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TOKYO 2020 | ​Track Cyclists on Target for Tokyo

19/3/2020

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Australian Olympic Committee Release

Fifteen track cyclists have been announced on the Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2020 today, featuring six Olympic debuts, seven athletes making their second Olympic Team and Annette Edmondson and Matthew Glaetzer returning for their third Games.
 
Matthew Glaetzer, Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson, Kaarle McCulloch and Stephanie Morton will compete in the sprint events, with Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Amy Cure, Annette Edmondson, Maeve Plouffe, Leigh Howard, Kelland O’Brien, Lucas Plapp, Alex Porter and Sam Welsford selected for the endurance events.
 
With athletes who have medalled at the Olympics and claimed World Championship titles in their career, the 15-strong squad will compete from 3-9 August in Tokyo’s Izu velodrome over 12 events, including the Olympic return of the two-rider Madison event for the first time since Beijing 2008.
 
Australian Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020 Ian Chesterman welcomed the cyclists to the Australian Olympic Team, acknowledging the current unprecedented uncertainty around international sport.
 
“Athletes have waited four years, and in some cases longer, for this opportunity,” Mr Chesterman said. “We are in uncharted waters, but we want to set a course to ensure they can prepare for the Games in the best possible environment and they can get to the Games safely. Part of that process is to announce athletes as they are nominated and selected to the Australian Olympic Team.
 
“Australian track cyclists have a phenomenal Olympic legacy and I want to congratulate the fifteen athletes selected today to continue that tradition.
 
“This is the result of more than a decade of unrelenting hard work by our athletes and it is worth celebrating. This is an achievement for the athletes, the whole Cycling Australia team, coaches, family, friends and supporters.
 
“The resilience these athletes have already shown is inspiring – Matt Glaetzer’s named to his second Games despite the challenge of thyroid cancer; Kaarle McCulloch overcoming the disappointment of missing Rio 2016 to become World Champion in 2019 and make her Olympic return; each athlete selected today has a story of perseverance and we’re proud to select them to the Australian Olympic Team today.
 
“There’s certainly disruption in preparing for the Games for many sports, but I encourage the fifteen cyclists announced today and all athletes pursuing their dream of competing at Tokyo 2020 to continue taking care of what they can control – training and preparing as best as possible to be ready for Tokyo.”
 
2019 World Champion and London 2012 bronze medallist Kaarle McCulloch was proud to be selected for her second Games, just weeks after she secured a 2020 World Championships Team Sprint silver with Steph Morton off limited preparation.
 
“The dream I had when I was 12 watching the Sydney Olympics with my dad feels as real as yesterday,” McCulloch said. “I’ve always had the Olympic spirit within me and I’m ecstatic to be able to be back competing.
 
“My motto into the world championships was “perfect preparation doesn’t predict”. This is the same kind of attitude I’ll be taking with me into Tokyo amidst all the uncertainty and nervousness in the world right now.
 
“Nothing changes for me in terms of my application to my training but a lot is changing in the way we train. As athletes, we are role models for everyone for health. We are taking quite serious steps in our training to ensure we are being responsible athletes but also people. We are following all the guidelines as set out by our medical professionals and we are prepared to face this challenge.
 
“We as humans are facing a challenge but we have also shown we are able to overcome. The world will recover from this and I believe everyone has within them part of the Olympic spirit, this is why the Olympics are so special - it brings the world together when we need it the most.
 
At just 19, Lucas Plapp will make his Olympic debut as the youngest member on the 2020 Track Team after a monumental rise in the past 12 months.
 
“I had a little tear in my eye when I found out I made the Tokyo Team, it was a pretty special moment and I was just speechless,” Plapp said.
 
“After the Brisbane World Cup [December 2019] I really started to believe I could make this Team.
 
“I’ve learned so much from [teammate] Sam Welsford from his experiences four years ago and the rest of the team create such a good environment to learn and train in – it helped me realise it’s where I want to be and helped me take my own performance to a new level.
 
After the Danish team broke the World Record held by Australia at the World Championships in February 2019, Plapp is looking forward to the challenge.
 
“It’s a new scenario now to be the hunter and not the hunted, we’ll be using that to our advantage to try to come out and show the world what we’re capable of.”
 
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Cycling Australia Steve Drake congratulated the athletes on their selection to Tokyo 2020.
 
“It is exciting to see a team with a rich blend of experienced Olympians and a number of rising stars set to make their debut, with all selections a testament to the hard work and performances of our athletes and to the commitment and dedication of our coaches, and performance support staff,” Mr Drake said.

“These are unprecedented times, with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic impacting communities across the world. The impacts to sports including cycling are widespread, but we will continue to work through these challenging times to ensure our athletes and staff remain healthy and prepared for the Games.”
 
With individual event determinations expected closer to the Games, the endurance athletes will compete across the Team Pursuit, Omnium and Madison events with sprinters taking on the Individual Sprint, Team Sprint and Keirin events.
 
Today’s selection takes the selected Team size for Tokyo 2020 to 43 athletes. Cyclists in the road, BMX, BMX Freestyle and Mountain Bike disciplines are expected to be nominated and selected in the coming months.

