Olympic medallist Simon van Velthooven and compatriot Eddie Dawkins scored wins on day three of the international track cycling series in Adelaide last night.
Van Velthooven took out the men’s keirin, the event in which he won a bronze medal at the London Olympics, while Dawkins won the sprint final over Australia’s Olympic bronze medallist Shane Perkins.
The BikeNZ contingent are competing in five days of UCI Tier One competition in Adelaide which carries qualifying points for upcoming World Cup events, which in turn qualify riders and teams for the World Championships.
Van Velthooven was in commanding form in the keirin to be unbeaten throughout the day. He clocked an impressive 10.8 seconds for the closing 200m in his two round wins and 10.9s in the final where he dominated the six-strong field.
Dawkins was in outstanding form in the evening session for the men’s sprints. He topped qualifiers in 10.019s ahead of Perkins and fellow Australian Daniel Ellis with Auckland’s Ethan Mitchell sixth fastest in 10.415.
Mitchell won through the first round but lost to Mitchell Bullen in the second round before climbing back into the contest after winning his repechage.
Dawkins was untroubled in winning the first round, beating Japan’s Kazuhiro Sugota in the second round before disposing of his teammate Mitchell in the quarterfinals.
The big Southlander beat Australian Nathan Hart in two straight rides in the semifinals but lost his opening race of the final against the experienced Perkins. Dawkins fought back to win the next two rides to claim the victory, significant qualifying points and a good notch in his belt.
In other racing Dunedin’s Katie Schofield was 10th in the women’s sprint and missed out in the repechage of the keirin.
There are two further days of competition with the omnium back in action today.
