Cycling Australia is pleased to announce the riders selected to the Australian Team to contest the 2020 UCI Track World Championships which will be held 26 February – 1 March 2020 in Berlin, Germany. 

The men’s endurance selections include reigning team pursuit world champions Samuel Welsford, Alexander Porter, Kelland O'Brien, Leigh Howard and Cameron Scott, plus nine-time career world champion Cameron Meyer. 

Reigning women’s team pursuit world champions Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Amy Cure, Annette Edmondson and Alexandra Manly are confirmed, with Maeve Plouffe set to make her World Championship debut. 

2019 team sprint world champions Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch headline the sprint contingent with 2018 sprint world champion Matthew Glaetzer, Rio Olympian Nathan Hart, and Matthew Richardson. 

At the recent UCI Tissot Track World Cups held in New Zealand and Brisbane in December 2019, the Australian Team took the nation honours at both rounds with a seventeen medal haul across the two rounds.

AUSTRALIAN TEAM

Sprint 

• Stephanie Morton - SA - 2019 team sprint world champion
• Kaarle McCulloch - NSW - 2019 team sprint world champion
• Matthew Glaetzer - SA - 2018 sprint world champion
• Nathan Hart - ACT - 2019 World Championships team member
• Matthew Richardson - WA - 2019 World Championships team member

Endurance

• Ashlee Ankudinoff - NSW - 2019 individual & team pursuit world champion
• Georgia Baker - TAS - 2019 team pursuit world champion
• Amy Cure - TAS - 2019 team pursuit world champion
• Annette Edmondson - SA - 2019 team pursuit world champion
• Alexandra Manly - SA - 2019 points race & team pursuit world champion
• Maeve Plouffe - SA - World Championship debut
• Leigh Howard - VIC - 2019 team pursuit world champion
• Cameron Meyer - WA - nine-time career world champion 
• Kelland O'Brien - VIC - 2019 team pursuit world champion
• Alexander Porter - SA - 2019 team pursuit world champion
• Cameron Scott - NSW - 2019 team pursuit world champion
• Samuel Welsford - WA - 2019 scratch & team pursuit world champion

#AusCyclingTeam 

• australiancyclingteam.com 
• Facebook @AustralianCyclingTeam
• Instagram @AustralianCyclingTeam
• Twitter @AusCyclingTeam​

The Australian Cycling Team and Podium Potential Academy members will headline the 2020 Madison National Championships at Melbourne Arena this Saturday 21 December.

>>> More information melbournetrackcarnival.com

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games just eight months away, some of Australia’s best who are eyeing selection will head to Melbourne to contest the Olympic event at one of the world’s premier velodromes, Melbourne Arena.

Australia’s team pursuit world champions and record-holders will pair up for battle with recent Brisbane Track World Cup Madison gold medallist Samuel Welsford (WA) to team with hometown hero and 2019 champion Kelland O’Brien (VIC).

Three-time world and defending national champion Leigh Howard (VIC) will form a new pairing this weekend when he partners with Cameron Scott (NSW) in the 17-team event.

An exciting Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy pairing aiming to upset their senior counterparts include Luke Plapp (VIC) and Godfrey Slattery (VIC).

In the women’s Madison, a trio of Australia’s team pursuit world champions will be in action including triple 2019-20 World Cup Madison gold medalist Georgia Baker (TAS) who will team with Ashlee Ankudinoff (NSW).


Dual reigning champion Kristina Clonan (QLD) and Macey Stewart (TAS), will reform their 2018 winning combination while Alexandra Manly (SA), who won gold with Baker at the Cambridge World Cup earlier this month, will team with defending champion Maeve Plouffe (SA).

Podium Potential Academy teammates Alexandra Martin-Wallace (QLD) and Sophie Edwards (SA) will be another pairing to watch in the 13-team event.

Victoria’s prestigious Austral Wheelrace (for both juniors and seniors) will also take place.

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• MORE INFO melbournetrackcarnival.com ​

QUOTES

Darren Hicks
Just this last weekend, we saw seven world records broken,so  you don’t just win one race and that’s a good year, you need to keep winning. I won three of the four World Cups on the road, two world championships and three national championships, and that’s barely enough. We have such a strong para squad and it’s a pleasure to be a part of it. It’s amazing to get this award.  
 
