Men's team pursuiters so close to final

New Zealand’s track cycling squad were hoping to get a sniff of a gold medal at the Olympic velodrome today, but in the end it was not to be.

The men’s team pursuit – Aaron Gate, Campbell Stewart, Regan Gough and Jordan Kerby – raced Italy in their first round. A win would have put them into the gold medal race tomorrow.

Instead the Italians shaded them in a see-sawing race – 3min 42.307s to 3min 42.397s – after New Zealand had seemed in control at times. Amazingly the New Zealanders had gone two seconds under the previous world record and not qualified for the gold medal ride.

“You have to give credit to the Italians. They were the better team,” said Stewart. “But we went toe to toe with them the whole way. At times we each had the edge. That’s sport.”

Stewart said the team had gone four seconds faster than what they’d gone the Olympics so they had to be happy with that.

The result means the New Zealanders will be looking for a super-slick time tomorrow when they race Australia for the bronze medal.

The men’s team sprinters – Sam Dakin, Ethan Mitchell, Callum Saunders and Sam Webster – found the going tough. They were beaten by France in the first round, 42.294s to 42.978s, and their time relegated them to riding off against Poland for 7th and 8th spots.

The sprinters won that one when their 43.703s was nearly three seconds faster than what the Poles managed.

“Seventh isn’t what we were hoping for,” said sprint coach Rene Wolff, “but that’s the reality and that’s what we have to deal with.”

The women’s team pursuiters – Holly Edmondson, Bryony Botha, Rushlee Buchanan, Kirstie James and Jaime Nielsen – began the day hoping to ride themselves into bronze medal contention, but in their first race were beaten by Australia. The New Zealanders’ 4min 10.223s left them 0.3s down.

They were consigned to riding against France for 7th and 8th and the French were too strong. New Zealand’s 4min 10.600s left them 0.212s adrift.