The New Zealand Track Cycling coach Tim Carswell is expecting world class performances and some major battles from leading riders in the National Championships starting in Invercargill this morning.
The major incentive is selection in the BikeNZ team for next month's UCI World Championships in Poland which is a major stepping stone towards the 2010 Commonwealth Games and ultimately the 2012 London Olympics.
New Zealand has qualified riders for virtually all events at the upcoming world championships but with a limit of 13 riders there will be real competition for selection in the week-long championships at the ILT Velodrome.
The focus is expected to go on the pursuiters with Beijing World Cup gold medallists Alison Shanks and Jesse Sergent likely to come up against some stern competition.