Paige Greco 
I’ve had a really awesome year, and it means a lot. Every time I look at it reminds me of an awesome year and it’s my first year on the team. I’ve been working really hard, and it’s been really good to see the results. It’s been an amazing year and I still can’t believe where I have been with my teammates!

Alistair Donohoe
This award highlights the fact I had to win three world championships just to get the award. David Nicholas was in there and he didn’t get an award. We’ve got some serious depth so it’s kind of exciting. I am stoked [with where I’m at], it just feels amazing to be back where I think I should be, after some ill health in 2017, I am really building back up in 2019. 

I personally think this award personally means a lot to me tonight. 

Carol Cooke
We have such a strong group of para-cyclists and that many world champions on this team. That being singled out for this [award] is very special, especially at this age and you know I hope that by showing people that it doesn’t matter what number it is that’s attached to your age and that if you love doing something that you can just keep doing it and reap the benefits of it. I think that this year has probably been the best year I’ve ever had because I didn’t put the pressure on myself that I had to be on the top step it was about enjoying it, it was about having fun and I probably had the most fun that I’ve ever had in a year of racing. 

Brandon Loupos
I don’t think it could have been better. It was cool. I can’t wait for 2020. I did so much learning in 2019 and it’s all about keeping that consistency in 2020 and to go or the gold in Tokyo. Logan won it (this award) two years in a row and I am stoked to come away with the win this year, it’s definitely an honour and to be the elite BMX cyclist of the year is pretty special. There’s a lot of world champions who don’t get to win this award and I’m blessed to not only win a world championship but to also win this award. 
 
Saya Sakakibara
It was a challenging but fulfilling season. Compared to last year I didn’t produce the results; I had a lot of mental challenges and having six crashes in four months it was definitely really tough to line up on the gate with other riders. But with the worlds I thought my performance was really good, I didn’t get the results I wanted but it adds fuel to the fire and makes me a lot hungrier. I finished off the season with a win at the Olympic test event and is such a great confidence booster. 
 
Amanda Spratt
It’s been a really great year and I am really proud to get this award tonight it caps it off, I think it’s been my best year to date. Maybe I didn’t get the same results on paper as what I got last year but I am really, really proud to finish off with a bronze medal after a great team performance also. It’s amazing, I love coming to this event every year, you get so much motivation out of it. You see the videos of what people have done and hear some stories you maybe didn’t know about some people and it’s just a feeling of motivation and excitement. I always walk out of here, ready to bust into training the next day!
 
Ashlee Ankudinoff
It’s pretty humbling, to be honest. I’ve been in this sport for ten years now and it’s been a long time coming. I’ve had a successful career and now I am getting towards the end so it’s really nice to come here and celebrate the success, not just the success of myself but of others. I definitely think I am in the form of my life. I have a great support network back in Adelaide and the environment there is unbelievable. I have trust in the process in what we’re doing. I go to training every day knowing that I have the support from everyone from the Cycling Australia staff.  Olympic gold is why I am still riding. I definitely would not be riding if I had ticked all my goals off and the Olympic gold is definitely one, and hopefully next August I can do that.

Sam Welsford
It’s been a ripper year. I never thought I’d be able to go dual world champion in one year, so I’m just really over the moon. I love coming to the Awards, it’s such a special night, to see Australia’s best come through to all celebrate the year we’ve had. I get really gee’d up when I see the year’s recap video, it makes you really forget about the Awards itself and makes you realise how special it is to ride for Australia.  
 
(On Tim Decker receiving Coach of the Year Award) Tim holds a special place in my heart he’s been my coach for a long time, starting in 2015 when I first moved to Adelaide, Tim backed me a said “look mate, if you want to be apart of this you’ve got to put the work in” so, I trusted him from then on. Really happy for him to get that award and I know that he holds the award itself very close to him. He strives and works really hard for that I think this is just a testament to what he puts in. ​

Madison gold to Cameron Meyer and Sam Welsford capped an enthralling final day of the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome on Sunday.

Australia took the honours for the World Cup after finishing top of the medal standings with four gold, three silver and two bronze medals across the three days of racing.

Stephanie Morton grabbed her third medal of the week with silver in the keirin, while Matthew Glaetzer took sprint bronze in his return following surgery to remove thyroid cancer.

