A rainbow jersey on her shoulders and a home crowd on her side has reigning world champion Kaarle McCulloch feeling like a superwoman ahead of the 2019-2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup to be held at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome from 13-15 December.

McCulloch will be joined by a host of the Australian Cycling Team’s best as they battle for gold across the three-day event which acts the penultimate round of the World Cup Series and a chance to grab valuable qualifying points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Read more at https://brisbanetrackworldcup.com/kaarle-mcculloch/ 

Australia’s summer of track cycling begins on Friday 1 November when Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome hosts the 2020 Para-cycling Track National Championships.

Australia’s para-cycling stars will be on show including reigning world champions Alistair Donohoe (VIC), Amanda Reid (NSW), Darren Hicks (SA), David Nicholas (QLD), Emily Petricola (VIC) and Paige Greco (SA).

Victoria’s reigning C4 individual pursuit world champion and world record holder Emily Petricola is eager to get back on the track to begin the build towards Tokyo 2020. 

“I really I want to go out and have a solid performance in the pursuit and I’m keen to see how my starts go, as generally, that is my weak spot due to my impairment,” said Petricola, who will line up in the rainbow on Saturday in the individual pursuit, while also contesting three other Championship events. 

“I would really like to do a good 500 (metre time trial). I love the 500 find it really fun, and I am having a crack at the team sprint with Paige (Greco) and Amanda (Reid) which will be fun.”

Cycling Australia and Sport Australia are pleased to announce that riders from the Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy (PPA) Endurance squad will race in support of the #findyour30 campaign at the 2019-20 Tissot UCI Track World Cup in Glasgow from 8-10 November. 

The Podium Potential Academy (PPA) was launched in November 2018 with an inaugural class of thirteen athletes across both endurance and sprint disciplines. The PPA programme, which is supported and partly funded by Commonwealth Games Australia, focuses on the long term development of athletes orientated around success at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and through to the 2024 Olympic Games and beyond.

The PPA Endurance riders set to contest the World Cup in Glasgow are Alexandra Martin-Wallace, Sophie Edwards, Conor Leahy and Godfrey Slattery. 

Sport Australia’s national “Find Your 30” campaign is all about encouraging every Australian to get 30 minutes of heart rate raising sport or physical activity a day to live healthier, happier and more active lives. 

Sport Australia CEO Kate Palmer said: “It’s fantastic that Cycling Australia and our incredible track cyclists are joining us to encourage all Australians to be more active.”
“We take immense pride and joy in supporting our elite athletes to win medals and become world champions, but our ultimate goal at Sport Australia is to be the world’s most active sporting nation.

“You don’t have to win a race or even compete in a race, but 30 minutes of physical activity a day can help anyone unlock more of their own potential. Collectively, that can be a game-changer for our nation’s health, economy and productivity."

Australians can get tips on how to ‘Find Your 30’ at the Sport Australia website, sportaus.gov.au. 

Cycling Australia’s Performance Director Simon Jones: “We are really excited to be in a position to promote such an inspirational campaign through the performances of these athletes. 

“Whether it be an international track competition or a walk around the block, we can all relate to and support each other in making positive decisions around our health and wellbeing.”

Riders from Australian Cycling Team Podium group in Sam Welsford, Leigh Howard, Annette Edmondson, Georgia Baker, Kristina Clonan and Macey Stewart will also contest the Glasgow round. 

Following the Scottish round, members of the Australian Team will contest the World Cup's second round in New Zealand from December 6-8.
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Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome will host round five the 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup from 13-15 December. ​

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.
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"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.

The Australian Team wrapped up the Oceania Champs in Invercargill on the weekend with five gold medals highlighting the team's results:

• Madison - Amy Cure & Alexandra Manly - Gold
• Madison - Sam Welsford & Kell O'Brien - Gold
• Points Race - Amy Cure - Gold
• Sprint - Steph Morton - Gold
• Sprint - Kaarle McCulloch - Bronze
• Individual Pursuit - Conor Leahy - Gold
• Individual Pursuit - Maeve Plouffe - Silver
• Points Race - Maeve Plouffe - Bronze

Stephanie Morton powered to gold in the women's sprint over hometown favourite Olivia Podmore. 

"Off the back of knee surgery backing up is pretty tough so I just wanted to go out there and get the set up right and then whatever happened at the end happened, so to get the win. I'm really happy."

Kaarle McCulloch, who rode a personal best to top qualifying in 10.759secs, won bronze.

In the Madisons, Amy Cure and Alexandra Manly dominated the elite women's 30km final ahead of the New Zealand combination of Michaela Drummond and Jessie Hodges.

