Cycling New Zealand has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2018, but with a new CEO and top coach on board there is a genuine felling amongst the New Zealand sprint cyclists that things are back on track.
A new year means a fresh start with cyclist Sam Webster saying there is a different feel in the new environment.
"There's new modes of communication and there's a different dynamic and it has a different feel, it's not tangible you can't touch it or feel it but the way that everything operates is different and I'm very much enjoying it," said Webster.
Last May long time sprint coach Anthony Peden resigned and a review highlighted serious problems within Cycling NZ.
Some found the distractions easier to avoid than others.
"I was actually at a race isolated for four days without my phone and laptop so it gave me the advantage of being able to take it for what had happened and then move on," Webster said.
German Olympic champion Rene Wolff is the new head sprint coach and he believes success comes from more than just pedal power.
"It's not always the hard numbers, it's actually the soft areas where performance does happen and where obviously the magic does happen," said Wolff.
After two disappointing World Cup campaigns at the end of last year, the men's sprint team are hoping to rediscover their mojo next week at the Cambridge round.
Under their new coach Wolff, the team are learning to step back and take a look at the bigger picture.
"When you're younger you want to win everything of course you do, we still do and we're guilty of that. But it's about accepting that not every race is Tokyo," said sprint cyclist Ethan Mitchell.
New Zealand women's sprint cyclist Natasha Hansen said the distractions in 2018 will make the athletes stronger.
"I think if anything the team's pretty good at taking the positives out of things and everyone's learnt, everyone's grown and I think we're all going to be fine," said Hansen.
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