Scully eager to do worlds duty

BARRY HARCOURT/Southland Times

READY FOR THE WORLD: New Zealand and Southland cyclist Tom Scully at Invercargill's indoor velodrome yesterday with the New Zealand cycling team for the world championships at Copenhagen.

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Tom Scully sometimes has to pinch himself to ensure the past six months have not been a dream.

The Cromwell-raised Southland cycling representative has gone from promising youngster to World Cup medallist, and he heads to Copenhagen next week for his first senior world championships.

The 20-year-old agreed that the past season had been one to savour, following two gold medals at his debut World Cup appearance for New Zealand in Sydney, and three bronze medals at the Beijing round earlier this year.

"It's been a big season. There's been a lot going on – racing here, there and everywhere. The way things have been going have been really good, they've been just going up and up. Hopefully, things either plateau or keep going up and don't start coming down."

Scully expects to ride the points race and team up with Marc Ryan for the two-man madison event.

The pair won gold at the Sydney World Cup and finished second at an event in that city last week.

"I'm really looking forward to it, it's looking like it will be a good campaign," Scully said.

"We are both strong riders and we know what's going on and how it's working. We've just got to really gel together in the race. A bit of time in training this week and we should be going pretty good."

After riding at junior world championship events in South Africa and Mexico, Scully is excited about stepping up a grade.

"It will be a whole lot more professional in the senior ranks. I've ridden four World Cups now so I've got a sniff for what the world champs are going to be like, but I'd say it's going to be another level higher."

New Zealand head coach Tim Carswell said the events Scully would line up for had not been confirmed.

"It's a good question. Our intentions have been to train him towards the points race and the madison."

Carswell played down thoughts of Scully eventually pushing for a place in the multi-event omnium at the London Olympics, although it's understood that has been mooted.

Former world omnium champion Hayden Godfrey and Myron Simpson will ride the omnium for New Zealand in Denmark.

New Zealand will send its largest-ever team to a world championships, with 17 selected for Copenhagen.

The inclusion of five sprinters, including Invercargill's Eddie Dawkins, had added an extra rider to the squad.

"Everybody has earned their spot by some hard graft and some top results," Carswell said.

"We are going in with the confidence that we've got a very strong team, not only in the men's endurance, but in the women's endurance and the sprinters."wFrom March 25 to 28, the UCI track cycling world championships returns to Denmark at the Ballerup Super Arena.

The championships were previously held in Denmark (also in Ballerup) in 2002, and between 1896 and 1956 the Ordrup Velodrome, north of Copenhagen, hosted the world championships in track cycling nine times.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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