Canterbury’s Jenna Borthwick came back from a crash on Friday to win the under-17 sprint on day three of the Vantage Age Group Track National Championships in Invercargill.
The championships have attracted around 170 riders from around the country competing for age group and Masters titles during the four-day event at the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome in Invercargill.
Borthwick was a favourite to win yesterday’s Scratch race but suffered an unfortunate crash. But she managed to recover sufficiently to qualify fastest in the Sprint competition with a time of 12.557s before securing the gold medal in two straight rides in the final against Waikato’s Mya Anderson.
It was an excellent effort by Borthwick, made more impressive in that she had only been in an indoor velodrome once before, with the banking considerably steeper than the outdoor track she usually races on.
“I was pretty excited to win. I wasn’t really expecting it but I managed to figure out my tactics during the quarterfinals and semis, so I’m pretty stoked to take the win” said Borthwick.
Rueben Webster got one up on Canterbury’s Laurence Pithie in winning the under-17 500m time trial but Pithie squared the ledger when he led his team to victory over Webster and the Waikato team in the 3000m Team Pursuit final.
Pithie also secured the Points Race title later on in the evening with Southland’s Rhylee Akeroyd earning the female Points title.
Other victories included Sophie DeVries of Auckland winning the under-15 girls Derby while scratch and time trial winner Jaxson Whyte added the Derby win to his belt in the boys race.
The Masters men took on the Keirin yesterday with Peter Ashworth of Auckland, Russell Ownsworth of Canterbury and Justin Stott of Otago securing the titles of their grades.
Jeanie Blakemore continued her success winning the Masters Women combined Scratch race.
Racing continues today with competition in the Team Pursuit, Points, Team Sprint and Madison.
Results, Female:
Under-17 Sprint Qualifying: Jeanna Borthwick (Canterbury) 12.557, 1; Mya Anderson (WBOP) 12.567, 2; Erin Downie (Canterbury) 12.720, 3. Final, Gold: Borthwick beat Anderson 2-0; Bronze: Rhylee Akeroyd (Southland) beat Tyla Green (Southland) 2-0.
Under-17 Points: Rhylee Akeroyd (Southland) 12 points, 1; Erin Downie (Canterbury) 12, 2; Mya Anderson (Waikato BOP) 9, 3.
Under-15 Derby Final: Sophie de Vries (Auckland) 1, Jaz McLeod (Southland) 2, Bee Townsend (Auckland) 3.
Masters Scratch (C1-4): Jeannie Blakemore (Canterbury) 1, Erin Criglington (Southland) 2, Sandra Gatenby (WBOP) 3.
Male:
Under-17 3000m Team Pursuit Qualifying: Canterbury Red 3:27.259, 1; Waikato BOP 3:28.395, 2; Southland 3:30.041, 3; Composite 3:34.559, 4. Final, Gold: Canterbury Red 3:22.263, 1; Waikato BOP 3:25492, 2. Bronze: Southland 3:27.879, 3; Composite 3:31.830, 4.
Under-17 500m Time Trial: Reuben Webster (WBOP) 34.530, 1; Laurence Pithie (Canterbury) 34.770, 2; Sabastian Lipp (Canterbury) 34.800, 3.
Under-17 Points: Laurence Pithie (Canterbury) 19 points, 1; Jack Carswell (Waikato BOP) 11, 2; Mitchel Fitzsimons (Southland) 6, 3.
Under-15 Derby Final: Jaxson Whyte (Mid South Canterbury) 1, Jonathan Fish (Mid South Canterbury) 2, Cody Harvey (Southland) 3.
Masters Keirin Final, C34: Peter Ashworth (Auckland) 1, Steve Woods (Canterbury) 2, Graeme Litt (Canterbury) 3. C2: Russell Ownsworth (Canterbury) 1, Jonathan Leonard (Wellington) 2, Andrew Fletcher (Auckland) 3. C1: Justin Stott (Otago) 1, Brant Were (WBOP) 2, Joe Bebbington (Canterbury) 3.
CAPTION: Jenna Borthwick in action on her way to victory in the Under-17 Sprint final at the SIT Zero Fees Velodrome in Invercargill.
Photo courtesy Charlene Harvey
Details: www.tracknationals.nz