In a sour note to end the evening, Australia’s Annette Edmondson crashed out of the women’s omnium while in podium position, ending her run at a triple gold medal performance.

Men’s Madison

​Australian duo Cameron Meyer and Sam Welsford won the men’s Madison in a thrilling race to collect Australia’s gold medal of Sunday night. The pair finished with 76 points, 16 ahead of New Zealand’s Thomas Sexton and Aaron Gate.

The Trans-Tasman rivals battled it out throughout the 200 laps with the Aussies taking five of the first 17 sprints while New Zealand lead the way in three.

After the 17th sprint, Welsford and Meyer took a lap to move 21 points up, however, the Kiwis dragged the lead back to one point when they lapped the field supported by the French pairing of Morgan Kneisky and Kevin Vauquelin who finished third. This effort pushed the NZ and French teams to their limit and they weren’t able to respond to the home team.

Meyer and Welsford took control of the lead by racing away to win the final two sprints in front of a roaring Brisbane crowd.

“We did feel a little bit of pressure and we did want to put on the best performance we could. To come away with the gold, we are over the moon,” said Meyer following the win. “To also win it with a fellow West Australian, makes it all the more special.”

“We knew it was going to be a tight battle with the Kiwis, Sexton and Gatey are exceptional athletes. We knew we had to get away from them,” said Welsford.

“For me to race with Cam, and rely on that guidance, and have the confidence that we back each other in the moment really helped. I think we took advantage of the moment where the race split apart and it worked in our favour.”

Women’s Keirin 

For the second night in a row, Colombia shattered the hearts of the home crowd in the keirin as Martha Bayona Pineda flew past Australia’s Stephanie Morton on the home stretch to claim the gold medal in a nail-biting finish.

Bayona Pineda skipped the repechage after finishing second in her heat and qualified third in her second-round race to book her spot in the top six before completing the keirin double gold for Colombia.

Morton comfortably qualified second in her first-round heat behind New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews, then blitzed her way through the second round by winning her first-round heat.

The podium appearance secured Morton’s third medal in three events at the World Cup after taking silver behind Wai Sze Lee in the sprint race on Saturday night and bronze in the team sprint on Friday with Caitlin Ward.

“I am super happy, I hit all my process goals and KPIs I needed coming in here and even exceeded a couple,” said Morton. “On the progression towards Tokyo, I am ahead of where I thought I would be.

“Every race I have been getting fitter, I am feeling the fittest I have felt since the surgery. It wasn’t a huge surgery but it took up a huge part of my offseason.

“I wasn’t sure how I would come into the World Cups, but it just shows how much we have been working behind the scenes to get the body ready.  We are back on track, if not in front, so I am really happy.”

Belgium’s Nicky Degrendele won the bronze medal.

Men’s Sprint 

The gold medal in the men’s sprint was taken by Poland’s Mateusz Rudyk after a straight rounds win over New Zealand’s Sam Webster.

Rudyk topped qualifying with a time of 9.428secs, before narrowly defeating Great Britain’s Jack Carlin in the ⅛ final and never lost heat as he cruised to the gold medal.

Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer finished with the bronze after winning in straight rounds against Suriname’s Jair Tjon En Far. Glaetzer qualified third, 0.176 seconds behind Rudyk before beating Spanish rider Gascon Peralta in his first final. He won his quarterfinal in straight rounds before losing to Webster in the semifinal.

“This is a big improvement from last weekend, and I was hoping that was going to be the case so I’m really happy that I was able to get deeper in the sprint competition and ride more races,” said Glaetzer.

“Overall we had pretty low expectations for myself, I missed the mark a bit in the sprint last weekend but I really came good this week.

“I’m looking good in the keirin and getting better and better, I’ve taken good steps of improvement in that event and to back it up in the sprint today was really good, it wasn’t easy and I was running out of gas quite quickly but I’m glad I got that one in two that’s for sure.”
Nathan Hart (Australia) qualified sixth, however, he was eliminated in the ⅛ finals.

Women’s Omnium 

In a somber end to the World Cup, Australia’s Annette Edmondson crashed while she had her sights on a third gold medal during in the points race of women’s omnium.

Edmondson, who took gold in the Madison with Georgia Baker on Saturday night and in the team pursuit on the opening day of the World Cup, left the Anna Meares Velodrome on a stretcher, albeit conscious and waving to the cheering home crowd.

