Teen track cyclist gets thrill out of speeding
BY JOSH REICH
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College sport
When most of us imagine going for a bike ride, it probably conjures images of sedate rides along the Railway Reserve or a slog up The Brook.
For Waimea College year 12 student Kristoff Ford, the reality is something quite different.
Kristoff has been selected for the BikeNZ track under-19 sprint team to compete in the 2010 Oceania Track Championships in Adelaide in November.
He is one of five U-17 riders selected for the nine-strong squad, and has been picked as one of four sprinters.
While the final list of events he will ride in is yet to be determined, the options include the keirin, sprint, team sprint, flying 200m time trial and the omnium.
Track cycling can provide some of the most spectacular and fast-paced riding around, and as a sprinter, Kristoff is expecting plenty of rough and tumble.
The keirin, in particular, can provide some heart-stopping moments, with riders jostling for position behind a motorcycle while gaining speed, before embarking on a mad dash for a few laps to hit the line first.
Elbows and contact are not uncommon, as are crashes.
"It's good fun," Kristoff said with a grin. "The keirin would be one of my favourites.
"I like positioning myself and using all the tactics to try and get people."
He said crashing on a velodrome is generally not painful.
More so was a crash in a club race a few weeks ago which left him with eight or nine stitches just below his knee that limited his training opportunities.
Before the spill, he was clocking up to 700km on the road a week, plus regular gym sessions to boost his strength.
The only track in Nelson is the concrete one at Trafalgar Park, so he has to take regular trips away to get experience on the real thing.
"You go a lot quicker on the velodrome compared to the road, there is not as much friction.
"It's awesome, just flicking up and coming back down behind people and that sort of stuff."
Track cycling has been highlighted as a sport where New Zealand can gain success, and Kristoff has been identified as a talent, having been selected for the BikeNZ U-17 team which competed in the Junior Tour of Canberra in July, where he finished 16th in the 75-strong field.
He also won two sprint stages at the Te Awamutu 3 Day Junior Tour earlier this year.
Moving up to the U-19 grade will be a big step for the 16-year-old, but it will also give him a jump on his rivals when they move up from U-17s.
Kristoff has a love for speed, but is keeping his options open as his career progresses.
"The enduro riders and the sprinters, we've all got the same sort of strengths and stuff, they just sort of had to split us up a bit.
"Because I'm a little bit better sprinter but can also ride enduro, they can't really pick at the moment until I'm a bit older.
"I do like pursuiting and all that stuff, but sprinting, I like the power, just accelerating, trying to drop people off my wheel."
Travelling around the country is expensive, and Kristoff is looking for a sponsor to help him.
"I'll try and do really well at this and hopefully it will tunnel through to Junior Worlds next year, and the year after the Olympics, hopefully."
- © Fairfax NZ News
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