UCI Festival Of Speed

INTERNATIONAL SPECTACULAR: 16 & 17 NOVEMBER 2013

For the first time in New Zealand, a UCI Tier 1 track cycling event like nothing you have ever seen before is scheduled for SIT Zero Fees Velodrome in Invercargill.

Elite and Under 19 riders from New Zealand, Australia and Asia line up to chase crucial UCI qualification points and stamp their mark ahead of World Championship and Commonwealth Games selection. Two days of pulsating sprint and endurance track racing from the best in the business. Mark down November 16 and 17 and come along for what should be some ride!

SESSION RECAPS

Sunday 17 November - Session 2 - Kiwi cyclist Aaron Gate signalled he is on track to defend his world title after winning the omnium at the UCI Festival of Speed event at Invercargill today.

Sunday 17 November - Session 1 - Southland’s Eddie Dawkins set a new national record to top qualifiers for the men’s sprint on the second day of the UCI Festival of Speed at Invercargill this morning.

Saturday 16 November - Session 2 - Big Southland sprinter Eddie Dawkins brought the local crowd to their feet with a superb performance to win the keirin final at the UCI Festival of Speed event at Invercargill tonight.

Saturday 16 November - Session 1 - Kiwi sprinters Simon van Velthooven, Eddie Dawkins and Matt Archibald powered their way into the keirin semifinals on the opening morning of the UCI Festival of Speed track cycling event at Invercargill today.

FESTIVAL OF SPEED PODCAST

Hear from omnium winner Aaron Gate, sprint champion Shane Perkins and keirin winner Eddie Dawkins

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

PHOTO GALLERIES

Saturday - Dianne Manson

Saturday - Robyn Jordan

Sunday - Dianne Manson

Sunday - Robyn Jordan

FOLLOW US LIVE FROM TRACKSIDE

Saturday 16th November

Sunday 17th November

Event Schedule

Saturday 16 November - SIT Zero Fees Velodrome

11:00 Team Manager's Meeting

Saturday 16 November

12:30 - Session 1

18:30 - Session 2

Sunday 17 November

10:30 - Session 3

1:30 - Session 4

Note: The 2014 Oceania Track Championships are to be held in Invercargill from Tuesday 19 November to Friday 22 November.

EVENT DOWNLOADS

Download the Final Event Race Programme

Download the Team Training Times

Download the Rider Entry List

Spectator Information

Get the best seat in the house at Invercargill's newly-renamed SIT Zerofees Velodrome for an up close and personal look at some of the best value-for-money sporting action this year.

Tickets to the UCI Festival of Speed sessions are just $15 for adults and $10 for Students/Senior Citizens.

You can also purchase a Week Pass which gets you in to every Oceania Championships session, along with all three UCI Festival of Speed sessions for just $90 for adults and $45 for Students/Senior Citizens.

Tickets are available through Stadium Southland, Surrey Park Invercargill, or on +64 3 2171200.

2013 FESTIVAL OF SPEED NEWS

Southland is set to stage New Zealand’s first UCI Tier One track cycling event which will carry vital world qualifying points.

The event will form part of a week-long festival of international cycling, with the Oceania Championships to follow at the SIT Zerofees Velodrome in Invercargill.

BikeNZ is partnering with Cycling Southland to stage the UCI Tier One event on 16-17 November with the Oceania Championships to follow on 19-22 November.

Both events are part of the new regulations brought in by the sport’s ruling body, the UCI, and carry points for the 2014-2015 World Cups, which provide qualification to the World Championships and ultimately the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

“New Zealand must stage a UCI Tier One event each year,” said BikeNZ High Performance Director, Mark Elliott. “While this is an additional burden on our High Performance budget, on the plus side our riders will compete against for world class competition at home while cycling fans will see international track cycling every year.

“It is also an excellent development opportunity for our next tier of track cyclists to compete on a higher stage.”

While Australia has already hosted the 2014 Oceania Championships, ironically staged in December last year, the new regulations mean a further Oceania Championship is required this year.

“When the rules changed then the Oceania region had to change with it. Again it presents a good opportunity for racing at home and we are indebted to Cycling Southland for putting up their hands to host this and raise considerable funds to stage it.”

Cycling Southland has taken up the challenge to produce two world class events, having hosted the Oceania Championships two years ago and the 2012 UCI Juniors Track World Championships in Invercargill last year.