Find out more with full Australian Olympic Team athlete bios at www.olympics.com.au/olympians
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TRACK | Team focussed on Tokyo

2/3/2020

 
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Australia has finished the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships with three medals after Stephanie Morton won a bronze medal in the final event of the Championships, the women's keirin.

Morton's bronze added to the team sprint silver won with Kaarle McCulloch on the opening day of competition. All three of Australia's medals came through the sprint squad with Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson, and Thomas Cornish winning team sprint bronze on day one. 

Despite Australia exiting a Track World Championships without a gold medal for the first time in twelve years, Australian Cycling Team Performance Director Simon Jones remains focussed on the team's overarching strategy which is aiming to deliver success at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

"Australia has had a pretty glittering history of winning world titles - in 2017 we won more world titles than you could poke a stick at and that is not what we are trying to achieve this year," Jones said. 

"We want to win in Tokyo. Yes, we were aiming for podium performances here, or very close to, and you can't hide the fact we have come up short in some areas. But we have to learn from it. 

"We tried several different things here, and we have to settle on a plan and then train to it. Now we have finished this period. We gave everyone opportunities, and now we have to gather the facts and make some decisions now.

"There are five months to the Games, which is a long time." 

Jones was impressed by the results of debutants Maeve Plouffe, 20, Luke Plapp, 19, and Tom Cornish, 20, who moved into the team via the Podium Potential Academy. 
​

"The youngsters did very well, it is great to see, and that is a testament to the Academy in that we are providing opportunities to younger talent. They also provide upward pressure, and that is really good to see."

TRACK | All Aussie sprint clash in Berlin

1/3/2020

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Women’s 500m Time Trial    

2019 World Championship time trial bronze medallist Kaarle McCulloch ended her 2020 Worlds campaign with a fourteenth placing (34.139) in the 500m time trial.

The 32-year-old teamed with Stephanie Morton on the opening day of competition to win silver in the team sprint in what was a stirring result considering injuries sidelined the pair for parts of 2019. 

“Seeing what form I had in the sprint and time trial makes that team sprint result so much special,” said McCulloch, who reached the Round 1/16 of the individual sprint before being knocked out by the eventual silver medallist Anastasiia Voinova (RUS). “For Steph and I to do that under the pressure of being defending champions, in good time too and while not even near our best, is a great sign.” 

McCulloch will now enjoy six days rest before heading back to team training in Adelaide on Friday where she will await the Australian Olympic Team announcement on 18 March.

“I feel really confident that we have a clear strategy, a clear plan, I trust my team, I am backing my coaches,” a confident McCulloch. “I know that I am not the athlete I was twelve months ago in Poland, and I am not the athlete I want to be now in Berlin. But that is because I am working hard to make sure I am the athlete I need to be in Tokyo.”

Germany’s Lea Sophie Friedrich (33.121) took gold. 

Men’s Sprint

After teaming to win bronze in the team format of the sprint on the opening day of competition, Nathan Hart and Matthew Richardson became adversaries in the individual event on Saturday. 

Just four one-thousandths of a second separated the pair in the afternoon’s flying 200m qualifying with Hart (16th - 9.624) just edging his younger teammate Richardson (17th - 9.628).  
Unfortunately for the pair, they were seeded into an all-Australian round 1/16 knock out heat.  

Hart prevailed in their clash but was knocked out in the next round heat by five-time track world champion Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands).

​The men’s sprint continues on Sunday with Lavreysen through to the semi-finals along with Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia), Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) and Mateusz Rudyk (Poland). 
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TRACK | Men's surprise surge to World Championship bronze

27/2/2020

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Photo - Casey Gibson
Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson and Thomas Cornish surged to bronze in the team sprint in what was Australia’s highest finish at a World Championships in eight years. 

With Matthew Glaetzer withdrawing on the eve of the Championships due to a leg injury, Podium Potential Academy member Cornish, 20, received a call up for his maiden elite World Championships. 

The addition of Cornish meant a reshuffle of positions within the team for the three-lap event, with the youngster moving into the first-wheel position and Richardson to third. Despite the changes, the Australian trio opened their 2020 campaign with the fourth-fastest qualifying time and a combination-best time (42.996), before powering into the bronze medal final by defeating Poland in the first round (43.044). 

The trio then scorched France to take the bronze medal with another combination-best time of 42.829secs to put Australia on the podium for the first time since 2012. The group averaged 63km per hour over the three laps. ​

#Berlin2020 “Didn’t think this would be the outcome, to be honest. I just took it race by race today and it came together. Just really happy how I rode and the team rode.” 20yo debutant Tom Cornish on winning World Championships bronze with Hart & Richardson. #AusCyclingTeam pic.twitter.com/Uyl0BZklim

— AusCyclingTeam (@AusCyclingTeam) February 26, 2020
Tom Cornish - “I didn’t think this would be the outcome, to be honest. I just took it race by race today and it came together. I’m just really happy how I rode and the team rode.” 

