samuel Miller, Ellesse Andrews and Nicole Shields.
Knipe won the national junior titles in the keirin and team sprint and was third in the 1000m time trial and sprint, while Beadle was part of the successful team sprint and was third in the keirin.
The sprint pair are also in the New Zealand team for the trans-Tasman battle as is Auckland’s Connor Brown, Southland’s Tom Sexton and Canterbury’s Hugo Jones and Rose Marshall-Lee.
The team is:
Men, Endurance: Hugo Jones (Christchurch), Connor Brown (Auckland), Tom Sexton (Invercargill), Josh Scott (Christchurch), Matt Trenchard (Christchurch), Sam Miller (Invercargill).
Sprint: Hamish Beadle (Invercargill), Bradly Knipe (Invercargill), Harry Waine (North Shore), Jackson Ogle (Christchurch).
Women, Endurance: Ellesse Andrews (Wanaka), Rose Marshall-Lee (Christchurch), Emily Shearman (Palmerston North), Holly Blakely (Wellington), Nicole Shields (Dunstan).
Sprint: Emma Cumming (Invercargill), Libby Arbuckle (Palmerston North).
Details: www.cyclingnewzealand.org.nz