Cyclists eye coach's record

New Zealand coach Anthony Peden takes the members of his national sprint team on a practice run around the Wanganui Velodrome, which was getting some fine tuning itself, yesterday afternoon. Photo/Stuart Munro

Sprint team poised for fast times at Night of the Stars

New Zealand sprint cycling coach Anthony Peden is not too sentimental.

The Australian-born former Kiwi track cyclist, who won silver at the 1999 world championships, was putting his charges in the New Zealand sprint team through a warmup on the Cooks Gardens velodrome yesterday afternoon ahead of this evening's International Night of the Stars show.

Getting them ready for the upcoming 2014 UCI Track World Championships in Columbia later this month, Peden is banking tonight's event will be perfect buildup as a genuine racing environment as opposed to just another training session.

Even if it means his name disappears from another history book.

"I think the track record will go," Peden said.

"Who has that? Some has-been, that never-was."

The 43-year-old was not being uncharitable to another former competitor the velodrome record is his and he would be happy to see it fall.

"It's good to see [them] putting great times on the board," he said.

"Depending on the conditions, we could see something special here."

Peden added the evening is a great opportunity to test his team against the international competition in the form of Scotland's Angus Gillies, Malaysia's Muhammad Sahrom and the Australian brigade of Jacob Schmid, Emerson Harwood and Josh Harrison.

While he is part of the New Zealand endurance team rather than the sprinters heading to Columbia, Olympic bronze medallist Simon Van Velthooven likes the idea of Peden's challenge for this evening.

"For that as well, for all of us to beat his track record, and I want to beat that Dylan Kennett in the wheel race," he smiled, making sure he was loud enough for nearby kiwi team mate and junior world championship medallist Kennett to hear him.

Joking aside, Van Velthooven was grateful for the efforts of race organisers to get the Night of Stars show sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) with Tier II status, making tonight a lot more than just a glorified training run.

"It's nice to be able to race in my own country for points we [usually] have to go overseas to chase," he said.

"The more points you can gain now, the less you need later in the year."

Van Velthooven hopes cycling on the North Island's West Coast can continue to grow as a result of events like this, recalling it was wandering away from a Cooks Gardens youth sports event to sneak a peak of an international cycling meet from the velodrome fenceline that inspired him to take up the sport.

He would later win three River City Wheel Race championships on his way to becoming one of the world's elite.

"It's been a while since I actually raced here. It's good to be back, it's where it all started, I suppose."

Invitation sprint qualifying starts at 12pm today for amateur riders, ahead of the big event from 6.30pm.