Kennett is in line for emerging talent gong

Waimate cyclist Dylan Kennett has been nominated in the "Emerging Talent" category of the 50th Westpac Halberg Awards.

The youngster performed well at his first UCI World Cup in Scotland in November taking fourth spot in the 4000m individual pursuit, clocking an impressive time of 4m 28.128s.

After a disappointing result in the Bike NZ awards the world junior championship silver medallist is pleased his efforts have been recognised with a Halberg nomination.

"I found out about two or three days ago, I was really stoked to be in the top four in New Zealand," he said.

"The Bike NZ awards were about a week before I found out. I was nominated for those but overlooked when it came to winning it, so it's nice to be nominated for this."

Kennett has had a hectic couple of months, returning to New Zealand from the world cup on November 21 before jetting off to Adelaide for the Oceania Track Championships on November 28 where he competed in the individual pursuit, team pursuit, scratch race, points race and Madison events.

The budding star said he was generally happy with his performances in 2012, despite some frustrating setbacks.

"It's been a good year, but I wasn't overly pleased with Glasgow [UCI World Cup]. I wasn't 100 per cent." he said.

"There were some injuries in my build-up which cost me two or three weeks of good training."

Kennett also learned that the transition from junior to senior level is a double-edged sword.

"There were positives and negatives, you're a marked man in the junior competition whereas you're just another competitor in the seniors, but the seniors is much harder competition," he said.

Award winners will be announced in Auckland on February 14.