Edmondson was later cleared of any serious injury but will remain in hospital overnight for observation.

Jennifer Valente (U.S.A) powered to the gold medal after a consistent performance in which she took two second places in the scratch and points races with victories in the tempo and elimination races.

“I think any time you’re on the podium it’s definitely a special feeling,” said Valente.“[it unfolded] one race at a time, with crashes in the scratch race and the points race, you never want to see a competitor injured so I wish Annette [Edmonson] all the best.”

Canadian Allison Beveridge finished in the top four of every event to claim silver while New Zealand’s Holly Edmondston rounded out the podium with bronze.
​

• Broadcast Will was live-streamed on @7Plus each evening. Broadcast Details
• Schedule  Complete Schedule
• Results Follow the live results via Tissot Timing

A dominant Australian gold medal in the women’s Madison highlighted the second day of the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane on Saturday night.

​Women’s Madison 

Georgia Baker and Annette Edmondson secured Australia’s only gold medal of the night with a powerful performance in the women’s Madison, beating their French rivals by 12 points. 

The pair won four out of the first six sprints to build an early lead, as the French duo of Clara Copponi and Marie Le Net did their best to catch the Australian pair.

Baker who won silver in the Madison at the world championships earlier this year, as well as gold at last week’s Cambridge World Cup was thrilled with the result. 

“We’re really lucky in the Australian Cycling Team because we have so much depth in our program so we can swap partners and still come away with really good results,” Said Baker. 

“Nettie and I had a successful campaign in Glasgow and that was a very sprint dominant race so we wanted to try something different here, it’s nerve-racking going out there and trying something new but it’s also really exciting and I think we have done the training to back ourselves in and pull off a good result no matter what happens.”

“It was pretty cool out there, we had to dig deep, we tried a couple of different tactics from last Friday and Glasgow and we’re really happy we pulled it off,” said Edmondson after the win. 

“I think in the past we were quite new to this discipline so whenever we got on the front we were like ‘oh my gosh we’re in front let’s go’ and we’d win by too much if we happened to win it or we’d be out the back so we wanted to try and make it a bit more consistent.” She added.

Despite the best efforts of the French team, Baker and Edmondson maintained the lead for almost the entire race. Both Australia and France lapped the field to stay clear of the United States who finished on 32 points to claim the bronze.

Double team pursuit gold medals for Australia highlighted the opening day of the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup on Friday at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane. 

Reigning world champions Georgia Baker, Ashlee Ankudinoff, Annette Edmondson, Alexandra Manly, plus Podium Potential Academy member Maeve Plouffe, guided Australia to gold in the women’s event. In the men’s, world champions Sam Welsford, Leigh Howard, Kelland O’Brien, Alexander Porter plus Podium Potential Academy member Luke Plapp secured Australia’s second gold.

In the women’s team pursuit, little separated Australia and New Zealand in qualifying with the all-black skinsuits quartet of Holly Edmondston, Bryony Botha, Michaela Drummond and Racquel Sheath setting the fastest time (4:16.573), just two-tenths ahead of Australia’s Baker, Ankudinoff, Manly and Plouffe. 

With Edmondson replacing Ankudinoff for their first-round matchup against the United States, the team booked their place in the gold medal final (4:12.889) with a scorching ride was just half a second outside their national record set at last week’s World Cup.

Ankudinoff returned for Manly in an enthralling final with the Australians stopping the clock at 4mins 13.237secs to take the gold medal by three-tenths of a second over their Trans-Tasman rivals (4:13.553). 

The result evened the ledger between the two teams after the Australians took silver behind New Zealand at last week’s Cambridge World Cup.

“We don’t get the opportunity to race in front of a home crowd, especially at a World Cup, so we wanted to go out firing and win gold,” said Edmondson. 

“I think we are heading in the right direction, and we have been working pretty hard behind the scenes, we wanted to do some fast times here in Brisbane, we have ticked some boxes, and will use it as inspiration to keep the momentum for the Olympics.

“Maeve is only 20 years old and has a lot of power behind her considering she is so young. She has only been in training with us for the last month so to be able to ride three strong rides today and also a couple of rides over in New Zealand last week is promising. 

“We also have Amy Cure at home, so we know that we have the numbers here and it is very exciting moving forward.”