Nathan Hart - “It was unfortunate with Matt Glaetzer getting injured quite recently, but we backed Tom Cornish here and he delivered exceptionally today. It was really great to string three solid rides together. I have never podiumed since my first champs in 2014, so this is definitely a highlight of my career so far.” 

Matthew Richardson - “We just took it ride by ride, being the starter, {then] going to third wheel was a challenge, but I just dug deep and took it home for the boys.”

The Netherlands took an emphatic gold medal, setting world records in both qualifying and the final.
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TRACK | Team Australia Guide for Berlin Track Worlds

20/2/2020

 
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Photo - Hikari Media
The 17-member Australian Team departed Adelaide on Wednesday evening bound for the 2020 UCI Track World Championships in Berlin, Germany. 

The five-day Championships, to be held from 26 February - 1 March, offers the world's best a final opportunity to refine and rehearse ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. 

In all, 20 titles will be decided in Berlin, with particular interest on the six Olympic events - Team Pursuit, Madison, Omnium, Team Sprint, Sprint and Keirin. 
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Photo - Casey Gibson
ENDURANCE 

  • Ashlee Ankudinoff - St George CC, NSW - 2019 individual & team pursuit world champion
  • Georgia Baker - Northern Districts CC, TAS - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Amy Cure - Mersey Valley Devonport CC, TAS - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Annette Edmondson - Norwood CC, SA - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Alexandra Manly - Central Districts CC, SA - 2019 points race & team pursuit world champion
  • Maeve Plouffe - Port Adelaide CC, SA - World Championship debut
  • Leigh Howard - Geelong CC, VIC - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Cameron Meyer - Midland CC, WA - 9-time career world champion 
  • Alexander Porter - Scotch College CC, SA - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Cameron Scott - St George CC, NSW - 2019 team pursuit world champion
  • Samuel Welsford - Northern Beaches CC, WA - 2019 scratch & team pursuit world champion
  • Luke Plapp - Brunswick CC, VIC - World Championship debut
​
Australia heads into the Championships as the defending champions in five events - men's and women's team pursuit; men's scratch, women's points race and women's individual pursuit. 

Australia's title defence in the men's team pursuit will begin in the opening session and will feature world record holders Sam Welsford, Alexander Porter, Leigh Howard, plus Cameron Scott. 

Podium Potential Academy member Luke Plapp comes into the team to replace world champion and world record holder Kelland O'Brien who will not race the World Championships as he continues his recovery from a broken collarbone sustained in January. Plapp, a dual 2018 junior world champion, will make his elite Worlds debut in the individual pursuit and is listed as a reserve for the team pursuit. 

Nine-time career world champion Cameron Meyer will take on the omnium, and the Madison with Sam Welsford, while Welsford will take to the track in defence of his scratch race world title. 
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Photo - Hikari Media
Reigning women's world champions Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Annette Edmondson will team with World Championship debutant Maeve Plouffe in the team pursuit. 

Ankudinoff will look to defend her individual pursuit crown with Plouffe also set to ride the individual race against the clock. Alexandra Manly will line up to defend her title in the points race and will also contest the scratch race. 

Edmondson and Amy Cure will pair up for the Madison, while Baker will tackle the omnium. 
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Photo - Casey Gibson
SPRINT 

  • Stephanie Morton - South Coast CC, SA - 2019 team sprint world champion
  • Kaarle McCulloch - St George CC, NSW - 2019 team sprint world champion
  • Nathan Hart - ANU CC, ACT - 2018-19 Track World Cup gold medallist  
  • Matthew Richardson - Midland CC, WA
  • Thomas Cornish - Southern Cross CC, NSW - World Championship debut

Reigning world champions Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch begin their team sprint title defence on Wednesday's opening day of competition. Triple World Championship sprint silver medalist Morton will also race the individual sprint and keirin.  

McCulloch, a triple medallist in 2019, will take on three events; the team sprint, individual sprint and 500m time trial. 

2018 sprint world champion Matthew Glaetzer is a late withdrawal from the Championships after sustaining a leg injury at training last week. With his 2020 focus on a third Olympic Games selection, Glaetzer, who was slated to ride the team and individual sprint plus the keirin, will remain in Australia to focus on his recovery. 

Podium Potential Academy member Thomas Cornish will replace Glaetzer for the team sprint, scheduled for the opening day of competition, where he will team with Nathan Hart and Matthew Richardson. 

