Kiwi cyclist Ally Wollaston has claimed the gold medal in the elimination race at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Denmark.
Wollaston beat a star-studded field in the elimination race, beating six-time world champion and double elimination world winner, Lotte Kopecky in the final in Copenhagen.
The elimination race featured 22 riders, with the last rider after each two laps being eliminated, until two riders remain to fight it out for the title.
The 23-year-old managed to ride until she was one of four riders remaining. The final four comprised of Kopecky, seven-time world champion and Olympic omnium gold medallist, Jennifer Valente from the US, and Italian rider Letizia Paternoster.
Wollaston edged out the Italian and then the American by the tightest margins and then fought off Kopecky in the final sprint to claim the world championship title.
“It feels amazing. It is something that I have been hunting for quite a long time. I am blown away and a little bit lost for words at the moment,” said Wollaston. “For now, I am enjoying the experience.”
The Kiwi rider spoke about taking on the challenging field today.
“They (Kopecky and Valente) are two of the best riders on the track at the moment, so it was a little bit daunting. I’ve been racing them all year and I’ve been beaten by them a few times now.
“You get to know the riders on the track and how each rider works . But until you cross the finish line you really never know what’s going to happen. So to win against riders like that means a lot.”
Wollaston gets to wear the 'rainbow jersey' for claiming the World Championship title.
It is only the sixth world title won by a New Zealand female rider on the track and the first by a women’s endurance rider since the individual pursuit victory by Alison Shanks at Melbourne in 2012.
The gold medal sits alongside the bronze she earned yesterday in the scratch race after a thrilling sprint to the finish line.
Wollaston's success in Copenhagen comes after she picked up two medals at the Paris Olympics. She earned silver in the team pursuit and bronze in the omnium.
Ellesse Andrews was the last Kiwi to take home gold at a world championship, when she finished first in the keirin event in Glasgow last year.
Wollaston will continue her campaign in the four-discipline omnium tomorrow (NZ time).
Her teammate Bryony Botha is in action on Sunday in the individual pursuit.
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