Southland's Tom Sexton has won New Zealand's first medal of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, taking silver in the men's 10km scratch race in Shanghai.

The 27-year-old finished second behind Great Britain's Mathew Bostock, who pushed clear of the bunch, with Belgium's Lindsay De Vylder taking bronze.

It is Sexton's second world championship podium in the scratch race, and it puts him in rare company. He and Greg Henderson are the only New Zealanders to have medalled twice in the event at a world championships.

Sexton is normally a team pursuit rider but was picked for the scratch and elimination races in Shanghai. In a lively bunch race he positioned himself well and timed his sprint through the final melee to grab second.

"This event is always pretty exciting – a bit like a drawn-out keirin for endurance riders," Sexton said.

"I put myself in the race and gave it a good nudge in the end."

He said he had put a lot of pressure on his own shoulders going into the day and it was cool to test himself.

Pursuit teams bank Olympic points

Southland had a second rider in action in the men's team pursuit, where Marshall Erwood joined George Jackson, Keegan Hornblow and Daniel Morton in a squad that finished sixth of 18 nations, less than a second away from a medal ride.

The women's team pursuit of Samantha Donnelly, Bryony Botha, Prue Fowler and Emily Shearman placed fifth of 17, beaten by half a second by Germany in the first round that decided the medal contenders.

Both results earned New Zealand qualifying points towards the Los Angeles Olympics, as did a sixth place for a reshuffled women's team sprint trio.

Ellesse Andrews led the women's sprint before Britain's Emma Finucane edged her by a tenth of a second in the second round, and Fowler was 13th in the women's scratch race.

A Southland link in the points race

There was a familiar face on the top step of another podium. Scotland's Mark Stewart, who rode for Southland while living in New Zealand with his wife Emma, won the men's points race.

Sexton's medal comes at a time when Cycling New Zealand describes its track programme as rebuilding after the Paris Olympics, with the priority on banking qualification points for Los Angeles.

He still has the elimination race to come before the championships wrap up.