Jo Kiesanowski 9th in omnium

Jo Kiesanowski finished 9th in the omnium at the UCI Track World Championships ©Guy Swarbrick

Mar 28th, 11. Kiwi roadie Jo Kiesanowski finished inside the Top 10 after today's final three races in the six discipline omnium event at the UCI Track World Championships.

Kiesanowski had a solid start to the day with a 3:46.4 effort to be 12th fastest in the individual pursuit which listed her into 9th place going into the all-important scratch race.

She worked hard with Australian Amy Cure to bring back a dangerous break but Canada's winner Tara Whitten, Kiesanowski's teammate on the road, and Tatsiana Sharakova from Belarus attacked immediately to put a lap on the field.

The Kiwi worked hard to finish 6th in the bunch sprint to remain in the Top 10 overall.

The closeness of the competition was such that had she finished 3rd she would have jumped into the top six. However like her Kiwi teammate Shane Archbold in the men's omnium, she struggled to dominate in the bunch races.

The Canterbury rider was 9th in a sound 36.68s ride in the 500m time trial to solidify her Top 10 performance. Whitten won the omnium ahead of American Sarah Hammer.

Kiesanowski now begins the road season with her Tibco team after a successful transition back to the track.  As she did last season, she will split the road season between USA and Europe.

BikeNZ High Performance Director Mark Elliott was pleased with how New Zealand's two omnium riders performed in this new Olympic event, and knows where to concentrate future efforts.

"We've have shown we have two very good omnium riders, especially in Shane Archbold who is an exciting prospect. Both riders struggled in the bunch races which has been their strength and will be a key to their success next year," he said referring to the London 2012 Games.

Related

• All articles on the UCI World Track Championships