Commonwealth Games gold medallist Alison Shanks and Hawke’s Bay’s silver medal winning cyclist Westley Gough will be the stars of the Hawke’s Bay A and P Show on Friday. The two shining lights of New Zealand cycling will be showing their support for the Hawke’s Bay Unison Velodrome bid by riding stationery training bikes and signing autographs at the MORE FM site from noon.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Trust chair Lawrence Yule said it was extremely exciting to have the backing of Alison Shanks and Westley Gough, who had pledged their support for the Unison Velodrome bid before leaving for Delhi.
“We would encourage Hawke’s Bay people to come to the site to show their support for Alison and Westley and for the Velodrome bid.” Mr Yule said it would be the first opportunity for Hawke’s Bay fans to get a glimpse of the Commonwealth Games medals won by the two track cyclists.
Alison Shanks was the first athlete to win gold at the Games in Delhi, taking out the 3000m individual pursuit. Westley Gough won silver in the team pursuit.
While Westley was well known in the Bay, 27 year old Alison Shanks had also recently spent time here, spending a week training in Hawke’s Bay as part of her build up to overseas competition. Her partner and coach Craig Palmer is also originally from Hawke’s Bay. Mr Yule said the public campaign to show the decision makers that Hawke’s Bay is the most suitable place for the Velodrome will be revealed this Friday at the Show.
Mr Yule said Hawke’s Bay’s bid ticked all the boxes to be the home of a velodrome and “stands out” as the only suitable option and it was now important that the community showed its strong support. “Hawke’s Bay has the best climate, the best cycling terrain and cycling routes and two of the strongest cycling clubs in New Zealand. We now just need to show the Government that the people of Hawke’s Bay really want the Unison Velodrome,” he said.
Hawke’s Bay’s fundraising campaign is also ahead of the other regions’ bidding with over $4.5 million committed including $1m from Unison as naming rights sponsor. The Unison Velodrome is estimated to cost about $15m and will cater for riders from elite levels to recreational riders. It will be built to international specifications and the inner area will be used for netball, tennis and futsal. It is estimated that the Velodrome would generate $4.5 million in its first five years of operation.
