Southland cyclist takes gold at world champs

Southland teenager Corbin Strong, in his first year as an elite rider, has won the points race at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin.

Strong, led for much of the 40km event, cemented the title when he went with a three-strong break in the final laps to claim a bonus 20 points to secure his rainbow jersey title.

It is the first time a male New Zealand rider has won a points race world championship. The only other podium was when fellow Southlander Tom Scully won a silver medal at Cali, Colombia, in 2014.

It is the 19-year-old’s second medal of the championships, after winning the silver with the New Zealand men’s team pursuit.

It signalled a remarkable rise for the young Southlander, who won a junior world championship title in the team pursuit in Switzerland in 2018, and a year previous, a bronze medal in the same discipline in Italy.