Flying Faulkner set for international debut
“Tienkie's been a great role model for me this year, and for both of us to win our respective divisions and PB in qualifying shows that all the hard work we have been putting in over winter is startin
Southland sprinter Riley Faulkner (16) will be heading to Australia next week for her international debut after some spectacular performances at the recent Southland Track Cycling Championships.
Making her debut in the under 19 category at the championships, Faulkner claimed three medals, including a stunning gold medal in the under 19 women’s sprint.
After qualifying in third place, with a new personal best time of 11.838 seconds, Faulkner produced a brilliant ride in the semi final to defeat Junior Worlds medallist Caitlin Kelly in two straight rides.
The win secured her the under 19 title, as she would be facing her training partner Geertien Venter, who competes in the Elite women category, in the final.
The final was noteworthy not just for the two training partners facing off, but for the 28 year age gap between them - Faulkner, who recently turned 16, only just stepped up to the under 19 ranks, while Venter, at 44, is entitled to compete as a masters rider, but has elected to race in the Elite category over the last couple of years to continue her development as a sprinter.
It was another victory for Faulkner as she continued her winning run, defeating fastest qualifier Venter in the final to take the overall win, with Venter taking gold in the Elite women category.
Faulkner also took the silver medal in the under 19 women 500m time trial as the second fastest Southlander, in spite of a mishap at the start, and rounded out her competition with a silver in the under 19 women Keirin as the second Southlander across the line in the final, which was won by Canterbury’s Meg Baker.
“I was a little disappointed after my mishap at the start of my under 19 time trial as I’d hoped to go under 20 secs for the first lap, but to be able to bounce back the next day and get the win in my first under 19 match sprint and race my training partner in the final was a great feeling,” said Faulkner.
“Tienkie's been a great role model for me this year, and for both of us to win our respective divisions and PB in qualifying shows that all the hard work we have been putting in over winter is starting to pay off.”
Faulkner started out her competition by making an attempt at the national record for the under 17 women’s 500m time trial, setting a blisteringly fast and world class time for the under 17 age category opening lap of 20.105 seconds, but just falling short of setting the record for the full 500m distance.
Next up for Faulkner is a trip to Australia, where she will make her international racing debut at the UCI track event forming part of the Austral Wheelrace in Melbourne from 14 to 16 December.
The Austral Wheelrace is one of the longest running track meets in the world, drawing top riders from Australasia and beyond, and it will certainly be a baptism by fire for the young sprinter as she takes on the match sprint and Keirin events in Melbourne.
“I’ve had very little racing over the last year as I focussed on training for the move into under 19, so I am really looking forward to heading over to Melbourne to gain much needed international race experience as I work towards my goal of representing New Zealand at the Junior World Championships in China later next year,” said Faulkner.
The international racing in Australia will be another step along Cycling New Zealand’s development pathway for Faulkner, who started her journey attending a sprint development training camp for selected junior sprinters in Cambridge in October, where she trained alongside the women’s high performance sprint team.