“After hosting the Junior Worlds last year, these events come at a great time for the sport and its fans across New Zealand and in the deep south,” said Cycling Southland Chief Executive Nick Jeffrey.

“We all hear about the outstanding results our riders deliver internationally year-after-year, so to be able to see the best in the country lining up against international competition in our own back yard is a rare treat. And with the revised international qualification period it means they are going to have to bring their A game, so we are going to see some outstanding racing.”

BikeNZ will select their team for the Tier One event later this month. It marks a busy time for track cycling with the first UCI World Cup in Manchester on 1-3 November, UCI Tier 1 on 16-17 November, Oceania Championships 19-22 November and a World Cup in Mexico on 5-7 December.

FESTIVAL OF SPEED 2010 ARCHIVE

ILT Festival of Speed - Night 3

9/12/2010 - It’s the stuff folktales are derived from – a track cycling race which ends in a dead-heat between two of the sport’s superstar sprinters. Eddie Dawkins and Simon Van Velthooven earned legendary status when even sophisticated technology couldn’t separate their photo finish in the men’s sprint at the ILT Festival of Speed in Invercargill on Wednesday night.

“It’s probably the best race I have ever seen or been a part of on this velodrome,” Dawkins said. <click here>

ILT Festival of Speed - Night 2

08/12/2010 - In the end they could not be separated. Remarkably, Night Two of Cycling Southland’s ILT Festival of Speed finished in the most dramatic circumstances possible with Eddie Dawkins and Simon van Velthooven being declared joint-winners of the Elite Men’s Sprint title following an unprecedented dead-heat.

A near capacity crowd at Invercargill’s ILT Velodrome was treated to high drama as two of New Zealand’s Commonwealth Games medallists squared off in the last race of an action-packed programme. <click here>

ILT Festival of Speed - Night 1

07/12/2010 - Domination – there’s no other way to describe Myron Simpson and Aaron Gate’s victory in the RaboDirect New Zealand Madison Championships at the ILT Velodrome.

The Auckland guns dominated the race from the outset, lapping the field in the opening third of the 160-lap stanza and securing the majority of points up for grabs.

And there were plenty of thrills off the track with New Zealand’s leading freestyle BMX rider Paul Langlands twisting through the air high above the enthralled spectators. <read more>

ILT Festival of Speed Video Highlights

Top International Riders compete with NZ's best, over three stunning nights in this ultimate high-speed spectator spectacular including the RaboDirect National Madison Championships on Tuesday 7th December.

New Zealand's medalists from the Commonwealth Games line up en masse for the first time in Invercargill since their record-breaking haul in Dehli.

A Track Cycling Spectacular...like you've never seen it, featuring:

• Live Pre and Post Race entertainment
• Bar and refreshments available
• World class racing in a world class atmosphere
• The ultimate Xmas function for friends, colleagues and clients
• Awesome prizes to be won
• Wall to wall action on and off the track
• Corporate hosting options available

Adult $10
Students $5
Concession discount for 10+ tickets  $7.50
Family Pass (2 Adults & 2 Children) $20
3 Day Pass: Adult $20, Students $10
Service fees apply

Doors open 5.30pm, pre-festival entertainment and racing from 6pm, festival programme starts 7pm

Tickets on sale from Stadium Southland's new reception in the ILT Velodrome, Ph 03 217 1200 or online at www.ticketdirect.co.nz

Event Highlights include:

December 7th

•    NZ Elite Madison Championships
•    NZ Record Breaker Night (Details below)
•    Womens Kierin Heats
•    U13 Racing

December 8th

•    Mens Kierin Heats
•    Womens Kierin Finals
•    Day 1 Elite Omnium Elite Men and Women
•    Womens Match Sprint Heats
•    U15 racing
•    Mens Sprint Exhibition Races

December  9th

•    Mens Kierin Finals
•    Day 2 Omnium Elite Men and Women
•    Womens Match Sprint Final
•    Celebrity Races
•    U 17 racing
•    Mens Sprint Exhibition Races 

Ali's Answers - School Quiz

Hedgehope School won a very special prize at Stadium Southland’s ILT Velodrome on Thursday 9th as part of Cycling Southland’s ILT International Festival of Speed. They successfully answered all of Ali's cycling questions and were drawn the winner to spend time with our Commonwealth Games Golden Girl.

Endurance Magazine

Read the feature on the ILT Festival of Speed from the latest Endurance Magazine by clicking here.