Marshall Erwood with the bronze medal he won at the World Track Cycling Championships in Chile.
Marshall Erwood has given himself three days off following a frantic month on the bike, and a trip to the glitzy Halberg Awards on Monday night has taken up one of those days.
Erwood, as well as fellow Southland cyclists Tom Sexton and Nick Kergozou, have squeezed in the NZ Criterium Championships, Tour of Southland, NZ Road Nationals, and Oceania Track Cycling Championships, all in the space of four weeks.
The trio headed to Auckland for Monday night’s Halberg Awards, where they are a finalist in the Team of the Year category.
Their finalist spot comes on the back of claiming bronze in the team pursuit at the World Track Cycling Championships in Chile last year.
“It’s going to be pretty special. I’m going to have to be on my best behaviour, I’ve got the rest of the team pursuit boys to keep me in line,” 20-year-old Erwood told The Tribune in the lead up to the Halberg Awards.
“I don’t think I’ve been to such a prestigious event before, so I’ve had to dust off the suit and get that ready.”
Another Southlander, Alena Saili, is also a finalist in the Team of the Year category as part of the Black Ferns sevens team.
Erwood finished up at the Oceania Track Cycling Championships in Cambridge on Saturday, and after a couple of days’ rest, he plans to return to training on Tuesday.
The focus has switched to preparing for World Cup events in Hong Kong and Malaysia in April.
After those two World Cup events, he will spend about a month training in Invercargill before then heading to the United States to compete on the road.
That will lead him to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July and August.
“Everyone in Southland just froths it when you get a medal or do well overseas, so I would love to get a result there,” Erwood said.
“I wouldn’t mind winning the [Elimination Race at the Commonwealth Games], that would be pretty cool.”
That’s just what he did at the Oceania Track Cycling Championships, winning the Elimination Race in Cambridge.
“I was pretty happy with how I was tracking, considering I hadn’t touched the track bike for about two months.
“We jumped straight into a team pursuit, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to go. I told the boys I was quite nervous. But we jumped into the team pursuit, and I felt amazing.”
Erwood was hopeful to also win the Individual Pursuit and Omnium events, but it was fellow Southlander, Sexton, who won those.
“He’s on fire,” Erwood said of Sexton’s performances.