Officials confident of cycling medal haul

Press, 15 January 1986, Page 56

Officials confident of cycling medal haul

PA Auckland Cycling administrators are confident of a splendid showing in Edinburgh after the success of New Zealand cyclists at the Oceania championships in Wanganui. New Zealanders won 13 of the 15 gold medals during the four-day championships. The performances turned in by the New Zealand team members were right up to the best Commonwealth standard in most of the events, and the best chance for an Edinburgh gold medal in cycling appears to be in the 100 km teams time trial. In Wanganui, the New Zealand quartet of the Aucijanders, Graeme Miller and Paul Leitch, Nelson’s

Greg Frayne and Hawera’s Blair Cox rode so impressively that even the Australians were tipping the team as a gold medal certainty in Edinburgh. Brian Fowler, of Canterbury, followed his win in this year’s Wellington to Auckland seven-day stage race with victory in the individual road race in Wanganui. Fowler could repeat the gold medal win of New Zealand’s Bruce Biddle in the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games individual road race at this year’s Games. New Zealand’s track cycling team will not be named until aftef the national championships in

Christchurch in March but it is expected to be at least as strong as the track cycling team which did so well at the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games. “There is a great depth in our track cycling at present,” said a 1964 Olympian, Dick Johnstone, who will be the track cycling coach in Edinburgh. “We have a tremendous squad and the exciting thing about it is that most of the riders are young. So we can expect them to improve considerably between now and the Games. “Steven Swart, from Waikato, has now won both the Japanese and Oceania 4000 m individual pursuit championships.