Oceania Cycling Championships

World champion Alison Shanks and fellow pursuiter Jesse Sergent announced they are ready for next week’s World Cup after claiming titles on the opening night of the Oceania Track Cycling Championships in Invercargill last night.

Shanks (Dunedin) was untroubled catching world championship medal winning team-mate Lauren Ellis (Tinwald) in the final of the women’s 3000m individual pursuit at the ILT Velodrome.

Sergent (Feilding) proved too strong for his Beijing Olympic team-mate Peter Latham (Te Awamutu) to take out the men’s pursuit final over 4000m.

Both winners believe the championships have kick-started their international season ahead of next week’s UCI World Cup in Melbourne.

Shanks, in her first competition since winning the world championship, was ahead throughout although a fast time was thwarted when she was forced to work hard around the bend to pass Ellis.

“It felt pretty smooth. The first half I wanted to ride my own race and it was good to have Lauren as a bit of a carrot but when I stepped out to pass her she was not going to give up easily and it was a real battle to get around her,” Shanks said.

“That cost me some time but while a fast time would have been nice, it was all about winning the gold medal. That’s what was important tonight.

“It’s definitely a stepping stone towards next week. It’s back to training tomorrow before heading away on Sunday. It was a good hit out to remind the body and the mind what pursuiting is all about.”

Te Awamutu’s Rushlee Buchanan beat off Auckland’s Kaytee Boyd for third.

The championships continue until Saturday.