Cycling: New Zealand mens pursuit team wins gold

New Zealand cyclists will enjoy a Christmas break after some commanding performances at the World Cup track meet in Colombia.

They completed their campaign with the men's pursuit team dominating the final over hosts Colombia in front of a full house of fervent fans at Cali today.

The quartet of Sam Bewley, Wes Gough, Marc Ryan and Jesse Sergent led from the gun with a controlled display of power and precision to clock four minutes 00.637 seconds with the Colombians losing a man under the pressure.

New Zealand ended the event with gold medals in the men's and women's team pursuit, while Alison Shanks claimed the women's individual pursuit title.

After two World Cup contests in Melbourne and Cali, the BikeNZ contingent lead the standings in all four pursuit disciplines, are second in the team sprint and third in the men's omnium.

There are two further World Cup events in Beijing and Manchester next month which provide qualifying points for the world championships in the Netherlands in March and the 2012 London Olympics.

The New Zealanders topped the qualifying in the team pursuit in 4:03.500 but stepped up in the final.

"We are pretty happy with that," Bewley said.

"It's our first competition since the Commonwealth Games. We had a bit of a blunder there but we proved to the cycling world today that we can still ride world class times.

"To ride four minutes flat in December with a very short preparation and on a track that was not very fast today is pleasing."

Earlier Spain upset the 2009 world champions Denmark to take the bronze.

Auckland teenager Sam Webster finished seventh in a high class men's sprint. Both BikeNZ sprinters Webster and Eddie Dawkins qualified in the top 16 but Dawkins went out in the first round to Frenchman Francois Pervis while Webster went out in the quarterfinals in two straight rides to another Frenchman, Kevin Sireau, a two-time world champion and Beijing Olympics silver medallist.

Sireau went on to beat triple Beijing gold medallist Chris Hoy in the final in two straight rides.

Christchurch rider Joanne Kiesanowski finished seventh in her first World Cup in the gruelling six-event omnium.

On the second day, she was 13th in the individual pursuit, a strong second placing in the scratch race and 10th in the time trial. The event was dominated by world pursuit record holder Sarah Hammer, who won four of the six disciplines.

Earlier Ashburton's Lauren Ellis was 10th in the 20km points race by Italy's Georgia Bronzini, the world road race champion.

- NZPA