Hart and Richardson will also contest the sprint, while Cameron Scott and Alexander Porter will line up in the 1000m time trial. 
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Photo - Hikari Media
SCHEDULE - DATE (IN AUS); TIME (AEDT)

Thurs 27/2 430am - 8am
  • W - Scratch 10km    Alexandra Manly
  • W - Team Sprint    Stephanie Morton/Kaarle McCulloch
  • M - Team Sprint    Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson, Thomas Cornish
  • M & W Team Pursuit    Qualifying 11pm AEDT
    
Fri 28/2  430am - 730am
  • M - Team Pursuit   Leigh Howard, Sam Welsford, Cameron Scott, Alexander Porter
  • M -  Scratch 15km    Sam Welsford 
  • M - Keirin   NA
  • W - Team Pursuit   Ashlee Ankudinoff, Georgia Baker, Annette Edmondson, Maeve Plouffe
  • W - Sprint   Qualifying 1230am 
    
Sat 29/2   430am - 815am
  • M - Points race 40km   TBC
  • M -  Kilometre Time Trial   Cameron Scott, Alexander Porter
  • M - Individual Pursuit    Luke Plapp
  • W - Omnium    Georgia Baker
  • W - Sprint    Stephanie Morton; Kaarle McCulloch
    
Sun 1/3   230am - 6am
  • W - 500m Time Trial    Kaarle McCulloch
  • W -  Madison 30km    Annette Edmondson/Amy Cure
  • W - Individual pursuit    Ashlee Ankudinoff; Maeve Plouffe
  • M - Omnium    Cameron Meyer
  • M - Sprint    Qualifying 9pm 
    
Mon 2/3   12am-3am
  • W - Points Race 25km    Alexandra Manly
  • M -  Madison 50km    Cameron Meyer/Sam Welsford 
  • W - Keirin    Stephanie Morton
  • M - Sprint    Nathan Hart, Matthew Richardson

​​WATCH 

Live on FOXSPORTS Australia Channel 506

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TRACK | Australia win World Cup nation honours in Round 4

9/12/2019

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Guy Swarbrick
​The Australian Team was recognised by standing atop the podium as World Cup round winners at the TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Cambridge, New Zealand.

The Team netted silver and bronze medals on the final day of competition to take its haul to eight medals, including one gold, four silver and three bronze.

The Team now flies straight to Brisbane for Round Five of the 2019-2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup Brisbane to be held at the Anna Meares Velodrome from 13-15 December. 

Men's Madison

Kelland O'Brien and Cameron Meyer secured Australia's first medal of the final day, claiming silver in the men's madison behind the impressive New Zealand combination of Aaron Gate and Campbell Stewart.

The Aussies finished on 87pts in the 50km race, 42 behind the Kiwis, but 30 clear of bronze medallists Italy (Michele Scartezzini and Francesco Lamon).

O'Brien and Meyer gained three laps on the field, one fewer than New Zealand, and weren't able to score as regular in the sprints as Gate and Stewart, who gained points in all but six.

"To finish on the podium is good and to a strong Kiwi team there's nothing wrong with a silver medal," Meyer said.

"It's early in the season for me, getting back on the track, learning some of the new guys and feeling what it's all about with them out there and seeing what they've got.

"We'll move forward from here to a home track next week, and maybe we can step up one level next week."

It was the second silver of the event for both riders, with O'Brien having finished second in the team pursuit on the opening night, while Meyer took the second step on the omnium podium behind Stewart.
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Steph Morton - Photo Guy Swarbrick
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.
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Nathan Hart - Photo Guy Swarbrick
Women's omnium

Team pursuit world champion Georgia Baker finished ninth in the women's omnium, after not being able to recover from an early setback in the opening event.

Baker was relegated from fifth to 19th in the scratch race after being deemed to have deliberately ridden on the blue band.

She bounced back by finishing fourth in the tempo and winning the elimination race but had too much ground to make up in the deciding points race.

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TRACK | Australian Team opens 2019-20 season

22/10/2019

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Photo - Dianne Manson
The Australian Team opened the 2020 track season last weekend at the 2020 Oceania Track Championships in Invercargill in New Zealand. 

The Oceania Championships opened the busy 2019-20 summer of international track cycling which continues in November and December with the six-round Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup. 

Members of the Australian Team will contest the World Cup's second round in Scotland, round four in New Zealand, before a blockbuster round five on home soil at Brisbane's Anna Meares Velodrome from 13-15 December. 

"Overall these performances were good for the riders and coaches to assess how the preparation has been progressing," said Simon Jones, Performance Director, High Performance, Cycling Australia. "It is also pleasing from my perspective to see the progress from both the Podium and the Academy athletes with the World Cup season just about to start." 

Oceania Recap

Reigning scratch and team pursuit world champion Sam Welsford claimed dual gold the omnium and the Madison with Kelland O'Brien. Welsford dominated all four events in the omnium, before sealing Madison gold with victory on the double points final lap.

"The Australia and New Zealand showdown is always really intimate and personal, they throw it all at us, so they were really tough races," said Welsford. "Coming into Oceania, I had a bunch focus, targeting a couple of events like the Omnium and Madison, so to execute and nail some good results, is important for me."

Welsford will now turn his focus to a busy 2019-2020 UCI Track World Cup season in which he will contest three rounds - Scotland (November), New Zealand (December), Brisbane (December).  

"To get back on the track and set up a good season ahead is pretty vital for me," Welsford added. "I have a big World Cup season ahead, there will be a lot of racing, but I am looking forward to getting more and more accustomed to racing the World Cup races in the Madison and the omnium." 

O'Brien took silver in the 15km scratch race. 

