Sport

Silver for NZ's Aaron Gate at Track Cycling World Champs

09:46 am on 24 October 2021

New Zealand cyclist Aaron Gate has won silver in the men's omnium at the Track Cycling World Championships in Roubaix, France.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Great Britain's Ethan Hayter dominated the competition to claim the gold medal.

Elia Viviani of Italy was third.

Sunday's silver is Gate's his third medal in the omnium at the World Championships. He won gold in 2013 and silver in 2017.

Just 11 weeks ago Gate fractured his clavicle in a disastrous crash when New Zealand were within reach of the bronze medal in the team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics.

The 30-year-old said he was thrilled with the effort which in part helps erase his Olympic woes, and he wanted to share today's performance with his Izu Velodrome teammates.

"I came into this not knowing how the track form was and I only had couple of days on the track here in Roubaix before racing. The podium was definitely goal but I didn't know if it was achievable or not until I started racing," said Gate.

"The scratch race went pretty well and set the tone and I progressed from there. I didn't have the legs in the points race that I would have liked but at the same time, at the halfway mark I knew I was racing for second. Hayter was in a class of his own today. So I have to be pretty happy with that.

"I guess it is some redemption so to speak. Izu still hurts because it was a team event and I didn't get a chance to stand up there with my teammates but this is a bit of silver lining. I have some texts from the boys already and look forward to catching up with them."

Earlier, Michaela Drummond and Ally Wollaston had a top-10 finish in the two-person madison, finishing a creditable ninth in the demanding 120-lap event, which is a points race with the teams inter-changing riders with a hand-sling action.

Gate returns to the track for the final day on Monday (NZ time), pairing up with Corbin Strong in the men's madison.