Cycling: US victory gives Bryony Botha timely boost for Glasgow

New Zealand cyclist Bryony Botha wins gold in the individual pursuit at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games — Bryony Botha celebrates after winning gold in the individual pursuit at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Kiwi cyclist Bryony Botha feels a successful stint in the United States has provided a timely confidence boost as she bids for further Commonwealth Games glory.

The defending individual pursuit champion heads into her third Commonwealth Games after claiming victory at last month’s Tour of America’s Dairyland in Wisconsin, a result she says has reinforced her belief ahead of returning to the track.

The 28-year-old - who won the individual pursuit title in Birmingham four years ago - is part of New Zealand’s 19-strong track cycling team for Glasgow.

Speaking to RNZ on the eve of the games, Botha said the high intensity nature of criterium multi-lap cycling had been ideal preparation for the track.

“It’s super transferable to the track stuff where you’re having to put out like really high power constantly. So that’s been really great for me,” she said.

“I’m feeling really good, especially since I got the win, so I’ve got a lot of confidence from that.”

Her spell in the US was not been without incident.

During a training ride in Washington DC, Botha lost her brand-new phone into the Potomac River, only to retrieve it five minutes later after wading through the murky river waters.

“I jumped in and luckily enough I could touch the bottom. So I ended up using my feet and walked around where I thought my phone might be,” she said.

“I felt my phone with my foot and it was working completely fine and it actually had been recording a video for five minutes.”

New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston, New Zealand’s Bryony Botha, New Zealand’s Emily Shearman and New Zealand’s Nicole Shields prepare to compete in a women’s track cycling team pursuit qualifying round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines National Velodrome in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, south-west of Paris, on August 6, 2024. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) — Bryony Botha, second from left, was part of the New Zealand team that won silver in the team pursuit at the Paris Olympics.AFP / John MacDougall

Her teammates captured the dramatic rescue, with the footage receiving almost half a million views on social media.

Before her American excursion, Botha had showcased stellar form on the velodrome back home.

She broke the Oceania individual pursuit record twice in one day during February’s Oceania Track Championships in Cambridge, setting a time of 4 minutes 29.11 seconds in the final to claim her fifth consecutive elite women’s title.

Botha shapes as a strong gold medal contender in the individual pursuit as she bids to go back-to-back, but winning the team pursuit loomed as an even bigger goal.

“I’ve been cycling and racing for 10 years now professionally, and this is probably, towards the end of my career.

“I’ve never won gold in a team pursuit. That is definitely going to be my main goal for this year.”

If the milestone was reached it would ensure further accolades as she enters the final chapter of a career already boasting an Olympic silver medal, alongside a gold and two silvers at Commonwealth Games.

The New Zealand track cycling team will complete their games preparations with a two-week camp in Canada before travelling to Scotland.