Dawkins fit to race in track cycling World Cup

Injured cyclist Eddie Dawkins will take his place in the team sprint combination for the opening day of the UCI Track World Cup in Mexico tomorrow.

Dawkins, the in-form track sprinter in recent weeks, lost skin on his backside after crashing when his rear tyre punctured in training two days ago.

The 24 year old said his wounds have improved sufficiently for him to be able to compete tomorrow in the team sprint.

It is his third crash in as many weeks, after coming down twice in the opening World Cup in Manchester last month.

The New Zealand team has changed the combination for the team sprint tomorrow, with Southland’s Matt Archibald coming into the trio as second wheel to join starter Ethan Mitchell and Dawkins.

This will allow former triple junior world champion Sam Webster to focus on the sprint, especially the match competition phase.

There is also a change in the men’s pursuit combination for racing tomorrow with omnium world champion Aaron Gate moving into the four-strong combination to join Marc Ryan, Pieter Bulling and Dylan Kennett.
London Olympian Shane Archbold will compete in the two-day omnium which also starts tomorrow.

Details: www.bikenz.org.nz or www.uci.ch