In another race of rivalries, Canada (4:17.509) defeated the United States (4:21.540) for bronze. 

Brisbane will be glittering with rainbows with ten reigning world champions confirmed in a stellar Australian Team for the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup from December 13-15.The Brisbane round of the World Cup offers valuable qualifying points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and will be the Australians’ last race on home soil ahead of February’s World Championships.

The team boasts more than forty elite world titles, with ten reigning world champions, and eight Olympians set to line up on the Anna Meares Velodrome across the three days of competition.

Reigning men’s team pursuit world champion and world record holders Sam Welsford, Alex Porter, Kelland O’Brien and Leigh Howard are confirmed, along with reigning women’s world champions Ashlee Ankudinoff, Annette Edmondson, Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly. 

“There’s nothing like home soil, we had the 2012 World Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games on home soil and that was incredible,” said dual Olympian Edmondson. “It’s been three years since I’ve worn these rainbows and you never take it for granted. To have another chance to represent Australia in the rainbows in the team pursuit, with a home crowd, that is just amazing.”

Nine-time career world champion Cameron Meyer will also feature in the endurance events.

2019 team sprint world champions Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch headline the sprinting contingent, along with 2018 sprint world champion Matthew Glaetzer and Rio Olympian Nathan Hart.

“Racing is the best preparation for a big event like the Olympics and the World Cup in Brisbane is exactly that,” said Glaetzer, who claimed two gold medals on the Velodrome at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. “It will be a great dress rehearsal for us to really get in some good form and perform with the pressure of the crowd and everything going on around that.”

In superb signs for the next generation, four of the country’s developing athletes from the Australian Cycling Team’s Podium Potential Academy in Luke Plapp, Matthew Richardson, Tom Cornish, Maeve Plouffe and Caitlin Ward have been selected.

Australia’s para-cycling stars will also be in action across the three days in Brisbane with the event to include a UCI category 1 event for the time trial, individual pursuit and scratch race with critical qualifying points towards the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The Australian Para-cycling contingent will be named closer to the event.

Team Australia 

Sprint

• Stephanie Morton – SA – reigning team sprint world champion
• Kaarle McCulloch – NSW – reigning team sprint world champion
• Caitlin Ward – VIC – Dual reigning national champion, Podium Potential Academy Member
• Matthew Glaetzer – SA – 2018 sprint world champion
• Nathan Hart – ACT – 2018 World Cup gold medallist
• Matthew Richardson – WA – Podium Potential Academy Member
• Tom Cornish – NSW – 2019 junior world champion; Podium Potential Academy Member

​Endurance

• Ashlee Ankudinoff – NSW – reigning individual & team pursuit world champion
• Nettie Edmondson – SA – reigning team pursuit world champion
• Georgia Baker – TAS – reigning team pursuit world champion
• Alexandra Manly – SA – reigning points race & team pursuit world champion
• Maeve Plouffe – SA – reigning Oceania champion, Podium Potential Academy Member
• Sam Welsford – WA – reigning scratch & team pursuit world champion
• Alex Porter – SA – reigning team pursuit world champion
• Kelland O’Brien – VIC – reigning team pursuit world champion
• Leigh Howard – VIC – reigning team pursuit world champion
• Cameron Meyer – WA – nine-time career world champion
• Luke Plapp – VIC – dual junior world champion

2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup 

About

Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome will host the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup where the world’s best track cyclists will battle for gold and valuable qualifying points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games from December 13-15.

The event will be delivered by Cycling Australia in partnership with the Queensland Government via Tourism and Events Queensland and Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Marketing.

Schedule
​

• FRI 13 DEC: Team Pursuit; Team Sprint; Para-cycling Time Trial
• SAT 14 DEC: Men’s Omnium; Women’s Madison; Men’s Keirin; Women’s Sprint; Para-cycling Individual Pursuit
• SUN 15 DEC: Women’s Omnium; Men’s Madison; Women’s Keirin; Men’s Sprint; Para-cycling Scratch Race

Tickets

Ticket prices begin from only $10 for day sessions, while fans can get along to the evening’s finals action for as little as $30, with Family and Series passes also available. Secure your seats at the official website brisbanetrackworldcup.com/tickets

Follow

Via the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup digital channels

• brisbanetrackworldcup.com
• facebook.com/UciWorldCupAus
• twitter.com/UCIWorldCupAus
• instagram.com/UCIWorldCupAus
  
• #TissotUCITrackWC #ThisIsTrack #thisisbrisbane #thisisqueensland

Women's keirin

Stephanie Morton added a keirin bronze to her sprint silver at her first major meet since having knee surgery.

