Wanaka cyclist Ellesse Andrews setting new standards on the track

Ellesse Andrews Photo by Eugene Bonthuys https://www.facebook.com/EugeneBonthuysMedia

By chance, Ellesse Andrews met 3000m track cycling individual pursuit 2004 Olympic gold medallist and former world record holder Sarah Ulmer in the supermarket in Hamilton last week.

The Year 11 Mt Aspiring College student was there with her father and coach and former New Zealand track cycling Olympian Jon Andrews, the pair representing Southland in the New Zealand age group track championships in Cambridge.

“We were doing some shopping and my dad knew her so they started talking and he introduced me to her,” said Ellesse.

A few days later Ellesse set the New Zealand U17 Girls' 2000m individual pursuit [the junior distance equivalent of Ulmer’s race] record in a record time of 2:32.572 – over five seconds faster than the previous record set in 2010.

That wasn’t all she won in Cambridge. “I won three individual gold medals and I broke three New Zealand records.”

As well as the 2000m pursuit, Ellesse set records in and won the U17 Girls’ 500m Time Trial, in a time of 36.337, and the U17 Girls’ Sprint, in a time of 12.140.

“In the 500m time trial event there is only one ride, so I just had to go out there and do it. For the 2000m pursuit I did my best time [breaking the national record] in my heat, and in the final I did a slightly slower time but I still won the gold. I broke the record in the 200m flying lap for the sprint event.”

The 200m ‘flying lap’ is the individual qualifying time trial that each of the riders does to decide the seedings for the series of one-on-one races that follow. These are one-off sprints initially, but are then the best of three in the knock-out races. Ellesse won both her semi-final and gold medal sprint races two-nil.

Ellesse also won silver medals in the 5km scratch race and the team sprint with Southland teammate Nicole Marshall.

Father Jon, competing in the masters events in Cambridge, won four titles in the Masters men's 2 category, including a national record in the 500m Time Trial.

“It’s really helpful with my father being my coach and having so much experience, because he’s at home and he monitors what I’m doing and makes sure I’m doing everything right.”

Jon introduced Ellesse to track cycling a few years ago. “I didn’t really know much about it, not having a velodrome in Wanaka. My first major competitive event was about a year and a half ago, when I entered the Southland champs and did well.”

It’s been a busy 2015 so far for Ellesse, travelling most weekends to train or compete, a necessity living in Wanaka where events are further afield and the only indoor velodrome in the South Island is in Invercargill.

The Invercargill velodrome is a three hour drive away, but it’s also a world-class facility, having hosted the 2012 Junior World Track Cycling Championship.

“I trained in Invercargill leading up to the nationals, so I could get the specific things in that you have to have a velodrome for, like starting and pacing and stuff.”

“From the start of the year up until the age-group nationals we had a really busy two months, with basically every weekend going somewhere for training and competing. I had the Canterbury champs one weekend and then we went down to Invercargill several times.”

This week she was competing in the Southland and Otago road racing champs. Ellesse said that she enjoys road cycling as well, but for now at least her focus for serious competition is the track.

As well as cycling, Ellesse plays netball and does cross country skiing in the winter to keep fit -  because living in Wanaka that’s on her doorstep.

“Cross country skiing is really good winter training, it is basically just cross training, and it’s hard to train in Wanaka in the winter on the bike with all the ice and the cold.”

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