The Cycling New Zealand track team took a big first step in their Paris Olympic campaign with two gold medals and a silver on the opening night of finals at the first UCI Nations Cup track competition in Jakarta.

Three UCI Nations Cup competitions replace the previous world cup programmes, and are mandatory for nations seeking rankings to qualify for the world championships and ultimately, the Paris Olympics.

In the first international competition and with new combinations, New Zealand won gold medals in the women’s team pursuit and the elimination race for Ally Wollaston, while the men’s team pursuit finished with the silver medal and the women’s team sprint qualified for the top eight.

The women’s 4000m team pursuit combination of Michaela Drummond, Ally Wollaston, Bryony Botha and Emily Shearman, in their first competition together, not only won the final over France but smashed their previous national record by nearly two seconds.

After trailling for the first 1000m, the New Zealand team took control, winning in 4:08.440 which was nearly two seconds faster than the previous time set at the Tokyo Olympics, and faster than times set at the recent European Championships.

“We as riders had driven the whole performance. We decided the strategy, our schedule, our line-up and what we wanted to achieve,” said Bryony Botha.

“We have taken a lot of ownership so it was cool to know that we had done that stuff and it had all gone to plan. It’s the fastest we have ever gone and we have literally not ridden much together, so this is just the beginning of something incredible.”

Wollaston had to basically change bikes and return to the track for the exciting Elimination race, with the last rider every second lap eliminated.

The 22-year-old from Tamahere, who has emerged with success both on the road and the track, showed class and racing nous beyond her years to claim the gold medal in the final sprint over Great Britain’s Neah Evans.

“We’ve put in a lot of work on bunch racing. Paul (Coach Paul Manning) and I have done a lot of analysis and looking at my weaknesses in races like this. Good honest work made the result today,” said Wollaston.

“It was pleasing to see everything come together. And pleasing off the back of a team pursuit. I am overwhelmed with today. It’s important not to get too excited about these types of things though. It is going to be a big year and this is a stepping stone for bigger things coming up.”

Earlier the men’s combination Nic Kergozou, Aaron Gate, Campbell Stewart and Dan Bridgwater, who stepped in for George Jackson,  finished runners-up to Olympic medallists Denmark in the final of the men’s 45000m team pursuit.

It proved a tight battle with New Zealand trailing by the blink of the eye at the halfway mark, and drew level at the 3000m. Denmark managed to eek out a slender lead in the final four laps, winning in 4:12.846 with New Zealand just 0.4s behind in second, averaging over 56kmh.

“We have started the Olympic qualification from here and come away with a good result for the team. We executed that very well today,” said Kergozou.

“As a whole, we had three good rides here with Dan(Bridgwater) and George (Jackson) stepping in and getting PBs in their first competitions at this level.

“The worlds was our last competition, so we are starting with a different line-up and producing times like this which sets a level for us for the year. It is exciting to produce that performance at the start of the build towards the next Olympics.”

Jackson finished sixth in the men’s elimination from the 20 starters, won by Japan’s Eiya Hashimoto.

Earlier the women’s team sprint combination of Rebecca Petch, Olivia King and Ellesse Andrews were beaten in the first round by top qualifiers Great Britain.

The New Zealand trio produced a solid performance to record 47.810s but could not match the British team, who themselves had to settle for the bronze medal with Germany winning the final in 46.613s.

Attention turns to the individual competition tomorrow with Andrews and King competing in the women’s sprint, Sam Dakin in the men’s keirin, Campbell Stewart in the omnium and Drummond and Botha in the two-rider Madison.

The Nations Cup finishes on Monday (NZ Time).

Results, day 2:

Women’s 4000m Team Pursuit, first round: New Zealand (Michaela Drummond, Ally Wollaston, Bryony Botha, Emily Shearman) 4:10.651, 1 bt Australia 4:16.214, 2. France 4:11.870, 1 bt Great Britain 4:12.863, 2.

Gold Medal: New Zealand 4:08.440, 1 (NZ Record); France 4:12.846, 2; Bronze Medal: Great Britain 4:13.975, 3; Australia 4:18.798, 4.

Men’s 4000m Team Pursuit, first round: New Zealand (Aaron Gate, Campbell Stewart, George Jackson, Nic Kergozou) 3:48.506, 1; bt Great Britain 3:49.823. Denmark 3:46.706, 1; bt Australia 3:50.957, 2.

Gold Medal: Denmark 3:49.210, 1; New Zealand (Gate, Stewart, Daniel Bridgwater, Kergozou) 3:49.954, 2. Bronze Medal: Great Britain 3:50.867, 3; Australia 3:51.601, 4.

Women Team Sprint Qualifying: Great Britain 46.987, 1; China 47.132, 2; Netherlands 57.281, 3. Also: New Zealand (Rebecca Petch, Olivia King, Ellesse Andrews) 48.254, 8.

First Round: Great Britain 46.803, 1; New Zealand 47.810, 2. Final: Germany 46.613, 1; China 46.755, 2; Great Britain 46.684, 3; Netherlands 47.035, 4.

Men Elimination: Eiya Hashimoto (JPN) 1, Jules Hesters (BEL) 2, Yoeri Havik (NED) 3. Also: George Jackson (NZL) 6.

Women Elimination Race: Ally Wollaston (NZL) 1, Neah Evans (GBR) 2, Marit Raaijmakers (NED) 3.