The team sprint world champion held on for third in the keirin medal race, behind gold medallist Hyejin Lee of South Korea and Canada's Lauriane Genest.

"I wasn't sure what to expect coming into this week," Morton said. "First real big race back since the op and I'm pleased with where I've landed, really happy with the progression and looking forward to Brisbane."

Morton won her opening round heat and finished third in her semi-final to secure a place in the medal race.

Men's sprint

Nathan Hart, the World Cup gold medallist on this Cambridge track last January, took fourth place in the men's sprint this round.

He was beaten in two straight races by Japan's Yudai Nitta in the bronze medal ride after being edged by NItta's teammate Tomohiro Fukaya in the semi-finals.

Hart qualified third fastest in 9.613secs with top qualifier Mateusz Rudyk of Poland going on to win gold, with Fukaya claiming silver. 

2018 world champion Matthew Glaetzer earlier lost in the second round after sneaking through to the last 16 by the slimmest of margins.

Glaetzer was judged the winner of his first-round heat against Frenchman Rayan Helal, after being deemed a dead heat to three decimal places.

One gold, one silver and two bronze medals for Australia on the second night of the fourth round of the TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand. 

Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly got Australia’s night off to the perfect start, winning gold in the women’s madison in dominant fashion, while Matthew Glaetzer claimed a remarkable bronze medal in the men’s keirin, little over a month after having surgery to remove a thyroid cancer.

Stephanie Morton secured Australia’s second bronze of the night in the women’s sprint, while Nine-time world champion Cameron Meyer snatched silver in the men’s omnium.

Women’s madison

Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly got Australia’s night off to the perfect start, winning gold in the women’s madison in dominant fashion.

They sealed victory by winning the double points final sprint, after building an early lead by winning four of the first six.

“It was a pretty tough madison actually. Not too many teams out there, but it was definitely a tough mado for Alex and I,” Baker said.

“We were just focusing on trying to get a consistent ride. Trying to get our changes and our timing right, trying to break the Madison down and just get all the basic things right and hope to come out with a result.

“That just goes to show all of our hard work in Adelaide paid off here.”

Baker, who claimed silver in the madison at the world championships earlier this year, and Manly finished 10 points clear of Poland, with the Subway New Zealand trade team a further 13 points back in third.
​

Team Sprint

Reigning world Stephanie Morton teamed with Podium Potential Academy rider Caitlin Ward to narrowly miss out on a medal in the women’s team sprint. The pair lost to Russian trade team Gazprom-Rusvelo in the bronze medal ride after earlier setting the third-fastest time in qualifying.

Nathan Hart, and Podium Potential Academy duo Thomas Cornish and Matthew Richardson fell short of the men’s team sprint medal races after recording the seventh-best qualifying time.​​

Follow the action at trackworldcup.nz  or tissottiming.com

Nine-time world champion Cameron Meyer headlines a powerful Australian squad which will contest both the World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand from December 6-8, followed by the 2019-2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Brisbane from December 13-15.

Following the reintroduction of the Madison to the Games programme, Meyer has been lured back to cycling after temporarily walking away from the sport.

“It’s a box I haven’t ticked yet. I’ve ticked nearly everything I can on the track except an Olympic medal,” said Meyer, 31, who competed at the 2008 Games, the last time the Madison was at the Olympics, having been inspired by watching fellow countrymen Graeme Brown and Stuart O’Grady win gold in Athens four years earlier.

“I watched that video of them winning the madison over and over again and that inspired me to try
and be an Olympian and try and be a track Olympian.

“There’s something about the madison that requires speed, skill, endurance; everything you can think of.

“It’s the longest event, which I like coming from an aerobic base, coming from the road base and there’s something special about it.

“Yes you’ve got to be explosive and have that speed but there’s still that element that if you’re not fit enough you don’t survive.”

Meyer will partner team pursuit world champion Kelland O’Brien at the Avantidrome in Cambridge and Sam Welsford in Brisbane. 
And they will be chasing New Zealand who sit at the top of the men’s madison world rankings.

