29 Mar 2009

Last medal hopes rest with defending omnium champ

12:54 pm on 29 March 2009

World champion omnium rider Hayden Godfrey holds the major hopes for New Zealand in tomorrow's final day of the world track cycling championships in Poland.

Godfrey will defend the five-event omnium title that he won in Manchester last year, after impressing earlier in the meet in the scratch race. The omnium is a 200-metre time

trial, a five-kilometre scratch race, a two-kilometre pursuit, 10-kilometre points race and 500-metre time trial.

Today's chances ended when Auckland rookie Kaytee Boyd crashed heavily during the penultimate event in the women's omnium. She showed her grit, passing a medical check and returning for the final event, the 500-metre time trial where she finished 12 and 14th overall.

Earlier both Invercargill's Eddie Dawkins and Simon Van Velthooven of Palmerston North did not advance from the heats of the men's sprint.