Second Medal for BikeNZ Sprinter in Beijing World Cup

Sprinter Simon Van Velthooven led the way with his second medal on the final night of the UCI World Cup in Beijing.
 

Van Velthooven, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in his specialist Keirin, surprised many when he picked up a bronze in the 1000m time trial at the Beijing Velodrome.
The burly Manawatu rider had earlier made it through to the eighth round of the men’s sprints before turning his attention to the gut-busting kilo, more for experience than expectation.
More used to the hurly burly of the keirin than the precise aerodynamics of the kilo, Van Velthooven nonetheless produced the fastest final lap of all 32 riders to climb to third place overall in 1:03.103. Frenchman Francois Pervis took out the gold in 1:01.197 with Hugo Haak (NED) second and Van Velthooven third after scorching home in 15.373 seconds for the final 250m.
In other events Canterbury rider Natasha Hansen missed out in repecharges for the women’s keirin, Joanne Kiesanowski was 11th in the omnium competition and Tom Scully was a close fourth in the points race.
It gave the BikeNZ team a third medal at the World Cup after Van Velthooven won the men’s keirin and New Zealand took out the team pursuit.
Head coach Tim Carswell said it was mission accomplished.
“We got plenty out of this World Cup with Simon coming here in excellent form and getting the rewards he deserved,” Carswell said. “The women, without their two strongest riders, showed there’s depth in the women’s pursuit programme with Jaime Nielsen really impressive. And it was great to have Tom Scully back to this competition and he got stronger throughout the weekend and was unlucky not to get a medal tonight.”
Carswell said there would be little respite as the squad will be in full preparation for a major assault on the final world cup in Manchester next month, and then a further month on to the world championships.
“There’s a growing depth in the programme which will make selection for Manchester challenging. It will be a very competitive world cup with most of the leading teams going there at strength.
“We have all but wrapped up the world cup for the women’s team pursuit and we are in the running in the men’s pursuit, the omnium, the kierin and the individual pursuits.
“Manchester will be a similar build up that we will use for the London Olympics so will be extremely important.”
In tonight’s racing Kiesanowski was seventh in the individual pursuit in 3:44.275, 12th in the scratch race and ninth in the 500m time trial to finish 12th overall.
Scully, 21, was having his first World Cup in a year after a lengthy layoff following a serious crash in a road race in Ireland last May.
He was in superb form in the 40km points race tonight, winning two of the first three sprints and leading the standings until a late move by the Russian pair put a lap on the field and left the young kiwi in fourth place.
The team leave Beijing today and will be home tomorrow.
Results, UCI World Cup, Beijing, day 3:

Men:
Points 30kms: Artur Ershov (RUS) 36 points, 1; Alexei Markov (RUS) 30, 2; Claudio Imhof (SUI) 23, 3; Tom Scully (NZL) 17, 4.
Sprint: Simon Van Velthooven 10.438, 11th. Eighth round: Van Velthooven lost to Tsubasa Kitatsuru (JPN).
1000m time trial: Francois Pervis (FRA) 1:01.197, 1; Hugo Haak (NED) 1:03.010, 2; Van Velthooven 1:03.103, 3.
Women:
Omnium, day 2, 3000m individual pursuit: Tara Whitten (CAN) 3:36.407, 1; Vilija Sereikaite (LTU) 3:38.444, 2; Anna Solovey (UKR) 3:40.422, 3. Also: Joanne Kiesanowski 3:44.275, 7.
Scratch race 10km: Jamila Machacova (CZE) 1, Kirsten Wild (NED) 2, Malgorzata Wojtyra (POL) 3. Also: Kiesanowski 12.
500m time trial: Sereikaite 36.074, 1; Mei Hsiao (TAI) 36.153, 2; Kelly Cruyts (BEL) 36.388, 3. Also: Kiesanowski 37.543, 9.
Overall: Whitten 1, Wild 2, Pascale Jeuland (FRA) 3. Kiesanowski 11.
Keirin: Natasha Hansen second in heat 5. Third in repecharge (eliminated).