Kelland O'Brien and Sam Welsford won gold in the men's 40km event, sealing the win after Welsford took victory in the double points final lap.

Amy Cure made it three gold for the Championships after claiming points race gold to add to her scratch race victory earlier in the week.

Top qualifier Conor Leahy took out the elite men's 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."

Maeve Plouffe's comeback following wrist surgery continued with silver in the elite women's 3000m individual pursuit and bronze in the points race.

MORE

• Event: Oceania Track Championships
• Date: 16 -19 October 2019
• Location: SIT Zero Fees Velodrome Surrey Road Invercargill
• Live Stream: Watch all sessions live via Cycling Southland
• Results: Results by event
• Program: Complete 2020 event programme​

Dianne Manson.

Amy Cure and Sam Welsford’s omnium victories highlighted day two action at the Oceania Track Cycling Championships at Invercargill’s SIT Zero Fees Velodrome.

Three-time world champion Cure was all class on the way to winning the elite women’s omnium won the scratch race, tempo and elimination rides before comfortably accounting for the field in the points race.

“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, the reigning team pursuit world champion and a former points race world champion. 

“I don’t mind a points race, it’s always tough but I just went in there and just treated it like any other points race.”

Like Cure, reigning scratch and team pursuit world champion Welsford dominated the elite men’s omnium, winning the first three events and then taking out the final sprint in the points race ahead of Stewart to secure victory.

Welsford was made to work by the New Zealand trio of Campbell Stewart, Regan Gough and Corbin Strong, with only nine points separating the top three riders heading into the final ten laps of the points race.

“I enjoy racing against the New Zealanders. It is always good and fair racing between us and it is really enjoyable. I was happy with my form so early in the season,” said Welsford.

In the men’s sprint, Nathan Hart (9.755) topped qualifying with Matthew Glaetzer (9.782​), Matthew Richardson (9.797) and Thomas Clarke (9.896) ensuring four Australians finished inside the top six. 

The quartet progressed to the quarterfinals where Clarke edged Glaetzer in three heats, Sam Webster (NZL) defeated Richardson and Hart’s run was ended by Jordan Castle (NZL). 

In the semi finals, Eddie Dawkins (NZL) pushed Clarke into the bronze medal ride off against Castle which the kiwi took in straight heats.

MORE

• Event: Oceania Track Championships
• Date: 16 -19 October 2019
• Location: SIT Zero Fees Velodrome Surrey Road Invercargill
• Live Stream: Watch all sessions live via Cycling Southland
• Results: Results by event
• Program: Complete 2020 event programme​

Aussie sprinter Matthew Glaetzer is ready to rip up the boards at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome when it hosts the 2019-2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup from 13-15 December.

“This season for us is Oceanias and then the World Cups and that finalises with the Brisbane World Cup so that will be exciting for us to host a world cup and we’re excited to really rip for that one,” said 2018 sprint world champion Glaetzer.

Glaetzer will be joined by a host of the Australian Cycling Team’s best as they battle for gold and valuable qualifying points for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“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 on the Anna Meares’ Velodrome at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. 

At December’s World Cup, Glaetzer is anticipated to line up in the team sprint, sprint and keirin, giving fans the opportunity to catch the world’s fastest in action each of the three days of racing. 

“It is us preparing and trying to dial in on things we need to focus on and that’s different for each person. So it’s 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.”

The World Cup

The 2019-2020 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup will host the world’s best track cyclists as they battle for gold and valuable qualifying points 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.

Tickets

Ticket prices start at $10 for morning sessions, while fans can get along to the evening’s finals action for as little as $30. Family and Series passes are also available so you can catch the action with your friends. 

>>> Ticket options 

Schedule

• FRI 13 DEC: Team Pursuit and Team Sprint
• SAT 14 DEC: Men’s Omnium, Women’s Madison, Men’s Keirin, Women’s Sprint
• SUN 15 DEC: Women’s Omnium, Men’s Madison, Women’s Keirin, Men’s Sprint

Follow

• brisbanetrackworldcup.com
• Facebook.com/UciWorldCupAus
• Twitter.com/UCIWorldCupAus
• Instagram.com/UCIWorldCupAus

The Australian Cycling Team has opened the 2020 Oceania Track Championships with three gold medals. 
 
​Reigning world champions Kaarle McCulloch and Stephanie Morton broke their Oceania Championship record on the way to taking out the elite women's team sprint. The pair clocked 32.591secs to fend off the challenge from the young New Zealand pairing of Olivia Podmore and Ellesse Andrew (33.540). 
 
