Cycling: Sarah Ulmer earns a Mexican wave

By DAVID LEGGAT

Sarah Ulmer did nothing to hurt the growing belief she is a genuine Olympic medal contender with a sizzling performance at the World Cup track meet in Mexico yesterday.

The double Commonwealth Games individual pursuit champion dominated the high-calibre event at Aguascalientes, winning in 3m 37.697s and leaving national track coach Kurt Innes in no doubt as to her potential.

"There are only six girls, absolute maximum, who could do what Sarah has done today," Innes said last night. "She's in a very small class. We were hoping she'd come out and put her stamp on the event.

"The next step is to make sure she's one of two fighting for the gold medal in Athens."

Ulmer followed that by picking up an unexpected bronze in the women's scratch race; classy Otago rider Greg Henderson bagged a silver in the men's scratch; and the quartet of Jason Allen, Richard Bowker, Hayden Godfrey and Tim Gudsell took the silver in the team pursuit, just .436s behind France.

Ulmer crushed Russia's Elena Tchalykh in the final of the 3km pursuit, the Russian recording 3m 44.698s. Third-placed Briton Emma Davies was almost 10s behind Ulmer.

The win, an ideal way to celebrate her 28th birthday, kept Cambridge-based Ulmer at the top of the cup rankings, with two events left. However, she is skipping the Manchester round next month.

No cyclist is sure of a trip to Athens, but of all the New Zealand contenders, Ulmer can be the most confident of needing a Greek phrase book.

The scratch bronze was a bonus in an event Innes admitted was "something of a crap shoot".

It is not an Olympic event, but showcased Ulmer's versatility. She benefited from a late crash which caused chaos in the field.

Ulmer actually crossed the line in fifth, but the race was extended by a couple of laps as the injured riders were removed.

Henderson's silver in the 15km scratch race, second behind American Colby Pearce, was "a nice surprise for him", Innes said, and although his 22nd in the points race - in which he is Commonwealth champion - was not part of the scheme he remains on track for a strong world championships.

Innes was beaming as what amounted to a second-choice quartet won silver in the team pursuit. They clocked 4m 18.406s to reawaken the battle for spots in the first-choice foursome for the world championships in Melbourne in May.

"They really got it together and have every reason to be as proud as hell. They put together two world-class rides," Innes added.

The key aspect of their performance is that it throws open the Olympic door. Innes wants a core group of up to eight to 10 riders jostling for places and he believes he's getting close to that.

"We have a world-class programme and we may find two or three guys who thought they were in the 'A' team sitting at home watching the Olympic Games on TV."

New Zealand will have only five riders in Manchester, specifically for the pursuit events, from April 9-11 - Te Awamutu's Gudsell and Peter Latham, Canterbury's Godfrey, Mark Ryan of Timaru and Matt Randall from Invercargill.