In a dominant performance across the bunch races, Amy Cure claimed three gold at the Championships in the omnium, points race and Madison with Alexandra Manly. The three-time world champion Cure was all class on the way to winning all four events in the omnium, while in the Madison, Cure and Manly dominated the 30km final.

"I wasn't sure how I was going to go here as I've been a bit up and down lately, but I set myself up early by getting some wins, and I had a good buffer going into that points race," said Cure. "I don't mind a points race, it's always tough, but I just went in there and treated it like any other points race."

Reigning team sprint world champions Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch broke their Oceania Championship record (32.591secs) en route to gold. 
Morton then powered to gold in the sprint while Kaarle McCulloch, who posted a personal best to top sprint qualifying (10.759secs), won bronze. 

“I exceeded my expectations of where I was going to be at. I am not firing on all cylinders yet, but am ahead of where I thought I was going to be," said Morton after the Championships, her first competition since February's Track Worlds and since undergoing off-season knee surgery.  

“I haven’t raced the team sprint in a while and off the back of the surgery, I knew I didn’t have the strength and fitness traditionally I would have at Oceanias. Kaarle was great in giving me confidence in our ability as a team and it just showed that being able to work together and rely on your teammate, you will get the job done even when you’re not in the best form.”

Morton will now head back to Adelaide for six weeks of training before contesting the New Zealand (December) and Brisbane (December) rounds of the World Cup. 
“I am going to be training pretty hard leading into the World Cups as my offseason was pretty interrupted, but as per this week, I will be confident I will be able to go out there and still be competitive.

“But it is a great time to rehearse everything now, there are so many things behind the scenes that you have to get right to be a champion, whether it is nutrition or recovery, it is not just race day.” 

Nathan Hart, and Podium Potential Academy duo Matthew Richardson and Thomas Clarke, took silver in the team sprint (43.360secs) with New Zealand breaking the Oceania record (42.508) on the way to the gold medal. 
 
The Australian Cycling Team's Podium Potential Academy enjoyed strong results at the Championships with gold in the team pursuit, scratch race and individual pursuit.  
Conor Leahy, Godfrey Slattery, Lucas Plapp teamed with guest rider Joshua Duffy, to produce a dominant display to take gold in the team pursuit, catching a young New Zealand team in the final. 

"It was awesome, we had a pretty hefty goal in the way we were going to do our turns, and we stuck to it 100 percent, we couldn't have asked for a better outcome," Leahy said. "We took it conservatively in qualifying and then let it all out in the final. Once we got a sniff of them (New Zealand), it was a matter of hunting them down and catching them. 

In the women's team pursuit, Maeve Plouffe, Sam De Riter, Sophie Edwards and Alexandra Martin-Wallace (4:22.057) claimed silver. 

Plouffe's comeback following wrist surgery in July saw her grab four medals at the Championships including silver in the individual pursuit, bronze in the points race, plus a superb effort in the scratch race which saw her lap the field twice to win gold. 

"I was not expecting that at all. I had a pretty big ride with my teammates in the team pursuit earlier, and I have a pretty full schedule," said Plouffe. "Once I lapped the field, it was all about protecting myself and making sure the final sprint was perfect, and the end couldn't have gone any more perfectly."

Top qualifier Leahy took out the 4000m individual pursuit, with the Western Australian fending off New Zealand's former world champion Jordan Kerby in the final.
​
"I always tend to back up pretty hard, so I had good confidence that I could put it to Kerbs - he's a renowned IP, so I knew I had a good challenge ahead of me, but I just went out hard and tried to stick to as good a time as possible."

In the sprint, Matthew Richardson (9.797) clocked a personal best in qualifying, while Thomas Clarke (9.896) finished just off the podium in fourth.
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Track | ​Australian Team for 2019 UCI Track World Championships

30/1/2019

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Cycling Australia is pleased to announce a 17-rider team for the 2019 UCI Track World Championships to be held in Poland from 27 February to 3 March.

Team pursuit world record holders Leigh Howard (VIC), Kelland O’Brien (VIC), Alexander Porter (SA) and Samuel Welsford (WA) feature in the men’s endurance selections with Cameron Scott (NSW) who will make his World Championship debut. Nine-time world champion Cameron Meyer (WA) is also confirmed.

Commonwealth Games champions Ashlee Ankudinoff (NSW), Amy Cure (TAS), Annette Edmondson (SA) and Alexandra Manly (SA), plus Georgia Baker (TAS), comprise the women’s endurance selections.  

Reigning world champion Matthew Glaetzer (SA) headlines the men’s sprint quartet with Patrick Constable (SA) and Nathan Hart (ACT), with nineteen-year-old Podium Potential Academy member Matthew Richardson (WA) named to his maiden elite World Championship team.

Sprint silver medallist at the past two World Championships Stephanie Morton (SA), and Kaarle McCulloch (NSW) complete the women’s sprint selections.  

“These World Championships provide a great opportunity to benchmark where we are at against the world’s best,” said Simon Jones, Performance Director, Cycling Australia.