“They’re a great combination Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart. They’d probably be the benchmark” Meyer said.

“They’re super strong and they’re super fast so they are a very hard combination to beat.

“They’ve won world cups, they’re deserved of having a good reputation and they’ll be there or thereabouts at the Olympic Games I’m sure.”

But first Meyer is eyeing the opportunity to get the better of Gate and Stewart in Cambridge.

“I’m looking forward to challenging them here at their home World Cup and I’m sure when we get to Brisbane they’ll be wanting to knock us off over in Brisbane.

“It should be a good battle. It always is between the two countries.”

The men’s madison is on Sunday, the final day of the Tissot UCI World Cup in Cambridge. Follow the results here. 

Brisbane Track World Cup

Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome will host the world’s best track cyclists for the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup from 13-15 December. 

Riders will battle for gold in twelve events across three days, with valuable qualifying points on offer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
 
The 2019-2020 UCI Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup was secured by the Queensland Government via Tourism and Events Queensland in partnership with Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Marketing and Cycling Australia.

Schedule

• FRI 13 DEC: Team Pursuit; Team Sprint; Para-cycling Time Trial
• SAT 14 DEC: Men’s Omnium; Women’s Madison; Men’s Keirin; Women’s Sprint; Para-cycling Individual Pursuit
• SUN 15 DEC: Women’s Omnium; Men’s Madison; Women’s Keirin; Men’s Sprint; Para-cycling Scratch Race

Tickets 

Ticket prices for the morning qualifying sessions start at $10, while evening sessions tickets which feature the gold medal finals begin at just $30.  Family and Series passes are also available so you can catch the action with your friends.

Buy tickets here. 

The Australian Team has arrived in Cambridge ahead of round four of the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup from December 6-8.

To be held at the Cambridge Avantidrome, the round continues the team’s charge at qualifying points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

Reigning men’s team pursuit world record holders Sam Welsford, Alex Porter, Kelland O'Brien, Leigh Howard and Cameron Scott are confirmed, as are Ashlee Ankudinoff, Annette Edmondson, Georgia Baker and Alexandra Manly in the women’s. 

Nine-time career world champion Cameron Meyer will also feature in the endurance events. 
2019 team sprint world champion Stephanie Morton headlines the sprinting contingent, along with 2018 sprint world champion Matthew Glaetzer and Rio Olympian Nathan Hart. 

In superb signs for the next generation, four of the country’s developing athletes from the Australian Cycling Team’s Podium Potential Academy in Matthew Richardson, Tom Cornish, Maeve Plouffe and Caitlin Ward have been selected. 

Follow the World Cup in Cambridge via www.trackworldcup.nz 

Team Australia for Cambridge, NZ, Round Four. 

Sprint 

• Stephanie Morton - SA - reigning team sprint world champion
• Caitlin Ward - VIC - Dual reigning national champion, Podium Potential Academy Member
• Matthew Glaetzer - SA - 2018 sprint world champion
• Nathan Hart - ACT - 2018 World Cup gold medallist
• Matthew Richardson - WA - Podium Potential Academy Member
• Tom Cornish - NSW - 2018 junior world champion; Podium Potential Academy Member

 
Endurance

• Ashlee Ankudinoff - NSW - reigning individual & team pursuit world champion
• Nettie Edmondson - SA - reigning team pursuit world champion
• Amy Cure - TAS - reigning team pursuit world champion
• Georgia Baker - TAS - reigning team pursuit world champion
• Alexandra Manly - SA - reigning points race & team pursuit world champion
• Maeve Plouffe - SA - reigning Oceania champion, Podium Potential Academy Member
• Sam Welsford - WA - reigning scratch & team pursuit world champion
• Alex Porter - SA - reigning team pursuit world champion
• Kelland O'Brien - VIC - reigning team pursuit world champion
• Leigh Howard - VIC - reigning team pursuit world champion
• Cameron Meyer - WA - nine-time career world champion 
• Cam Scott - NSW - reigning team pursuit world champion 

Following the New Zealand round, the Australian Team will head to Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome for round five of the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup from December 13-15. 

Ticket prices for Brisbane’s 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup begin from only $10 for day sessions, while fans can get along to the evening’s finals action for as little as $30, with Family and Series passes also available. Secure your seats at the official website http://brisbanetrackworldcup.com/tickets