Mar 27th, 10. NZ triple sprint champion Eddie Dawkins rode the 5th fastest kilo time trial at the Worlds with his time of 1:01.372 - the best time ever by a Kiwi.

Dawkins the NZ kilo champion now 5th in the world ©Gerry McManus

Dawkins was the 14th rider to contest the kilo and after his great ride he held a podium position right up until the final two of the 25 riders bumped him off.

He was just 3/10ths of a second off the bronze medal, a huge jump up from his 10th position in last year's championships.

In the Raboplus NZ Elite Track Nationals last month Dawkins broke the New Zealand record with his gold medal kilo, or 1000m time trial, ride of 1:01.524.

While today's time at the UCI Track World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark doesn't count as a new record, NZ records have to be broken in NZ, it still counts as the best time by a New Zealander and, of course, a personal best.

"I wasn't planning on racing the kilo, but I guess they are going to make me now," Dawkins said after his domestic win which kicked off a trio of NZ records and titles.

With his great ride today, Dawkins is pleased they did make him race the event and his top placing validates the decision.

"I've been working on my starts and that was my fastest start and I went under my record time, so overall I am really pleased. I came to put it all out on the track and I did that," Dawkins said.

"I would have loved a medal but I am still really young in this sport. I am more concentrating on sprints right now than the kilo so this was great and gives me so much confidence for tomorrow."

The kilo isn't Dawkins' strongest event, in January he won the shorter and more tactical 200m sprint event at the UCI World Cup event in Beijing. He'll compete in that event in Copenhagen tomorrow.

"Our whole sprint team have done well so far. Our coach Justin Grace has set goals for us and we keep exceeding them so he has to keep re-evaluating right now.  I think we have raised a few eyebrows this week. New Zealand is not turning up at sprints just to fill in the spots now. We are genuine contenders."

Today's winning time was 1:00.341 by 28 year old Teun Mulder  (Holland). His time was the fastest sea-level kilo time in the world, the fastest absolute record of 58.875 was set back in 2001 by Arnaud Tournant of France.

Two other Kiwis contested the kilo today.  Ethan Mitchell, part of last year's world junior champion winning team sprint, was 16th fastest and fellow Aucklander Myron Simpson, preparing for the omnium, was 20th.

Two-time Olympian and reigning USA Cycling kilo national champion Giddeon Massie was disqualified early in the kilo event which put all the teams on notice to check their setup.  Massie was disqualified for what officials sited as "non-horizontal arms." His time of 103.205 was outside medal contention anyway.

Kiwi times

• 5th Eddie Dawkins 1:01.372
• 16th Ethan Mitchell 1:03.389
• 20th Myron Simpson 1:03.691

Other news of the track today

• NZ men's team pursuit gain bronze
• Rushlee Buchanan stayed safe for 15th in dramatic scratch race

Related articles

• UCI World Track Championship results
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