“However the focus will be about learning rather than winning. As we build towards Tokyo the focus will increasingly be on performance, but performing with a clear strategy and winning processes.”

The team will finalise preparations in Adelaide before departing Australia on February 20.

Australian Team

Endurance
  • Ashlee Ankudinoff   
  • Georgia Baker
  • Amy Cure   
  • Annette Edmondson   
  • Alexandra Manly   
  • Leigh Howard   
  • Kelland O’Brien   
  • Cameron Meyer  
  • Alexander Porter  
  • Cameron Scott   
  • Samuel Welsford  

Sprint
  • Kaarle McCulloch
  • Stephanie Morton    
  • Patrick Constable
  • Matthew Glaetzer       
  • Nathan Hart    
  • Matthew Richardson    

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Track | Hart & Edmondson grab World Cup gold at penultimate World Cup round

21/1/2019

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Nathan Hart wins sprint gold - Photo Guy Swarbrick
Gold to Nathan Hart and Annette Edmondson headlined the Australia Cycling Team’s campaign at the penultimate round of the UCI Tissot Track World Cup season in New Zealand at the weekend.

A stalwart as first-wheel in Australia's team sprint outfit for the best part of the decade, Nathan Hartcelebrated alone atop the podium with a memorable sprint victory. 
 
Qualifying second fastest, Hart moved through the rounds with wins over Poland’s Maciej Bielecki, Japan’s Tomohiro Fukaya and France’s Sebastien Vigier.  
 
In the final, Hart was too good for Poland’s Mateusz Rudyk, taking his first Tissot Track World Cup individual gold in straight heats. 
 
“It feels great to have raced to my first World Cup gold medal, it has been a while since my last win, so it's that little bit sweeter,” said Canberra’s Hart, an Olympic and Commonwealth Games representative in the team format. 
“My Mum and Dad made the trip over to Cambridge and were watching from the stands, so it was special for them to be there to watch, after all the support they have provided over the many years.

“To also win the Silver in the Team Sprint with Jacob and Tom, it has been a successful World Cup round.” 

On day one, Hart teamed with Jacob Schmid and Thomas Clarke to win silver in the team sprint,  Australia’s first medal of the round. 

The trio qualified third fastest (43.853) before defeating Japan in the first round in a time of 43.263secs which sent them into the gold medal final against three-time world champion New Zealand. There, the home team was too strong (43.121) for the Aussie trio (43.734). 

“This is really special as it is my first World Cup medal, and to make it even better being able to share it with Nathan and Jacob made it really a night I won't forget for a while,” said Podium Potential Academy member Clarke who was a late replacement for Pat Constable who was unable to race due to injuries sustained at the Track Down Under in Adelaide on January 11. 

“I felt for Pat missing out due to injury. It is not how you want to be selected for any team. I knew that stepping in for Pat was always going to be a difficult job as they have been smashing training back home and as a team have created some great chemistry in executing their team sprints.”
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Nettie Edmondson wins omnium gold - Photo Guy Swarbrick
2015 world champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Annette Edmondson returned to the top step of the omnium podium with a controlled victory in the women’s event.  

Edmondson opened her account in the four-race omnium with a win in the scratch race, before taking fourth in the tempo. Victory in the elimination race provided an eight-point lead heading into the final event, the points race. 

A controlled race from Edmondson saw her maintain her advantage over Canada’s Allison Beveridge (123pts) and Japan’s Yumi Kajihara (113pts) to take the win on 131 points. 

“[I’m] Delighted to get the win here, we came here to get some experience because this would only be my third omnium in the new format,” said Edmondson, who took her world title and Olympic medal in the now-defunct six-race format. “Happy to tick some boxes, test out some new plans.  

“The race might have been missing some of the bigger names in omnium, but the great opportunity of racing, to practice race strategies was not lost. Also, to learn to ride the final points race in the lead, that experience is hard to get at that level, so it was great to have this opportunity.

“It was a nice battle at the end there, but I did feel in control and happy to take the win.”

Kaarle McCulloch claimed her first individual sprint medal at a World Cup level when she claimed bronze in the women’s event.
 
On the eve of her thirty-first birthday, McCulloch surged to a personal best time of 10.677secs in sprint qualifying, second fastest and just three-hundredths behind Hong Kong’s Wai Sze Lee.  
 
‪McCulloch defeated Ukraine’s Liubov Basova and the USA’s Madalyn Godby to move to the semi-finals where her run was ended by Olena Starikova (UKR). 
 
In the bronze medal final, McCulloch came back from 0-1 down against hometown hero Natasha Hansen to win the bronze. 
 
“Very very happy, to win my first ever individual sprint medal at a World Cup,” said McCulloch, who celebrated her birthday with fifth in the keirin. “I was thrilled when I got into the semis, a little disappointed how I rode it, but happy with how I bounced back in the bronze ride off to beat Natasha on her home turf.”
 
A host of Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy riders got their first taste of international cycling when they made their World Cup debut.
 
