New Zealand’s track cycling team is “buzzing” ahead of its first home World Cup since 2015.
Nearly 500 riders and staff from 40 nations are descending on Cambridge for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup, running Friday 18th to Sunday 20th January.
Rio Olympian Olivia Podmore is one of the Kiwi riders who trained through the holiday season, getting ready to contest the team sprint, individual sprint and keirin.
“Luckily Christmas ham has a lot of protein in it for us sprinters!” said Podmore.
“This is the middle of our season so it's really full gas over the holiday period, you can’t slack off at all, you’ve got to focus on your training and R&R comes after that if you’ve got time for it.”
The World Cup is a key qualifying event for the upcoming World Championships in The Netherlands and ultimately the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
For 21-year-old Podmore it’s the first time she’s competed at a World Cup in New Zealand and she’s hoping that riding on a familiar track will be beneficial.
“I’ve never competed in the big events with a home crowd like this so I’m really excited, the whole team is going to get such a big lift from it,” said Podmore.
“Being able to have that home feeling definitely helps, having your own bed and the support is going to be a really big advantage.”
“It’s a very good vibe in our team at the moment, we’re excited to get out there in front of the home crowd and give it everything.”