Greatest moments in Otago sport - Number 3

Alison Shanks celebrates winning the women's individual pursuit at the world championships in Poland in 2009. Photo by NZPA/AP.

The Otago Daily Times counts down the 150 greatest moments in Otago sport.

No 3: Shanks rides to world pursuit title (2009)

Hours after Alison Shanks' gold-medal ride, she had to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

And so did most of the cycling world. Her victory in the women's 3000m individual pursuit at the world track cycling championships in Poland in 2009 left people stunned and marvelling at her rapid rise from novice to world champion.

The 26-year-old had taken up the sport only four years earlier when her netball career hit a road bump.

"It was a weird feeling when I crossed the line," Shanks told the Otago Daily Times shortly after the race.

"I thought to myself, 'Did that just happen? Did I just win that race?'

"Standing on the podium was pretty special. You come to the world champs with the aim of winning, but to actually go out and do it is pretty... I don't know. I'm just pretty stoked.

"It is quite surreal."

Shanks beat rival Wendy Houvenaghel (Britain) in the final by more than 2sec in a personal-best time of 3min 29.807sec.

Houvenaghel, the Beijing Olympics silver medallist, set the quickest time during qualifying and went out fast in the final. She led by more than half a second at the first kilometre but Shanks reeled her in during the second half of the race.

Shanks put her success down to hard work and the thorough planning of her coach and partner, Craig Palmer.

"Craig and I have taken a very scientific approach," she said.

"Everything is done for a reason and every training session has a purpose. We are constantly looking for ways to improve, whether it be a new training method, new equipment or better tactics. It is that constant challenge and desire to go faster that has led to that continued improvement."

The following day, Shanks was back on the bike and riding for gold again, this time in the teams pursuit. The new world champion had to settle for silver, though.

The New Zealand team pushed the British team hard, clocking a national-record time of 3min 23.993sec. But the defending champions took gold in a time of 3min 22.720sec.

Shanks received a hero's welcome at Dunedin airport when she returned home but had her dreams crushed later that year when the International Olympic Committee cut the individual pursuit from the 2012 London Games.

"Obviously, I'm pretty devastated by the news," she said.

"I guess we knew the decision was coming, but to hear it was official was pretty gut-wrenching stuff.

"Life throws some curve balls at you sometimes, but you just have to deal with the situation you've been given, really."

The decision knocked her off course for a bit and she finished fourth in defence of her title in 2010.

However, that disappointment helped inspire her gold-medal ride at the Delhi Commonwealth Games later that year.

Shanks will still ride in London, hoping to win gold with the pursuit team.