The all-teenage quartet of Jarrad Drizners, Godfrey Slattery, Conor Leahy and Luke Plapp qualified seventh fastest (4:02.293) in the team pursuit, before defeating Russia with a time of 3mins 56.379secs in the first round.  However, the quartet just missed the medal rounds by three-tenths of a second and finished fifth overall. 
 
In other events, Drizners took a gallant fourth in the scratch race, Slattery was twelfth in the omnium, while Plapp and Drizners finished tenth in the Madison. 
 
The Academy riders now form the majority of the Australian sixteen-rider team that will line up in the final World Cup round in Hong Kong this weekend. 
​
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#GC2018 team sprint - Gold & National Record to women; bronze to men

6/4/2018

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Women's team sprint

Picture
Photo © Cycling Australia
Kaarle McCulloch and Stephanie Morton powered over the New Zealand pair of Natasha Hansen and Emma Cumming in the women’s team sprint final to win gold.

With former teammate Anna Meares watching on, the duo powered in qualifying to take the mental advantage into the final, which saw them ride the wave of parochial Aussie support as they clocked a new Commonwealth Games and national record time of 32.488 seconds.​

​More:  Watch live via  7commgames.com.au  | Visit  gc2018.com for all the event information. 

They don't call it the 'Gold' Coast for nothing...

Because □□ Australia have won ANOTHER □ in the Women's Team Sprint Final □#7CommGames#GC2018 pic.twitter.com/BxMKMHypXo

— 7CommGames (@7CommGames) April 5, 2018
Stephanie Morton

Can’t complain with a casual Aussie record but we’re stoked, that’s what we came here for — to smash our own record and we got it convincingly so it’s pretty exciting with three days to go.

It’s insane, we were pretty lucky to get to see the track endurance and tandems go before so it was cool once you got up there, you knew that noise was for us.


Kaarle McCulloch

Steph and I are not a new team but we’re not an old team either, we’ve almost won nearly every time we step on a track together, so to be able to go from Anna as a team sprint partner to Steph and make some history is awesome, and I’m looking forward to Tokyo and beyond.

We’ve both got amazing form at the moment which is a credit to our coaches and I think this crowd is pushing us over the line as well.

Fresh off the top of the podium, Women's Team Sprint gold medallists @kaarlemcculloch and @StephMorton28 catch up with @SamJaneLane. #GC2018 #7CommGames pic.twitter.com/ejdEMs9Kln

— 7CommGames (@7CommGames) April 5, 2018

men's team sprint

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The Australian men's quartet of Nathan Hart, Matthew Glaetzer, Patrick Constable and Jacob Schmid won bronze in the men's team sprint. 

It was a heartbreaking opening for the team the afternoon qualifying, with Constable pulling his foot at the start of their heat.  The team was granted a re-run minutes later, and recovered to post the third best time to send them into the bronze medal ride. 

Schmid came in for Glaetzer in the final, with the team too strong for Canada as they clocked 43.645seconds for three laps to win the bronze.  
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36-member Australian Team for 2018 Commonwealth Games

20/2/2018

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Picture
Image via Kevin Anderson
Commonwealth Games Australia is pleased to announce a strong 36-member team to contest the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Reigning Commonwealth Games champions Stephanie Morton, Matthew Glaetzer and Annette Edmondson headline the track selections, in addition to the return of 2010 Gold medallists Cameron Meyer and Kaarle McCulloch.  

Reigning road national champions Alexander Edmondson and Shannon Malseed, triple world championship medallist Katrin Garfoot and 2006 Commonwealth Games road race gold medallist Mathew Hayman feature in the road selections. 
The team will vie for 26 gold medals - track (16), para-cycling track (4), road (4), and mountain bike (2) competitions in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast from 4-15 April. 

Australian Team Chef de Mission Steve Moneghetti welcomed the athletes on to the Australian Team.

“We enjoyed strong success at Glasgow 2014 from the Cycling team, so with the depth and experience we have in this team we look forward to more success at Gold Coast 2018,” he said.

“The cycling program is an incredibly exciting one for fans, with competition at the new Anna Meares Velodrome, road cycling events that are free and open to all spectators and mountain biking at the Nerang trails.

“With many of these athletes spending a lot of time abroad, Gold Coast 2018 provides a unique chance for these athletes to compete in front of a home crowd,” Moneghetti said. 

With the announcement of the 36 cyclists today, the Australian Team currently numbers 222, or just under half the anticipated total of 470 athletes.

TEAM OVERVIEW

The men’s track endurance squad is replete with rainbow jerseys, with reigning team pursuit world champions Samuel Welsford, Kelland O’Brien, Leigh Howard, Alexander Porter and Nicholas Yallouris, plus individual pursuit world champion Jordan Kerby; named in their first Games’ team.  

Three-time world champion Leigh Howard will also debut, with eight-time world champion and triple 2010 Games Gold medallist Cameron Meyer rounding out the strong line up.  

Defending scratch race Gold medallist and dual world champion Annette Edmondson, dual 2014 Games medallist and world champion Amy Cure and 2010 representative Ashlee Ankudinoff will lead the women’s endurance squad. 
Dual world champion Rebecca Wiasak, Rio Olympian Georgia Baker and rising star Alexandra Manly all receive their first Commonwealth Games’ selections.

