Aristotle’s notion that “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is the perfect way to sum up New Zealand cycling’s team sprint trio.
[embed width="480" height="270" class="leftAlone" thumbnail="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1RJSZV0uE5E/hqdefault.jpg?r"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJSZV0uE5E&feature=youtu.be[/embed]
Ethan Mitchell, Eddie Dawkins and Sam Webster are all outstanding athletes in their own right. But put them together in a team, and they are virtually invincible.
“Each of us is a fast rider,” Dawkins says. “But as a fast team we are unbeatable.”
The Kiwi sprint team go into the Rio Olympic Games as short-odds favourites. For the last three years, they have been the fastest team in the world.
They were world champions in 2014, crossed the line first but were relegated to second in 2015, but regained their world crown this year.
They have all made the commitment to move to the Waikato, and train at the Avantidrome in Cambridge, under the direction of coach Anthony Peden. They are not only friends and team-mates, but fierce rivals.
“Every day we are competing and training against each other, which brings the best out of each other,” Mitchell says.
It almost doesn’t have to be said that speed is a crucial element in the success of the team sprint trio. In a three-lap race against the clock, it’s an event where races are won and lost in a split second. “So for us to win we need to be the fastest team out there,” says Mitchell.
“It’s an event where a thousandth of a second means everything,” Webster adds, “so you need to really tap into everything your body can give.”
Says Dawkins: “I just love going as fast as I can possibly go and knowing that there’s not really a ceiling to it.”
It’s also a team sport where developing an understanding of each other is critical. “You get to know each other; you get to know how each other rides. You have to have that full trust in each other, or you can’t be a fast team,” Dawkins says.
Dawkins and Mitchell raced at the London Games in 2012, finishing fifth, but Webster, a former triple junior world champion, missed out on selection. Since then, they have banded together and become an international force to be reckoned with.
Friends since they left high school, the thrill of riding for New Zealand never loses its edge.
“Putting on that Silver Fern means its business time, it’s just an exciting feeling,” Mitchell says. “Everything has been about Olympic gold, and for us, we’re going to Rio to win.”
“Being able to do what we do in something we feel so passionate about, to be able to see people being bitten by that bug, that’s what gives us more drive,” says Webster. “And to see the sport growing is absolutely amazing.”