Cycling: Webster wins 3rd gold medal

New Zealand cyclist Sam Webster has confirmed his status as the best junior sprinter in the world after claiming his third gold medal at the UCI Junior World Cycling Championships in Moscow today.

The Auckland rider took out the individual sprint title to add to his gold medal performances in the team sprint and keirin at the Moscow Velodrome.

Webster produced a remarkable display, unbeaten in four rounds in the sprint competition to cap off an outstanding championship.

He becomes New Zealand's most successful junior at a world championship, eclipsing the two gold medals by Sarah Ulmer in the individual pursuit and points race at Quito, Ecuador, in 1994.

The Auckland teenager has won three of only seven gold medals ever won by New Zealand at the junior world track championships following Alan Miller in the kilo time trial at Wanganui in 1983, Ulmer's double in 1994 and the team pursuit in 2005 in Austria.

"His performances here have been quite outstanding. He has clearly been the best sprinter here in Moscow," said manager Mike McRedmond.

"His dominance is similar to that by Chris Hoy at Beijing last year."

"It's Sam's final year in the junior level and now he has cemented himself on the world stage, he is looking forward with real confidence to stepping up to the elite level at the end of the year."

Webster carried on where he left off in search of a sprint medal, winning his semifinal clash in two straight rides over Colombia's Christian Tamayo Saavedra, who had eliminated Webster's team-mate Ethan Mitchell yesterday.

Germany's Stefan Botticher edged out local favourite Sergey Litvinenko 2-1 in the other semifinal.

The big New Zealander saved his best until last with two devastating efforts to claim the final again in two straight in the best of three-ride final to complete the sprint treble to go with the keirin gold and the team sprint gold with Mitchell and Cameron Karwowski.

There were two other New Zealanders in action on the final day with Karwowski (Southland) finishing eighth in the men's omnium and Canterbury's Liz Steel 10th in the scratch race.

Karwowski was third in the opening 200m sprint, 14th in the scratch race, 10th in the individual pursuit, 15th in the points race and won the final kilo time trial with a superb 1min 05sec effort. It gave him 43 points and a commendable eighth place in the gruelling five-race event won by Brian Coquard (FRA).

Steel completed a busy campaign with a solid 14th place from more than 20 riders in the points race, won by Australian Megan Dunn.

- NZPA