Power prodigy's best birthday

BY NATHAN BURDON

Gemma Dudley received the perfect 20th birthday present from New Zealand track coach Tim Carswell on Monday.

The same day the Levin cycling prodigy said goodbye to her teens, she was welcomed into the senior cycling ranks with selection in the New Zealand team for this month's world championships in Copenhagen.

"It was a nice wee treat for my birthday. It's very exciting," Dudley said.

"I kind of didn't really see myself getting there this year but it was a huge goal of mine. I motivated myself and have been training my ass off and it's paid off in the end."

National women's coach Dayle Cheatley said Dudley had forced her way into the team through sheer hard work.

Despite her tender age she had excellent cycling maturity, he said.

"She's got a great racing head on her. She's been racing since she was 12. She's petite but she puts some real power into the pedals."

Dudley announced herself on the world stage less than two years ago with four medals at the junior world championships in South Africa.

They included bronze in the points race and individual pursuit and silver in the scratch race and teams pursuit, alongside Southlanders Cathy Jordan and Sequoia Cooper.

Cape Town was a key moment, Dudley said.

"I guess it just gave me the confidence to know that I can be up there and be one of the best. Junior worlds was a huge stepping stone for me and it's opened the gates up for my cycling career."

It's her versatility that makes Dudley one of the most exciting athletes to come out of Levin since Carlos Spencer.

Cheatley described the younster as the ideal "jack-of-all-trades" rider who could excel in the multi-event omnium.

"We are looking at her as a long-term project for London in 2012 and Rio in 2016," Cheatley said.

Dudley stumbled into cycling at 12 years of age. With no family background in the sport she gave it a try along with just about everything else as she chased her intermediate school's top sports girl trophy.

Predictably, her hero growing up was world and Olympic champion Sarah Ulmer.

"I used to ride one of her bikes when I was under 15. It was like a big thing for me to be riding Sarah Ulmer's bike that she won junior worlds on. I met her and showed her the bike because we'd done it up. She was lovely, really supportive."

Dudley's father had found the bike on Trade Me and snapped it up. They later checked its authenticity with the Ulmer family and had it restored, adding Ulmer's signature to the frame. They are now planning on giving it back to Ulmer for a museum.

It would probably pay to make room in the garage, because Dudley looks likely to be filling it with memorabilia of her own in the near future.

- © Fairfax NZ News