While the Olympic Games have been the headline act for most of us, three young Southland cyclists have been quietly preparing for their own pinnacle event.

And the UCI junior world track cycling championships starting in the historic Chinese city of Luoyang in two weeks’ time will be a different sort of experience for all three, including sprinters Caitlin Kelly and Riley Faulkner and endurance rider Magnus Jamieson.

Caitlin Kelly. Photo: Supplied

For Kelly, her second junior worlds is a chance to be part of a genuine team, a relatively rare thing in a sport which can feel very individualistic from the inside. 

New Zealand has put together a women’s team sprint of Kelly, Faulkner and Jodie Blackwood. Kelly and Blackwood roomed together last year when they were both first year juniors competing at the world event in Cali, Colombia, but endurance rider Meg Baker had to be drafted into the squad to make up the numbers for the team sprint.

Despite that, the trio performed exceptionally well, breaking the New Zealand record twice and finishing fifth overall.

“We’re super excited to have three dedicated sprinters this year. It’s like three people who are dedicated to sprinting so we can give it our all,” Kelly says.

“I’m really excited about how the team sprint is going to play out. I enjoy the team sprint because you get to share that happiness and success with so many people. Growing up I played all the team sports and sometimes you miss that in an individual sport.

“We’ve got a male sprinter (Alex Schuler) who is in the squad this year and we are all a really tight knit team. We are all best friends and he joins in on all the girly activities. It’s going to be really cool to know that I’ve got their backs and they’ve got mine.”

Kelly will move from the starting position to third wheel, the finisher, for this year’s championships, something which she’s excited about. For context, first year junior Faulkner recently broke the under-19 flying 200m All Comers record at the New Zealand Track Series in Cambridge.

“Riley’s got a quick start. I’m an explosive rider, which is why I got the start last year, but I’m more of a big gear, long distance rider and then Jodie can have that smooth ride and send me off for the final lap.”

Those with at least a passing interest in Southland cycling will have noticed the gap in this story, and will probably understand why.

Riley Faulkner. Photo: Supplied

Kelly returned home from Cali 12 months ago with an historic bronze medal from the keirin. It was Cycling New Zealand’s first sprinting medal at the event for a decade and the only medal the team won in Cali.

A year on and you could expect Kelly would be one of the favourites for the fast and furious keirin, but a mountain biking accident on the Central Otago Rail Trail earlier this year - her first major injury setback - has made for a very different sort of buildup.

There has been a lot of support from her family, her friends, her long-time coach Sid Cumming, her G Force club mates and the SBS Bank Academy Southland as she’s rebuilt her confidence on the bike.

“I have got quite a bounce-back type attitude. When I crashed initially, I was like ‘what is this going to mean?’ My coach was actually around at the time in Dunedin and he said ‘you know, I don’t actually see this being a problem, I just think it’s going to make you work even harder to get what you want’, I’ve sort of taken that and just tried to work on what I can.”

A year on from his junior worlds debut in Cali, meanwhile, Jamieson rates himself a much stronger rider and he’s hoping to enjoy the experience after a big winter of training.

Jamieson, who has been coached by Christchurch-based Cycling NZ junior worlds coach Andrew Williams, said the men’s endurance squad’s focus was on the team pursuit.

“We’ll get to know our other events just before we leave, but we’ve agreed as a team that our focus will be on the team pursuit. It’s the first race for us and we’re going to go all out and try and smash it.”

Like Kelly, Jamieson has been utilising the mental skills training by Academy Southland’s Jason McKenzie to combat any nerves he’s feeling about competing on the international stage.

“The only pressure I’ll be feeling is the pressure I put on myself. It’s normal to have nerves, you can expect them and accept them and you have the tools to deal with them,” Jamieson said.

“I’d like to come back with a medal, but I just want to do well in whatever race I do. It’s about learning and coming back a better bike rider.”

The New Zealand team to compete in the UCI Junior Track World Championships in Luoyang from August 21-25 is:

Female: Meg Baker (Christchurch), Jodie Blackwood (Cambridge), Riley Faulkner (Invercargill), Caitlin Kelly (Invercargill).

Male: Lucas Bhimy (Auckland), Matthew Davidson (Christchurch), Magnus Jamieson (Invercargill), Daniel Morton (Auckland), Bernard Pawson (Auckland), Alex Schuler (Cambridge).