Waikato track star thrilled at velodrome decision

Buchanan is thrilled with the latest news ©RoadCycing.co.nz

Apr 15th, 11. Rushlee Buchanan, the NZ Points race champion and a former world record holder, is thrilled Waikato/Bay of Plenty is one step closer to gaining a world class velodrome.

"Having another velodrome anywhere in New Zealand was going to be beneficial for the sport and the country, but being a Waikato Girl, the Home of Cycling at St Peters Waikato was always going to be my first choice!" she told RoadCycling.co.nz after yesterday's announcement by SPARC.

Buchanan went to St Peter's high school in Cambridge next door to where the $25m velodrome and "Home of Cycling" is proposed to be built  (on State Highway 1, between Hamilton and Cambridge).

While the final decision will not be made until early May, the Waikato/Bay of Plenty tender team was chosen by SPARC to enter into final negotiations with to become the Cycling Centre of Excellence.  

The Cycling Centre of Excellence will be the home of BikeNZ's high performance programme for road, track, BMX and MTB and the site of a world class indoor velodrome.

"It will be a great facility for BikeNZ , the local community and the whole of NZ. The Waikato will provide some of the best training grounds in the world. I can honestly say that as I have been to a few velodromes!!

"I think it's brilliant that it will be just down the road from my house, but I also believe the community will benefit from it greatly," said Buchanan who was part of New Zealand's world record beating team pursuit squad at last year's UCI Track World Championships.

The whole Waikato cycling community has been behind the region's bid, with Buchanan singling out Rob Waddell, Brendon Cameron and Sarah Ulmer as having had a major part to play.  Like all regions who tendered, a lot of people have put in many hours of hard work to get to this point, and it is just the beginning of a long project.

"We still need people to continually support the building though, so this is only the beginning," said Buchanan. "We need a  greater awareness and appreciation of what this facility will be and will bring."

The Waikato/Bay of Plenty already boasts a string of track current and former World Champions, Olympic medallists, world record holders and national champions including Buchanan, Sarah Ulmer, Jaime Neilsen, Peter Latham, Kaytee Boyd, Sonia Waddell, Kaytee Boyd and Sam Bewley.  

With a world class indoor velodrome in their own region, this list will only get longer as the years unfold.

The Cycling Centre of Excellence is not just about track cycling, and the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region already has plenty to offer cyclists from other codes.  

A facebook page set up in support of the region's bid says they offer, "Over 4,500 kms of road riding roads, world class and acclaimed mountain bike facilities at Rotorua and across the region, and an under construction superb BMX track in Cambridge."

If you want to support the new Cycling Centre of Excellence, encourage the relevant councils to support the project by adding your name to this online submission.