Shane Melrose smashed the Otago M1 750m time trial record at the opening night of the Otago track championships at the Seddon Park Velodrome last night. Melrose, who has recently returned to the Otago track scene, posted a time of 53.62 nearly 1 second faster than the previous record set by Chris Henderson last year.
Ewan Syme flew around the track in a time of 37.69 to take out the boys U17 500m TT title over Connor McDonald. Megan Foley won the U17 girls 500m TT title ahead of Madeline Gough, who has recently moved to the club from Southland.
Stew Thomas posted the fastest 500m time on the track with a time of 37.51 in the M2 category. He finished ahead of Greig O’Kane to take out the title.
The highlight of the scratch racing was the girls U17 race. Experienced junior Megan Foley took out the title after an aggressive move opened large lead with a lap and a half to go. Madeleine Gough chased hard, but couldn’t catch Foley and crossed the line second. The skills obtained in a successful junior program were evident in the smooth riding throughout the race, with new rider Madeleine Cooper-Forster taking 3rd.
In the women’s Ella Harris broke with 4 laps to go. Bailey Saville chased and the two worked together until Saville opened a gap with 1 lap remaining. Senior rider Bryony Telford chased the leading pair, but could not bridge the gap and crossed the line 3rd, winning the senior womens title.
The senior men dominated the men’s race, with Patrick Jones taking the title off Tim Chapman. 3rd across the line was Neil Derbyshire who took out the M2 men title ahead of Greig O’Kane.
The championships continue on Thursday with pursuits and conclude on Sunday with Points and Keirin races.
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