"It definitely did go to plan tonight. I think we were both surprised by the time as we are in pretty deep training.  So to come out and do a 32.6, only four-tenths of a second off our Worlds time, it shows we are in good shape," said McCulloch. 

"Not the ideal offseason for me with knee surgery, so I had to rely on Kaarle a lot tonight to get me through. But as a team, we executed what we wanted to and put a great time on the board," said Morton. 
 
Podium Potential Academy members Conor Leahy, Godfrey Slattery, Lucas Plapp teamed with guest rider Joshua Duffy, to produce a dominant display to take gold in the elite men's 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 elite women's team pursuit, the Podium Potential Academy quartet of Maeve Plouffe, Sam De Riter, Sophie Edwards and Alex Martin-Wallace (4:22.057) claimed silver as New Zealand (4:19.040) won gold. 
 
Later in the session, a daring moving from Plouffe paid off when she lapped the field to win the elite women's 10km scratch race.
 
"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 absolutely perfect, and the end couldn't have gone any more perfectly."

Nathan Hart and Podium Potential Academy duo Matthew Richardson and Thomas Clarke took silver in the men's team sprint (43.360) with New Zealand breaking the Oceania record (42.508) on the way to the gold medal. 
 
Kell O'Brien took silver in the men's 15km scratch race.

MORE

• Event: Oceania Track Championships
• Date: 16 -19 October 2019
• Location: SIT Zero Fees Velodrome Surrey Road Invercargill
• Live Stream: Watch all sessions live via Cycling Southland
• Results: Results by event
• Program: Complete 2020 event programme

Australia’s Saya Sakakibara has won the ‘Ready Steady Tokyo’, the official Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games test event being staged on the BMX racing circuit.

The Japanese-born Sakakibara narrowly edged reigning world champions Alise Post on the line in front of an adoring Tokyo crowd.
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The looming typhoon forced the consolidation of the three-day event into one day with riders running all motos, semi finals and finals on one afternoon.

“This meant extra laps for us on this very very long track,” said Sakakibara, 20. “I didn’t know how my legs would make it through the day but I think we got through. was trying to save my energy, like rolling the last straight.”

The Australian Cycling Team will open the 2020 track season at the 2020 Oceania Track Championships from October 16-19. 

• Event: Oceania Track Championships
• Date: 16 -19 October 2019
• Location: SIT Zero Fees Velodrome Surrey Road Invercargill
• Live Stream: Watch all sessions live via Cycling Southland
• Results: Results by event
• Program: Complete 2020 event programme

The Championships opens a busy summer of track cycling which included a 2019-2020 UCI Track World Cup season that will take in Brisbane for Round Five from 13-15 December.  
 
Reigning world champions in action include Steph Morton and Kaarle McCulloch will sport their rainbow jerseys in the team sprint, while also contesting the keirin and sprint. 

In the endurance events, points race world champion Alex Manly and team pursuit world champion Amy Cure will line up in the points race, Omnium and will team up in the Madison. 

Sam Welsford will don his rainbow bands in the scratch race and will pair with team pursuit world champion Kell O'Brien in the Madison. The duo will also take on the Omnium. 

Matt Glaetzer, Nathan Hart and Podium Potential Academy (PPA) athlete Matt Richardson will comprise the men's team sprint outfit, and will also line up in the keirin and sprint. 

The team pursuit outfits for Australia will be comprised of PPA riders in Luke Plapp, Godfrey Slattery, Conor Leahy, Alexandra Martin-Wallace, Sophie Edwards, Maeve Plouffe and Samantha De Riter.

Fellow PPA members Holly Takos and Tom Clarke will be in action in the sprint events. 

In addition to continental honours, riders will compete for valuable UCI points that will go towards Olympic qualification. 

A live results link and live streaming details will be available closer to the event. 

Australian Team

Sprint 

• Matt Glaetzer
• Nathan Hart
• Matt Richardson* 
• Tom Clarke*
• Steph Morton
• Kaarle McCulloch
• Holly Takos*

Endurance

• Amy Cure                             
• Alex Manly
• Alexandra Martin-Wallace*
• Sophie Edwards*
• Maeve Plouffe*
• Samantha De Riter*  
• Kell O'Brien*
• Sam Welsford*
• Luke Plapp*
• Godfrey Slattery*
• Conor Leahy*

* Podium Potential Academy

Details

• Event: Oceania Track Championships
• Date: 16 -19 October 2019
• Location: SIT Zero Fees Velodrome Surrey Road Invercargill
• Live Stream: Watch all sessions live via Cycling Southland
• Results: Results by event
• Program: Complete 2020 event programme