Oceania wrap up

Hi Everyone

I just recently returned home from the Oceania Track Cycling Champs where I represented New Zealand in Adelaide.

We arrived there 4 days before the actual racing started so that we could familiarise ourselves with the track. The track was different to every other track that I have ever raced on, it had very long sweeping corners and short straights which made it less of a sprinters track and more of an endurance track which was a bit of a disadvantage.

The first day of racing was team sprint day for me. The New Zealand coaches wanted to try a new combination allowing the three other sprinters in the New Zealand squad to form the first team.  I was placed in to the second team in the starting position. I set a standing lap time of 19.0 seconds, my second fastest ever! I then had the second day.

The third day was match sprints, my event. My qualifying time of 10.9 seconds which was a little disappointing as I was aiming for a slightly faster time, but I picked myself up and quickly got into match sprint mode. I came up against an Australian Capital Teritory rider in the quarter finals, I had to settle for the 5^th - 8^th ride off.
 My tactic in this was clear in getting to the front and to control the race over its 3 lap distance. I began to run out of gas down the back straight though and the other 3 riders came around me in the final corner, I ended up giving my team mate a lead out which launched him into 6^th place.

Jeremy Presbury and myself after the medal ceremony for the kerin Final

The fourth and final day of the champs was the kerin. In the 1^st round the top 2 when straight into the semi final with the rest going to the repecharge where the top 3 would be into the semi final. I managed to get 3^rd in the 1^st round which meant I had to go into the repecharge. In the repecharge my team mate let me in front of him which placed me behind the motorbike, I then fought my way to 2^nd to get into the semi final.

The semi was quite difficult, I had to come 4 wide around the last corner to just sneak into 3^rd and in to the final by a whisker. The final was very much the same, i was sitting 5^th with half a lap to go, but this time i only had to come a mere 3 wide around the bunch on the last corner, the extra speed I gained coming around that wide was enough for me to again sneak into a bronze medal by a tyre.

I am now at home for some hard training for the next few weeks with the possibility of going over to Tasmania for a week of hard racing between Christmas and New Years. After that I am going to Sydney on the 14^th of January to represent New Zealand at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival, which for cycling is the closest thing we get to the real Youth Olympics.

Thank you very much for all of your help and support and I hope you all have a great Christmas and a happy New Year

Zac