Petch wins on both track and BMX

Tokyo Olympian Rebecca Petch has shown her impressive cycling diversity in winning two national titles in three days.

Petch has won the 500m time trial title at the track nationals in Cambridge Hamilton just days after winning her third elite BMX National Championship in a row at Hamilton.

Petch, who has dabbled in track cycling with her mainstay of BMX since Tokyo, clocked a championship record of 34.201s for the 500m time trial, which was just 0.2s outside the national open mark.

“I wasn’t expecting to get a national title on the track… I am starting to get more used to the track bike and slowly starting to be more natural but there’s still a lot of improvement to come.”

Fellow Olympians Nick Kergozou and Bryony Botha scored impressive wins, and Waikato Bay of Plenty’s Kiaan Watts, making a rare return from road racing, claimed the elite scratch race.

Botha won the women’s 10km scratch race while Kergozou, claimed his fourth national 1000m time trial title, clocking 1:00.296, which bettered his own championship record.

“Given the training camp over the last few days and the experiment running a bigger gear, it was respectable. It’s my fourth title and I think that is about the same number that Eddie Dawkins won – that’s not bad company,” said Kergozou.

More than 200 riders are contesting the five-day competition comprising para-cyclists and able-bodied riders from under-15 grade to elite.

-RNZ