Cycling: Sam Webster tops NZ teammate Ethan Mitchell to win sprint title at national championships

Sam Webster has pipped international teammate Ethan Mitchell to the sprint title at the National Track Cycling Championships.

Mitchell set a new competition record (9.763sec) in qualifying before being swept 2-0 by Webster in the decider, in Invercargill.

"It’s never easy, especially with the depth that we have in New Zealand now," Webster said.

"We all had a pretty tough run from the quarterfinals today and that’s probably something we haven’t had since the days of Eddie Dawkins, Simon van Velthooven, Matt Archibald and Ben Stewart.

"We had really incredible depth back then and it’s exciting to feel like we’ve superseded that. "We are at a really strong point and I feel like the sprint culture is really growing in New Zealand."

Auckland's Sam Durkin beat local Bradly Knipe for bronze, while Tasman's Shaane Fulton won the women's sprint.

Bryony Botha topped Auckland's Oliva Ray in the elite women's 3000m individual pursuit final.