“It’s really not that often someone gets to represent their country in a home Commonwealth Games in their career, so for me, it’s something very special that I’ll never forget,” said Cure, a dual medallist from 2014. 

“(I am) super excited to have the team pursuit on the calendar at the Games. I’m really excited to see what the team can achieve; as one of our three Olympic events, it’s great to get another opportunity to race this race in front of big crowds.”

Australia’s sprint crew is awash with Commonwealth Gold with defending sprint champion Stephanie Morton to form a formidable women’s sprint duo with 2010 team sprint champion Kaarle McCulloch. 

2014 keirin Gold medallist Matthew Glaetzer will spearhead an impressive men’s sprint quartet with Rio Olympians Nathan Hart and Patrick Constable, and Jacob Schmid. 

A host of Australia’s WorldTour elite highlight the road selections, with reigning national champion Alexander Edmondson, 2006 Commonwealth Games road race Gold medallist Mathew Hayman, Steele Von Hoff, Mitchell Docker, Callum Scotson and Meyer, forming a versatile six-member men’s road squad.

“I have very fond memories of the 2014 Commonwealth Games from Glasgow, so I am really excited about lining up in the road race in 2018,” said Edmondson, who won Gold and Silver in the pursuit events on the track four years ago.
“Of course being a home games there’s a bit of added pressure, but we are going to have a home crowd cheering us on which is going to be huge.

“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity of racing in the green and gold on home soil!”

Triple world championship medallist and 2014 Commonwealth Bronze medallist Katrin Garfoot will head the six-member women’s team with reigning road national champion Shannon Malseed, dual national road champion Gracie Elvin and 2010 Games Bronze medallist Chloe Hosking, who gains a third team selection.

2010 team member Tiffany Cromwell returns while Sarah Roy makes her debut. 

“It's a bit of a pinch yourself moment,” said Hosking who becomes just the third Australian female cycling behind Anna Meares and Kathy Watt to be named to contest three Commonwealth Games. 
“To think I represented Australia at 20 in Delhi and I'm still racing and still getting stronger and still pulling on the green and gold. I would never have dreamt this growing up.”  

The Tandem Para-cycling selections are led by 2016 world champions Jessica Gallagher and Pilot Madison Janssen, while Bradley Henderson will make his debut with Pilot Thomas Clarke who won Bronze at the 2014 Games. 
2014 Bronze medallists and dual Olympians Daniel McConnell and Rebecca McConnell (nee Henderson) will contest the mountain bike cross-country competition.

“I'm very excited about the upcoming Games, to have a home Commonwealth Games is going to be a great experience,” said McConnell who grabbed a top ten finish at last year’s World Championships in Cairns. “I have pretty high expectations going into the Games.

“I really like the course, I think it suits my strength pretty well. I just want to get to the start line 100% fit and ready to go, if I can do that anything is possible.”
Similarly, Rebecca McConnell is hoping the home course advantage plays into her hands when she lines up against a world-class field.

“I have been fortunate enough to race on the course at the Nationals Series in January, it's a great course, with technical climbing and descending and the strongest rider will win,” said Henderson.  
“With world champions and World Cup winners in both the men's and the women's field the racing is going to be fast and exciting so we hope to see lots of spectators in April!”

Australia has enjoyed strong success at recent Games with a 24-medal haul including seven gold in Glasgow in 2014, and 21 medals (14 gold) in Delhi in 2010. 

Tickets still available to 12 sports across the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games competition schedule. 

Commonwealth Games Australian Cycling Team

ROAD
  • Tiffany Cromwell                                
  • Gracie Elvin                                       
  • Katrin Garfoot                        
  • Chloe Hosking                         
  • Shannon Malseed*                
  • Sarah Roy*                            
  • Mitchell Docker*                     
  • Alexander Edmondson                      
  • Mathew Hayman                    
  • Cameron Meyer                                 
  • Callum Scotson*                                
  • Steele Von Hoff*                    

MTB   
  • Daniel McConnell                              
  • Rebecca McConnell (nee Henderson)

TRACK ENDURANCE          
  • Ashlee Ankudinoff     
  • Georgia Baker*
  • Amy Cure       
  • Annette Edmondson  
  • Alexandra Manly*
  • Rebecca Wiasak*      
  • Leigh Howard*           
  • Jordan Kerby*
  • Cameron Meyer         
  • Kelland O’Brien*
  • Alexander Porter*      
  • Samuel Welsford*      
  • Nicholas Yallouris*    

TRACK SPRINT
  • Kaarle McCulloch      
  • Stephanie Morton 
  • Patrick Constable*     
  • Matthew Glaetzer 
  • Nathan Hart   
  • Jacob Schmid*           

PARA TRACK (TANDEMS)
  • Jessica Gallagher* / Madison Janssen* - Pilot         
  • Bradley Henderson* / Thomas Clarke - Pilot

​* Commonwealth Games debutant
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