Cycling: Jack Overweel wins track medals at Cambridge

Jack Overweel won three medals including gold at the Track Cycling Nationals in Cambridge last weekend.

Whanganui cyclist Jack Overweel had great success at the Vantage Age Group Track Cycling Nationals held in Cambridge last weekend.

Representing West Coast North Island (WCNI), Overweel won gold in the under 15 boys' derby race, beating several Waikato and Southland riders.

During the four-day competition, Overweel also took silver in the U15 Boys' 500m Time Trial (TT), where he broke the WCNI's indoor track record of 36.740s, set by Thomas Garnett in 2014.

He took another silver in the 7.5km points race, winning the first two sprints ahead of Waikato's Hamish Banks and Southland's Marshall Erwood.

Overweel teamed with Lochlan Foote to get silver in the 500m TT team event.

They, and the winning Waikato-Bay of Plenty team, went under the previous national record of 37.002s.

He was part of a 30-rider WCNI group, consisting of representatives from Whanganui, Feilding, Manawatu, Taranaki, and Levin.

In her report, spokeswoman Mellissa Hunt said this season Overweel had beaten two of the records set by 2016 junior world champion Campbell Stewart on the Feilding track.

He beat the 500m TT mark of 38.8s, bringing it down to 37.08s, as well as the 200m sprint record from 2012 of 13.89s, with Overweel doing it in 13.04s.

"Jack continues to defy odds against those that train on the two indoor velodromes in New Zealand, and his one wish is to get a roof on the Whanganui one so he can be on par with his competitors from both Cambridge and Southland," said Hunt.

"As the season comes to a close he would like to thank his family, his coaches, Adam Hamlin and Dayle Cheatley, and all those that believe in his reaching for his cycling goals."